On Travel Section - MSN:
A Room With a ZooThese hotels aren't just pet-friendly properties: They're wild about animals, from dogs you can borrow while you're in town to live-in seals and resident giraffes.
All Kimpton hotels nationwide (http://www.kimptonhotels.com) welcome pets and present them with toys as well as in-room bowls and beds. Guests staying at Kimpton's Monaco Hotels get an extra treat: They can borrow a complimentary goldfish for the duration of their stay. Even better, there's no need to clean the bowl or feed the frisky, finned friends: With the "Guppy Love" program, the hotel staff does it all. Even, we suppose, flushing away any fish that have permanently checked out.
Slide show text by Harriet Baskas; photo editing by Connie Ricca.
Harriet Baskas writes regularly about airports, air travel and other adventures for MSNBC.com and USATODAY.com and on her "Stuck at the Airport" blog, http://www.stuckattheairport.com.
A Room With a Zoo
A
parrot named Koko has been living at the Southern Palms Beach Club in Barbados (
http://www.southernpalms.net) for at least 45 years. She has a limited vocabulary, but is reportedly a good listener. "Especially," says managing director Britta Pollard, "if you sing to her." Pollard says that many years ago, Koko was sent to a zoo aviary to be near other birds, but she got sick there and recovered only when she returned to the hotel environment.
In Dubai, a turtle rehabilitation unit based at the Madinat Jumeirah-Mina A'Salam Resort (
http://www.jumeirah.com/
en/hotels-and-resorts/Destinations/Dubai/Madinat-Jumeirah/
The-Resort) helps save dozens of sick turtles each year. Scientists or local residents who find the animals in the water or on the shoreline have brought many
large green turtles and smaller hawksbill turtles to the center. Guests are welcome to visit while the animals recover in a special swimming pen at the hotel. Once rehabilitated, the turtles are returned to their natural habitat.
MORE ON THE MSN SITE:
http://travel.msn.com//Guides/MSNTravelSlideShow.aspx?cp-documentid=994127
