Bellevue, to the east of Seattle, across Lake Washington, is starting to steal a little of Seattle’s thunder. If nothing else, the parking is better on the east side of the lake, and the new-ish Bravern mall is the closest the Puget Sound area gets to glam. And being on the east side, it’s close to Microsoft and Google, and a host of smaller companies. I was happy, therefore, to get a report from reader Jennifer about her recent 4-day stay at the Sheraton Bellevue. She was traveling with her husband and Sophie, their 13.5 week-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy.

It is my firm belief that there is nothing in the world cuter than a Cavalier puppy. I realize I'm stepping on some toes by saying that, including Chloe's, but...damn.

Never fear, there will be more Sophie pictures. Here’s the report:

Sheraton offered a dog bed, biscuits, and bowls for Sophie, but we declined them since we had brought our own supplies. The booking and front desk staff was very positive and enthusiastic about Sophie visiting, and they had dog biscuits ready to go in the lobby. The front desk help were very accommodating about making sure we had our room in the optimal location for her to go out and use the “facilities”.

The grounds are mostly bark with some low lying ground cover, but no grass. The rooms are smallish, but our ground floor room is quiet with just the vaguest hint of road noise. It was adequately clean, but not really clean to the level that one would hope for. The building was remodeled in 2008 and our room has a nautical feel with local boat pictures from UW and the harbor. The beds are adequately comfortable, and the pillows and comforter are very plush and cozy, but not really elegant or upscale. It is a basic smallish business class hotel that does the job without many frills. There is a large flat screen TV in the room, which my husband appreciates. So far it’s gone great with Sophie, except she has been reluctant to go potty, but did eventually go outside, thank goodness.

I loved your idea of oil cloth to keep the hotel (and other) floors clean, so I got my own to go under Sophie’s water bowl. I ordered three yards and cut the cloth in half so I have two equal pieces that can overlap to form a square. It is thick and impermeable, and easy to clean up with enzymatic cleaner. For this current trip, I only brought one section and folded it to go where her food and water are located. I took note of how you pointed out the pattern on your oil cloth competed with the carpet pattern in your hotel [“Chloe’s digs: A consistent set-up for a small dog in a hotel room“] and found a pretty pattern in brown and white, that would go OK with many backgrounds.

[Jennifer used the same oil cloth in a different configuration under Sophie’s play pen, when she brought her to her workplace so her students could meet the new puppy:]

I also brought a sheet from home to put on the hotel bed to keep it as fur-free as possible, with limited success as you can see — of course, that’s our fault for not having her stay on top of the bed.

Jennifer included some pictures of how she and her husband set up their hotel room during their stay. I note that they’re training Sophie with Poochie Bells, and I like their storage baskets — a very chic alternative to my totes:

And it’s always nice to see a puppy that’s content in her crate:

She's in there, snoozing -- see her nose and paws on the right?

This was Jennifer’s first hotel stay with Sophie, and it looks like she and her husband handled it beautifully. Thank you so much, Jennifer, for your report, for your kind words of praise (“I’m constantly telling my husband, ‘Well, Mary-Alice says… on Dog Jaunt…’ when we are trying to make decisions about how to transport Sophie, or when thinking about what products to purchase”), and for the pictures. Oh, the pictures!