Every Time I bring my German Shepherd they they take good care of him ! i take him there every time i leave town

I suppose they don't want to groom my sweet old golden-doodle. They would have done a better job at grooming and not charged $150 to do it!

This is a review for their cat boarding. We have now had our cats boarded twice with Pet Motel & Salon and both times were very positive experiences. During our first stay, we felt like the staff truly cared for our cats. They patiently answered questions about cat boarding since it was their first time being away from home. They were happy to give me updates on the phone as well which I appreciated. Our specific feeding schedule was easily accommodated as well. In terms of the cat boarding area, I liked how there were windows, that it was full of sun, and that the cat condos are pretty spacious. I felt like they were a lot of nooks for our cats to explore and feel safe in in a new environment. My cats have always come back home in great condition - happy, clean and with no signs of being in "fear" mode (shivering, jumpy etc) Some other things I liked about the business are that it is a small business and not a chain, prices are transparent and fair (comparable to other places in the area), situated close to Monticello Animal Hospital (our vet). Reservations, check in and check out have been very smooth. I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for cat boarding! read more

Our dog's haircut always looks nice after visiting the Pet Motel & Salon and the price is reasonable. That said, for the last three visits, which are approximately six months apart, our dog develops an ear infection and diarrhea w/blood. At first, we thought it was the diet, however, three separate visits with the same illness. Has anyone experienced the same issue? Follow-up: As a follow-up to our original review, we received a phone call from a representative of the Pet Motel and Salon. Unfortunately, it was not a pleasant phone call and accusatory. This type of phone call was unexpected as we have been a client of the Pet Motel and Salon for three years. Instead of a call of concern for our dog, we were accused of not informing the Salon that our dog was prone to ear infections (she's not) and that undue stress from her recent grooming visit could have resulted in her three days of bloody diarrhea. Keep in mind, that the trend we noticed only occurred during the last three visits over 18 months. The Pet Motel and Salon representative called my wife within 30 minutes of posting and further suggested we were accusing their establishment of giving our dog a virus, the representative (who I will not name out of respect) hung up on my wife. Prior to hanging up on my wife, she did strongly encourage us to find another groomer. My wife then called our veterinarian to see if we were off base for our open-ended, non-accusatory question in our original posting. We absolutely admit that we could have been wrong and wanted to follow-up on the suggestion by the Pet Motel and Salon representative that our dog could have a virus. The veterinarian suggested that undue stress would not cause prolonged diarrhea (3 days) and that "their clinic has been seeing "a lot" of dogs with diarrhea during last two weeks." So even though we did not accuse the Pet Motel and Salon of the virus our dog most likely has, it seems plausible. From this point forward, we will be taking our dog, as suggested by the Pet Motel and Salon, to another groomer. Unfortunately, after providing three years of business to the Pet Motel and Salon, we did not expect nor deserve the phone call that my wife received with no empathy or sympathy for our current situation. read more

I absolutely love taking my dog to Pet Motel on 5th Street! If anyone knows me they know that my dog Dexter is like my child. I have been bringing Dexter to the Pet Motel for grooming for very long time. They have consistently done exceptional work and care for my dog. They are always very accommodating when I call on the spur of the moment and need his haircut and or washed. They go above and beyond the call of duty for my dog child. When he was having a hard time with his arthritis they took extra special care of him so that he could be washed and groomed without having to stand for too long. All the staff have been amazingly wonderful to my dog! Usually Stephanie or Laura cut Dexter's hair & they do a fantastic job! Amy has cut his hair occasionally and she is equally wonderful! Dexter loves all the staff there and even though having a bath isn't his favorite thing he still is a happy boy when he walks in the door and sees everybody! I highly recommend taking your pet here. They do a wonderful job of taking care of the animals and they go that extra mile to make sure they are happy!! read more

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The Pet Motel is a wonderful place! I trust the team there with my Doodles (and have for years!) and know that when they go for haircuts and baths that the FurBabies are in well-trained and kind hands. One of our Doodles is a bit scared but the team there always bends over backwards to make her feel safe and loved. For that pup's first visit, Amy even came in off-hours to help reduce her anxiety. I'm convinced that special treatment prevented her from having a life-long fear of grooming visits. Our doodles always look and feel amazing and the festive bandanas are a super special touch! The staff at Pet Motel are always kind and flexible and have been able to squeeze us in even with short notice. The staff has been there a long time and it's always comforting to see the same friendly, helpful faces at every visit. Wouldn't go anywhere else! read more

Love these guys! They took such good care of my cat and my rottie when they were boarding. They gave my dog a bath before coming home and gave my cat a good scrub down as well. My babies were so happy when I picked them up too! read more

trigger warning: Dogs eye was injured! I took my golden there multiple times. she always looked terrified, which i didnt think was that notable because she doesn't like grooming. I told them she has anxiety about grooming and that if she seemed too stressed, I would pick her up immediately. about a year ago, I took her there and when I picked her up I was about to get her in the car and was horrified when I looked at her face. her eye was bulging out of the socket. I immediately took her to the vet right next door. they confirmed she had a significant subjunctival hemorrhage. they checked to see if she had a stroke, which she did not. I spoke to the grooming staff after leaving the vet and they were surprised to hear this. The manager called me pretty promptly, which I appreciated. she reported it was most likely that this injury was sustained after I took back my dogs leash (slip-lead). however, in speaking with approximately 6 vets and some other groomers, they all reported it is most likely my dog was strangled whilst she was being groomed. These injuries are sustained from prolonged pulling, and/or very abrupt hard pulls. They typically occur at groomers, or with dog trainers. I have no doubt that this was an honest accident. she was likely pulling too hard, trying to find safety; however, I wish the experience had played out differently. read more

My Diesel boy absolutely loves staying here. He is also so fresh smelling when he comes home to me.

They did exactly what I asked them not to do, cut my shih tzu's eyelashes off and shave his face. He looks like a bald mini poodle. When I expressed disappointment at seeing his cut there was no apology and just overall really poor customer service. I was told they would give me a call when he was done being groomed and after 5 hours of waiting I finally called to check in and they said "oh we were supposed to call you or something?" They also cut his ear to the point he was bleeding which they didn't tell me about and I didn't notice until later on when I was petting him and felt a giant blood clot. Obviously I will not be coming back. read more

Very clean lobby and boarding area (from what I got to see through the boarding room door). The staff made sure there were no dietary restrictions and allowed us to bring our dogs' blankets from home. We were charged exactly what we calculated on the website, unlike what other people have said on here. Dogs were picked up this morning and seem to be A-OK. read more

This place is horrible! I just moved here and took my pure breed shih tuz for a grooming appointment. When I went to pick her up, two women came out to tell me how aggressive my dog was as they were clipping her face. I was completely surprised as I have never been told by any other groomer that my dog exhibited these behaviors. When they brought my dog out, I could see why. They shaved her ears! They do not know what a shih tuz looks like as their ears are never shaved! They charged me 57.00. The haircut is horrible. I sent a text with the picture to my previous groomer and she was appalled that I was charged for it. She said my dog never showed any aggression during grooming. This place is bad news and I shall never step foot in the door again. My dog behaved differently for the remainder of the day. Wish I had a hidden camera on her harness to see how they treated her. If you care about your animals, stay away! read more

I am writing this review not because my Goldendoodle's haircut is not good. Rather, I am writing bc I was told on the phone that his haircut would be $80. When I arrived to pick him up, the bill was $125. When I asked about the discrepancy I was told that the $80 figure was if his coat 'was in good shape'. I don't remember that, but regardless, I think the Pet Motel / groomer should have called me to let me know that additional mat removal was going to increase my bill by 55%! I have always taken my doodle to The Dogg House ($80 flat fee) but Pet Motel was able to see him more quickly this time. I have learned my lesson and won't ever go to Pet Motel and risk outrageous surprise bills again. read more

We took our doodle to the Pet Motel for a haircut. It was such a good haircut that we followed up to ask who cut her hair (Laura). We will definitely recommend them to friends with doodles. read more

I travel for work constantly through the Charlottesville area and sometime I can't book a hotel that allows my pooch. When that happens I always take her for an overnight at the pet motel and get her groomed. They do an impeccable job and if you get your dog groomed the last day of boarding is free! The grooming is always wonderful, she smells so good and gets a bandanna (that lasts about 5 minutes) read more

One of the worst experiences I've had with pet care. I was told that if I picked my dogs up on Monday and got them groomed that I wouldn't have to pay another days charge for picking them up after 12pm. But what I didn't realize was that they close at 5 PM on Mondays and 6 PM on every other day of the week. I wasn't going to get there until 5:20 PM and therefore paid the extra money for the grooming and two more additional days. So when they called me and asked me if I was going to be there by 5 o'clock and I explain the situation and my concern, I was never offered an alternative. Nor was I offered any compensation or alternative when I was given the bill. What a rip off. I will never do business there again and I will be sure to let anybody that I know to find other means. read more

Update #2: The owner reached out to me directly today through Yelp and apologized for the encounter. Something I respect is that he didn't ask me to take this review down or update it, but rather that he would learn from the experience and work on how he treats customers when he occasionally works the front desk. There are not many places in Charlottesville to board your dog and Pet Motel and Salon did treat our dog very well when he was there so as long as the owner truly has learned from our earlier experience than I do want to continue to encourage anyone looking for a boarding place for their dog to go here. Update: We took our dog to Pet Motel and Salon for boarding a few months ago and this time the owner was at the front desk. There is a reason that the owners should not be involved with customers, he was very condescending and rude. We LOVE the lady that usually is at the counter but we had an awful experience with the owner. He doubted the amounts we fed our dog and acted as if he was better than us. If you are the owner, the entire staff is great, so let them do their jobs. We were loyal customers up until that incident, since then we have not been back, and don't plan to. Pet motel and salon is one of the few places in Charlottesville that believe that it is a basic animal right to be taken outside to go to the bathroom for no extra charge. I've taken my goldendoodle there twice so far and they will continue to get my business in the future because they treat him well and they are apparently one of the few places in Charlottesville that are in the pet boarding business for the right reasons and have good ethics. It's sad that we can't take that for granted at every pet boarding business, so I highly recommend that you continue to support this place, because I sure will. read more

We have been taking our two dogs here for boarding for almost 2 years now. One of them we also get groomed here. They do a great job with the grooming. Both dogs seem fine to go there and happy when we pick them up. Staff is super friendly and very accommodating. read more

They give good hair cuts and love dogs, but their policies are inconsistent and it's a problem. We were told a few months ago at an appointment that the groomers always drain anal glands, standard. At a later appointment they failed to drain my dog's anal glands- the only reason I get my dog professionally groomed. The lady at the desk stated that they refused to drain the glands (since the dog had already been washed) and I told them I didn't mind and just needed her anal glands drained for her health and the smell (willing to wash her myself), totally non confrontational. She still refused and seemed agitated. When I began talking with my fiancé about my frustration and what our options were, the lady snapped at me VERY rudely about how my dog (sweet as pie) can hear me and is biting the groomers because she can tell I'm upset. She scolded me like a child and as a person in customer service... I would never speak to a customer like she did. It didn't bother me, but it shook up my fiancé. One star for uncalled for rudeness, because my fiancé would not feel comfortable returning due to the bad attitude of the staff. read more

I will never bring an animal here again. Ever. I called a week in advance to ask about dropping my dog off late. The woman said 30 mins or so after closing wouldn't be an issue. As I was driving through traffic, I realized I wasn't going to make it there by closing time. I called to let them know and the woman told me that she needed $20 CASH ONLY to stay until 6:30 and $40 to stay until 7:00. I told her I asked the same question a week ago and she never mentioned a cash-only fee then. She said something about working 10 hours a day, etc. Whatever. I was out of options at this point. But I had no cash because no one mentioned this "late fee" to me earlier. I get there, hand off my dog, and everything seems fine. I apologize profusely for being late. When I go to pick him up 40 HOURS LATER, I am charged for 3 days (check the website for that little tidbit) and the $20 late fee. I bring up this injustice to the woman (a different one) at the desk and she says it's up to the discretion of the person working late if they want to charge the fee or not (which is NOT on the website). What kind of outfit does that? Fine. I pay the fee and get my dog who has literally lost his voice. I've boarded him plenty of times, and this has never happened before. He also smells like perfume for some reason. We get to the car and I give him some water in preparation for the road trip home, and he drinks 20 ounces of water immediately! We lived in Florida for 2 years and he's never had that much water in one sitting. We get home and I feed him and put lots of water in his food. He drinks it all. Eight hours later, his urine is still brown. Like Pepsi brown. Did they give him any water AT ALL? This is a horrible, awful place and I will never bring an animal here again. read more

These guys took great care of my Dachshund! They boarded her for 5 day, clipped her nails and she came out smelling like downy! It was awesome! I'm going to use them again today! read more

I'm not real sure they even wanted to my business. I called to see if there was space available and the woman that answered was rude to the point that I'm worried about how they would treat my cat. I think not! read more

I've been a very loyal customer for over five years, and I recently made a reservation for the Thanksgiving holiday. Their website states that they will charge a $50 cancellation fee if reservations are not cancelled 14 days in advance, but I didn't even make the reservation that far in advance, so that would have been impossible. I understand having a similar policy (maybe two or three days in advance would be reasonable) to prevent people from abusing their reservations or not showing up. Life happens, plans change - often at the last minute, and to not accommodate that is absurd. I'll no longer recommend Pet Motel and Salon to my friends or take my pets there again. read more

After searching several places for a groomer for our nonshedding terrier, we've found one that's stuck. Always an excellent cut with no need to ask for a specific groomer. We've never been disappointed. read more

I have two neutered male dogs, a purebred PBGV and a corgi mix. I have had both in for baths (wash, cut toenails, trim "sanitary areas", and brush out). Both love this place. As I am pulling into the parking place, both get excited about being there. The staff is friendly, the results are great, and the dogs love it. read more