Me, my wife and our two teenage daughters often travel from Scottsdale to Idaho Falls to visit family. Most of the time we leave our small, 10 lb Bishon with a dog-loving/owning neighbor. But for this recent holiday trip we wanted our dog with us and we planned to stop in Salt Lake City to see holiday lights and meet some friends for dinner.

I searched tripadvisor for pet friendly hotels and then also looked at Priceline (which allows searches based on that criteria). I was looking for a good balance between quality and price along with a location downtown and near the Temple Square area. This Marriott property received high marks for quality, comfort, amenities and friendly staff (all true based on my experience by the way) and was also priced $30 less than the Hotel Monaco (a 4 star property that also takes pets and charges no extra fee).

I called Marriott reservations and was told that there was a "$100 refundable sanitation deposit" for pets. When I arrived I informed the reception desk that we had a small dog and they presented me with a form (agreement) that indicated the "refundable" "deposit" was really a "NON-refundable" "fee." In addition there is a cancellation policy that states you forfeit your first night stay (we were only staying one night) if not cancelled 24hrs in advance.

Of course it was too late to cancel and avoid the cancellation fee, and we had the dog with us which invoked the pet fee... so we were stuck. We were told we had to pay the additional $100 for the dog to stay or forfeit the nights charges. To stay effectively doubled the rate of the hotel and at that rate would have made the 4 star Hotel Monaco or even the Hilton or Raddison a better choice.

I was obviously not happy that I had apparently been misled to believe that there was a refundable deposit when in reality it was a fee. I asked to speak to the manager, who was very polite, but firm in validating both the policy and the fee.

I strongly pressed him and detailed the situation including the cancellation fee and how I felt I was in a leveraged position with no good options. After some negotiation, the manager offered to lower the fee to $50 or refund my night (waive the cancellation fee). He explained the cleaning process that Marriott uses after a pet stays (if they do it all, it probably justifies the fee) and went on to say that the pet policy/cleaning information is well documented on their website.

I queried my wife and kids who were tired after 8 hours in the car, checked the other hotels in the area and found that given the late hour, they were either booked or the rate had increased, so we opted to stay at the Marriott and pay the reduced fee of $50.

While in the room, I used the complimentary WIFI to validate the "well documented" pet policy and after 30 minutes of looking (it is NOT easy to find) I found where it does say, "Pets allowed, non-refundable sanitation fee: 100 USD; contact hotel for details" which was located under "Explore our Hotel" and "Fact Sheet" (the Marriott corporate site says, "Pet policies vary from hotel to hotel. To check if pets are allowed, click "About This Hotel" in the left-hand navigation of the hotel’s web site." -- obviously those instructions didn't apply to this hotel's site). Also I suppose it is possible the reservation agent said "NON-refundable" and it sounded like or I heard "Refundable" in the description of the pet policy. However the word "deposit" was still misleading... the website use of the word "fee" is accurate.

After a good night's sleep (the hotel is very quiet) and a very decent breakfast (they have a reasonable buffet that is included in the rate), I felt the overall value at $160 with a pet was fair. I do not however think that $210+ (which is what the rate would have been) is reasonable. I will also say that the manager was very well trained, restrained and polite notwithstanding the confrontational nature of the discussion. The other staff were also very polite, friendly and professional.

All things considered, if I remove the component of my own pet (and the fact that she is a non-shedding breed that sleeps in her crate, etc.)... I have to say that having a hotel that cleans the drapery, bedspreads, uses airfiltered vacuuming in the rooms, etc. to insure that the room is sanitized for the next guest that does not have pets or may have alergies to them... does make the hotel stand out among other chains.

Bottom line there are always tradeoffs and for Marriott the tradeoff is to apparently insure a certain level of cleanliness/sanitation while passing on the cost to those who are necessitating extra measures. Not at all unfair and proably highly welcomed by the majority of guests (including me when not travelling with a pet). The only thing they could do better is make sure thier policies are easy to find and are clearly communicated by their reservation agents.

For those of you reading this... I would not hesitate to stay at this property again due to location, amenities, cleanliness, professional and friendly staff, etc. and would highly recommend it if travelling without pets.

If you have a pet, understand that you will pay $100 on top of the rate you agree to when you book your room... and I wouldn't expect to get a reduction as I did (which I'm sure was only done due to my demeanor from driving all day, and the manager's commitment to customer service-- again commendable)... but rest assured that they do hold firm on thier policies. If I do stay at a Marriot property with a pet again, I fully expect to pay the full fee.

Depending on the season, the rate w/pet fee may still be competetive when you factor in the breakfast, etc. and it is certainly competetive without the pet fee.

Hopefully this review will save other pet owners the same fee surprises and aggravation I experienced.