Have you ever closed your eyes and imagined an ideal place to spend a week? Perhaps it’s an upscale inn that doubles as an animal sanctuary where you can bond with rescued pigs or yaks. Maybe your ideal vacation is a luxury inn on the California coastline where you can enjoy cruelty-free spa treatments and fine dining at a vegan restaurant.
If you enjoy spending time with animals and are passionate about protecting them, your options for a fun-filled vacation don’t need to be limited in any way. From the shores of Mendocino to the mountains of Virginia, these inns, hotels, treehouses and tiny homes will delight anyone who cares deeply for animals.
The Stanford Inn By The Sea – Mendocino, California
The Stanford Inn By The Sea offers the ultimate in luxury accommodations for animal lovers. It has an onsite spa and activities such as meditation. When you stay here, you can enjoy vegan meals in Ravens Restaurant, including a complimentary breakfast and afternoon dessert and tea.
The inn has rescued llamas, horses, miniature donkeys and domestic geese and ducks who live protected on their pastures. Also, guests with companion animals are welcome to bring along their pets. They have welcomed dogs, cats, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits and even a tortoise. Let them know about any animal guests you’d like to bring along when booking your room.
Red Robin Song Guest House – New Lebanon, New York
The Red Robin Song Guest House is a vegan bed & breakfast that really allows guests to get away from it all. Visitors to this property get to enjoy the company of the animals that live onsite at the Red Robin Song Animal Sanctuary, including yaks, rabbits, cats, dogs, goats and pigs. Many different species of wildlife make their home nearby, too, and beavers may be seen in or around the pond.
A full vegan breakfast is served to guests, and there is a focus on whole-food plant-based meals. The bed & breakfast is situated only minutes from the Berkshires, where guests can participate in nearby activities such as skiing, zip-lining and hiking part of the Appalachian Trail. You’re also welcome to hike the property’s trails.
Atlanta Alpaca Treehouse – Atlanta, Georgia
Located in a bamboo forest, the Atlanta Alpaca Treehouse is a serene place to stay on a small animal sanctuary that’s a forever home to rescued alpacas and llamas. The treehouse is elevated 15 feet above the ground, made from reclaimed architectural wood, and it has full power and air conditioning. Guests can enjoy luxury bedding and relax on the Bali bed while the alpacas and llamas forage for green shoots.
Visitors are often awed by the 1940s giant bamboo forest, and onsite activities include the popular llama yoga. Overnight guests are treated to snacks, Italian chocolates, wine, beer, water and clementines. All snacks served at the Atlanta Alpaca Treehouse are vegan. In addition to the treehouse, two cottages are available to rent on the property.
Farm Sanctuary Tiny Houses – Watkins Glen, New York
Located in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Farm Sanctuary is a beautiful animal sanctuary that has been saving animals since 1986. Guests can now stay onsite at the sanctuary in fun tiny houses. They are small at 384 square feet, but they are luxurious!
Amenities include air conditioning, a TV with a DVD player, a queen bed, a full-size futon and cute decor. There are outdoor sitting areas where you can watch the pigs enjoying themselves in the pasture that’s adjacent to the small homes.
In addition to the tiny houses, Farm Sanctuary also has larger cabins for guests who want privacy but need more space. No matter where you choose to stay, you can enjoy a tour of the sanctuary. Guests can visit with goats, cows, sheep, turkeys, chickens, pigs and other rescued animals.
Animal Place – Grass Valley, California
The beautiful sprawling guest house at Animal Place is a welcome spot for animal lovers to stay. The 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom home is situated directly on the 600-acre animal sanctuary. You can rent one room in the guest home, or families and larger groups can rent the whole house.
A short guided tour of the sanctuary is included in the stay, or guests may opt to schedule a more in-depth tour where they can meet some rabbits, goats, chickens, pigs and sheep. Many cows live on the property, and guests are also welcome to meet them over the fence. The staff recommends bringing binoculars to observe rescued farm animals and wildlife from a distance on the sanctuary.
Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile – Kanab, Utah
Situated in southern Utah, five miles south of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile welcomes animal lovers from all over, and guests enjoy a complimentary vegan breakfast each morning. The roadhouse has amenities such as a complimentary guest laundry, and Best Friends members get a discount. Guests can also book a tour of the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.
Pets are very much welcome. In fact, they are the star of the show here. They get their own welcome kit, built-in cubbies for snuggling, and a fenced dog park area that has a splash zone. For separate fees, you can book dog walks and pet visits by staff during the day to make sure your furry friend is enjoying their vacation, too.
In addition to the roadhouse, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary also has eight cottages available to rent in the red rock cliffs of Angel Canyon. They also offer smaller cabins near walking trails and six RV sites.
The Homestead – Saugerties, New York
Located in the Hudson Valley in New York, the Homestead at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary is a charming inn right on the sanctuary. It was originally built in 1813 and restored with eco-friendly materials that were salvaged from 18th and 19th century barns.
Guests should look for decor that honors the rescued animal residents of the sanctuary, including lovely portraits from local artists. As another sweet touch, each guest room is named after a different animal who has called the Catskill Animal Sanctuary home.
A delectable vegan breakfast is served in the dining room each morning. Rescued animals that guests can visit include turkeys, goats, pigs and horses. Dogs are welcome at the inn for an additional nightly fee, but they will need to stay on the grounds of The Homestead for the protection of the other animal residents.
Canyon of the Eagles – Burnet, Texas
Animal lovers who enjoy nature and wildlife will adore Canyon of the Eagles – A Calibre Resort in Burnet, Texas. Situated on the lovely shores of Lake Buchanan, the resort offers lake cruises where guests may spot animals such as wild Spanish goats, eagles, hawks and white pelicans. Also, when driving to and from the resort, you may spot lots of deer frolicking in yards, and many are quite unafraid of people.
This 940-acre resort in the Texas Hill Country greets guests who are traveling with their canine companions with a dog welcome package. Guests can often be seen hiking the lakeside trails with their dogs, too. Animal-adoring guests who arrive without their pets can bond with the resort’s cats who are quite friendly.
The onsite Overlook Restaurant serves vegan-friendly dishes at all meals, and you can ask the accommodating chefs and waitstaff for special dietary requests, too.
The White Pig Bed & Breakfast – Schuyler, Virginia
As the oldest vegan bed and breakfast in the United States that also has an animal sanctuary on the property, The White Pig is a lovely spot for animal lovers. Guests can stay in a private cottage, a restored mid-19th-century Virginia farmhouse or a Victorian house. Named after the sanctuary’s first miniature pot-bellied pig, accommodations are decorated with pig and antique finds.
The White Pig offers interactive farm tours where guests can learn about the rescued animals and the farm. Onsite amenities include gardens, natural trails, a living room that all guests share and a hot tub. If you’re a fan of the classic TV show “The Waltons,” look for distant views of the famous Walton’s Mountain. You can also see views of Appleberry Mountain while at the inn.
The Gray Barn at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary – High Falls, New York
The Gray Barn is a beautifully designed inn that’s located on the premises of the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, a sanctuary that has high hopes of “a peaceful world rooted in respect and justice for all living beings.” Each of Gray Barn’s five guest rooms has a full bathroom and private terrace. In-room amenities include a hair dryer, yoga mats and air conditioning/heating. Every room has jaw-dropping views of the Hudson Valley mountains, the Roundout Creek and rescued goat pasture.
Guests are welcome to volunteer at the animal sanctuary during their stay, and they can schedule VIP tours. On the tour, you can meet rescued farm animals such as pigs, chickens, cows, goats and turkeys. A vegan breakfast is served each day, and there are a variety of vegan restaurants nearby, including Lagusta’s Luscious Commissary.