We absolutely love California, so that is why we took another trip out there with Maya in the Spring.  As some of  you may know, we were just in San Francisco early in the year, but this time, we visited Southern California! Maya was so much better on this flight than the first time we took her. No cries or feeling anxious – she’s a pro with flying now!  We did give her treats every now and then during the flight to help reiterate her good behavior.  Again, many of you have asked what carrier we use for her, so you can click here to see what we used. We love that it opens up wider when we are on the plan to give her more room to stretch out her long body!

HOTEL STAY @ HOTEL MAYA

It was just a coincidence that we stayed at the “Hotel Maya” during our visit out to SoCal. Located in Long Beach, this hotel is part of the Hilton DoubleTree chain, but when you first step onto this hotel, you’ll get a sense that it’s not like any other Hilton you’ve stayed at.  It reminds us of the resorts that we’ve visited when vacationing in Cancun, with the beautiful waterfront, palm trees surrounding the resort, and vibrant colors throughout the buildings! When we first approached the front desk at Hotel Maya, we were greeted with the biggest smiles and most friendly folks we’ve every met… and that same warm welcoming continued on for the next three days we stayed at Hotel Maya. Every single staff member knew who Maya was, came up to us to pet Maya, and were just so warm and friendly. Because of this, the beautiful scenery, and fun things to do at the hotel, we actually stayed here for a whole day when we visited SoCal!

Also, every dog that comes to Hotel Maya gets a “welcome package” of treats, a toy, sunglasses, and poopy bags! They also get their own little bed and water/food bowls. The humans get a s’mores goodie box waiting for them in the room too, which can be used at one of the seven fire pits throughout the hotel! (major plus for us as we’re big sweets people) 🙂

We enjoyed some coastal cuisines at their on-site restaurant, Fuego , relaxed on their man-made beach, and rode a surrey around the resort to the Queen Mary! They also have regular bikes (with a basket you can put your small dog in), kayaks, jetskis, bocce ball, a huge outdoor pool with cabanas, and other fun activities on site! Every part of their hotel was picture-worthy 🙂 There’s a ton of space for parking and grassy areas for your pup! We stayed in a waterfront balcony room, which I highly suggest as the views are breathtaking in the day + the rooms are spacious! For those visiting the SoCal area near Los Angeles, it is about a 30 minute ride from LAX (in no traffic) and about another 30 minutes from Huntington Beach – it is definitely a great in between spot and is close to everything!

PET FRIENDLY THINGS TO DO

• Beverly Hills – We visited Rodeo Drive where all the upscale shops are located. It was our first stop after getting off the plane. There are tons of designer shops on this strip and a few dog friendly restaurants. We liked that it wasn’t too crowded and parking was easy to find. We enjoyed lunch at the Sweet Beverly which has plenty of outdoor seating with a view.

• Hollywood – Hollywood is probably the opposite of Beverly Hills. We specifically visited the Walk of Fame area on Hollywood Blvd.  Crowded, but pets are welcomed in all their tourist shops.  As you can imagine, there are tons and tons of tourists here, taking photos of everything. It reminded me of a smaller version of New York City. There’s an outdoor mall located on the strip, and all the way to the back of it, you can go up the elevator to get a good view of the Hollywood Sign!

• Urban Lights – Everyone has probably seen a friend posting with the Urban Light in Los Angeles. There are 202 lamps located here and a nice little park area for your dog nearby. It’s a great spot for that mandatory Instagram photo and is even more gorgeous in person than in photos!

• Santa Monica Pier – This is a must place to go to, especially if you have a dog. Great to visit for a stroll during sunset hours as it is just simply gorgeous! Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the beach area, but Maya was able to go onto the long boardwalk. There are only a few restaurants on the boardwalk, but the one we went to that has a patio for dogs is The Alibright.
• Huntington Dog Beach – This is a large beach area that allows dogs off leash!! We came here for the SoCal Wienerfest that is hosted once a year in the Spring. Dachshunds and other breeds from all over the country (and world) come here annually. There was probably about 300-400 dachshunds, fun events such as a hot dog eating contest, wiener races, and raffles! It was truly dachshund heaven! Thank you to all my fans that came out to meet little miss Maya during our visit and know we will probably be back again next year! 🙂

Overall, this was a fun mini-trip for us and we cannot wait to come back to California again! We met so many new friends that we cannot wait to see again next year! Let us know where we should go next and you may get to see Maya at a town near you soon 🙂