Pet-Friendly Hotels in Boston: 34 Hotels, Their Fees, Weight Limits and Rules

"Pet friendly" hides very different rules in Boston. One hotel charges $50 per pet, once; another $100 per pet, every night. One takes dogs of any size, the one around the corner stops at 20 pounds. Some put a bed and a bowl in the room, some ask for a signed waiver, and several keep dogs out of their restaurants and gyms.

We read the pet policies of Boston hotels on their official pages and kept the thirty-four that accept pets and publish at least part of their rules. For each one: which animals, how many, the weight limit, the fee and what comes with it. Then the places nearby where a dog can run off the leash. Last verified: October 17, 2026.

Quick answers

• Lowest clearly stated fee: Fairmont Copley Plaza, $50 per pet, once, for dogs of any size. It also has a resident hotel dog, a black Labrador named Cori. The W Boston also lists $50, without saying how it applies.
• Big dogs: Fairmont Copley Plaza, XV Beacon, The Eliot and Raffles Boston explicitly accept pets of any size; the AC Hotel Boston Downtown goes up to 80 lb.
• Cats too: Mandarin Oriental, The Colonnade, the W Boston, Omni Parker House and the Omni Seaport say so explicitly.
• Most expensive for a three-night stay: Boston Harbor Hotel, at $100 per pet per night, then the Ritz-Carlton at $250 per stay.
• No pets: Boston Marriott Long Wharf and citizenM North Station, except service animals.

What a dog costs, hotel by hotel

Hotels charge in three ways: once per pet, once per stay, or per night. Courtyard Boston Downtown combines both, $100 per stay plus $20 a night. To compare them, the chart applies each published fee to the same trip, one dog for three nights, before tax. Among the twenty-seven hotels in this guide with an unambiguous fee, the median is $125. The order changes with the length of the stay: the five Marriott-brand hotels that charge $50 a night overtake the $150-per-stay hotels from the fourth night on.

Three hotels publish an amount without saying how it applies: XV Beacon ($85), Hotel Commonwealth ($150) and the W Boston ($50, nonrefundable). Staypineapple, outside this comparison, charges a daily pet fee without publishing the amount. The Eliot, the Revere, The Colonnade and Mandarin Oriental accept pets without publishing a fee; ask when you book.

The pet policy finder

"Not stated" means the hotel's official page does not give the information. The fee links to the hotel's official policy. Numbers match the map below.

Note: The Envoy's own FAQ describes its $100 fee as per pet and one-time, while the Marriott listing says per room, per stay. Ask which applies to your booking.

Tap the map to open it full size. Gold pins: dogs of any size. Green pins: a weight limit between 40 and 80 lb. White pins: 25 lb or less. Blue pins: no limit published, or conflicting information.

For a big dog

Four hotels explicitly accept pets of any size. Fairmont Copley Plaza takes "pets of all sizes", up to two, for $50 each, with a signed waiver at check-in. Its optional Furiend package, booked at least eight days ahead, adds a bed, a water bowl, biscuits from a local bakery, a guide to dog-friendly Boston and a meeting with Cori, the hotel's canine ambassador; dogs are also welcome on the OAK Long Bar patio (our profile). XV Beacon takes "any size well-behaved dog", keeps its higher floors dog-free for allergic guests, arranges dog sitting through the concierge and gives half of its $85 fee to a local animal organization. The Eliot states no size limit and offers a Puppy Love package (our profile). Raffles Boston welcomes "pet companions of every size" for $150 per stay.

Among hotels with a numeric limit, the AC Hotel Boston Downtown, in the South End, is the most generous: two pets up to 80 lb each, for $100 per stay. The Ritz-Carlton and Element Seaport accept up to 60 lb. For two dogs, read the combined limits: 75 lb in total at the Hyatt Regency Boston, and 50 lb each but 75 lb in total at Hyatt Place Seaport.

For a small dog, or a cat

Four hotels limit pets to 25 lb or less: The Lenox (20 lb, $125 per stay), Seaport Hotel (under 25 lb, $100 once, with a bed, bowls, toys and treats), the InterContinental (one dog up to 25 lb, $150 per stay, with paid walking and sitting) and Omni Parker House (two pets up to 25 lb, $125 per room, per stay). The Omni Seaport's pages disagree, one saying "medium size" and another under 25 lb; confirm before booking with a larger dog. See our Lenox profile and our Seaport Hotel profile.

For cats, five hotels say so in writing. The W Boston accepts one dog or cat up to 40 lb, and Omni Parker House two dogs or cats up to 25 lb. Mandarin Oriental accepts dogs and cats and asks you to contact the hotel before arrival (our profile). The Colonnade welcomes cats and dogs in select rooms, with a bed, a bowl and three brands of dog and cat food included in its daily facilities fee (our profile). The Omni Seaport accepts one dog or cat for $125 per room, per stay.

Small hotels that take dogs

For a boutique stay with a dog, two of the small hotels in our guide to Boston's boutique hotels are in the finder above: XV Beacon (61 rooms) and The Eliot (95 rooms), both taking dogs of any size. Two more accept dogs but publish too little to be compared, so they are not in the finder or on the map: The Boxer, near North Station, describes itself as pet-friendly without publishing its terms, and Staypineapple's South End hotel welcomes dogs with a bed, treats and a bowl to keep, against a daily fee whose amount is not published. Ask both for the details before booking.

Cori, the hotel dog

Fairmont Copley Plaza has kept a canine ambassador in its lobby for years. The current one, Cori Copley, is a black Labrador who greets guests and can be met by booking the Furiend package, subject to availability; the package also donates $10 a night to the Guide Dog Foundation and runs for stays through December 31, 2026. In July 2026, the hotel was named the best pet-friendly hotel in the country in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards.

The rules that catch people out

• Leaving the dog alone. Several hotels explicitly forbid it: Fairmont Copley Plaza, XV Beacon, The Langham, the Ritz-Carlton, Seaport Hotel and the InterContinental all say pets cannot be left unattended. The Eliot and The Newbury Boston allow a short absence if the dog is crated and the front desk knows.
• Public spaces. The Langham keeps dogs out of its restaurants, Club Lounge, gym and pool; Seaport Hotel out of its restaurants and gym; The Newbury Boston allows dogs in rooms and the lobby only.
• Housekeeping. The Omni Seaport asks for pets to be in a carrier when staff enter, and Hyatt Place requires the room to be serviced at least every three days.
• Allergy floors. XV Beacon and The Newbury Boston keep pet-free floors, and Boston Harbor Hotel keeps its 15th floor pet-free.
• Paperwork. Fairmont Copley Plaza and Westin Copley Place ask for a signed waiver, Hotel Commonwealth for a pet agreement, XV Beacon for the dog's name, age and breed in advance.

Where to walk your dog

Boston's rule is simple: dogs are welcome in city parks on a leash of up to 8 feet, but not in playgrounds, tot lots or ball fields. The off-leash options near the hotels above:

• Boston Common. A designated off-leash area, managed by the Common Canine program of the Friends of the Public Garden, rotates between lawn sections and is open from 6 am to 11 pm, except during events. Look for the sandwich boards. Dogs must be licensed, vaccinated and wearing an ID tag, leashed on the way in and out, with a maximum of three per adult, and you must carry a leash. Most Back Bay, Beacon Hill and downtown hotels are within a short walk.
• Peters Park, South End. A fenced city dog run at 230 Shawmut Avenue, about a kilometer from Copley Square.
• DeFilippo Playground, North End. A city off-leash area at 135 Prince Street.
• A Street Park, South Boston. A city dog park at 135 to 141 A Street, the closest to the Seaport and Fort Point hotels.
• Carlton Court Dog Park. On the Southwest Corridor near Carleton Street, between the South End and Back Bay, the only Boston off-leash site listed by the state parks agency.

The Public Garden and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall are leash-only, and on the Esplanade along the Charles River, a state park, the leash can be up to 10 feet.

Five checks before booking with a pet

1. How the fee is counted. Per pet, per room, per stay or per night: for one dog and three nights, the fees in this guide run from $50 at Fairmont Copley Plaza to $300 at Boston Harbor Hotel.
2. The weight limit, and whether it is per dog or combined, as at the Hyatt Regency.
3. Whether you can leave the dog during dinner or a museum visit, or need a sitter.
4. Book the pet in advance. Several hotels limit the number of pet rooms or floors.
5. The total. Taxes may apply to pet fees, which come on top of parking and daily fees; see what a night in Boston really costs.

How we built this guide

• Selection. Hotels in central Boston, plus one on the Charlestown waterfront, whose official pages describe a pet policy in October 2026. It is a researched selection, not a census of every hotel.
• Sources. Animals, numbers, weight limits, fees and amenities come from each hotel's or brand's official website, read on October 17, 2026; dog park rules from the City of Boston, the Friends of the Public Garden and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The USA Today award is as reported by Boston.com.
• Not included. We could not confirm a current pet policy on the official pages of the two Four Seasons hotels, The Whitney, The Verb and a few others; they may accept pets, so ask them directly. No hotel paid to be included.

Frequently asked questions

Which Boston hotels allow large dogs?

Fairmont Copley Plaza, XV Beacon, The Eliot and Raffles Boston explicitly accept pets of any size. The AC Hotel Boston Downtown allows up to 80 lb, and the Ritz-Carlton and Element Seaport up to 60 lb.

What is the cheapest pet-friendly hotel fee in Boston?

Among the hotels we checked, Fairmont Copley Plaza's $50 per pet, charged once, is the lowest clearly stated fee. The W Boston also lists $50 without saying how it applies, and many hotels in the guide come to $100 for a three-night stay.

Which Boston hotels accept cats?

Mandarin Oriental, The Colonnade, the W Boston, Omni Parker House and the Omni Seaport explicitly accept cats. Many others write "pets" without specifying; ask before booking.

Can I leave my dog alone in a Boston hotel room?

Often not. Several hotels, including Fairmont Copley Plaza, The Langham and the Ritz-Carlton, say pets cannot be left unattended. The Eliot and The Newbury Boston allow a short absence if the dog is crated and the front desk is told.

Where can dogs go off-leash in downtown Boston?

In the designated off-leash area of Boston Common, from 6 am to 11 pm, and in the city dog areas at Peters Park in the South End, DeFilippo Playground in the North End and A Street Park in South Boston.