Holly Hills Pet Hotel

Holly Hills Pet Hotel is a small overnight dog boarding business in South St. Louis, run by owners Dan and Shellie at 4152 Toenges Avenue in 63116. Size shapes everything here: the hotel books up to eight dogs at a time, so dog boarding in this part of St. Louis reads closer to a neighborhood house with a strict routine than to a commercial kennel. Dan and Shellie describe over a decade of boarding experience before making it their full-time work.

What a stay looks like

Boarded dogs go outside at least six times a day, with roughly 10 to 15 minutes of run-around time each outing. Those outings happen in groups of five to eight dogs, which keeps the noise and the pressure down for dogs that struggle in a crowd. Kennels are large: four feet by four feet wide and six feet high. The facility has both indoor play space and outdoor space.

Key details

• Boarding rates run $45 per night for one dog up to $140 per night for four
• Open 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekends
• Drop-off and pickup windows are 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
• Licensed and insured, with an alarm system and a surveillance camera
• Overnights are booked online, after an in-person meet and greet

Getting started

New dogs begin with a meet and greet that takes about 15 minutes and works as a temperament and socialization check. Owners then set up an account and book stays online; the site suggests registering on a desktop computer with a photo or digital copy of vaccination records ready to upload. Dogs must be at least six months old, spayed or neutered, and current on Rabies, DHPP or DAPP, and Bordetella.

Holidays and finding it

Boarding is available on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but drop-offs and pickups are not, so holiday stays need to start and end around those days. The entrance sits to the right of the garage, through the double white doors.