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I was on a mini road trip with my dog, Kuma, and our first stop was Asheville, North Carolina. There are many pet-friendly hotels to choose from in Asheville, but I wanted to stay in downtown Asheville so that I was able to walk to all the sites I had on my list. Kimpton Hotel Arras was the best hotel in downtown Asheville for everything I needed.

My main purpose for this trip was to see my ultimate favorite band, Interpol, play at downtown Asheville’s music venue, Rabbit Rabbit. Kimpton Hotel Arras was only an 8-minute walk to the venue.

KIMPTON HOTELS

Kimpton hotels have a reputation for being contemporary and luxurious without breaking the bank. Yes, you pay a little more than your average hotel, but it’s not outrageously expensive either. Plus, if you are traveling with your pet, your pets get to stay for free no matter what size, weight, or breed.

If you love wine, then you’ll love the fact that every Kimpton hotel hosts a nightly wine social hour to help bring guests together in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. We took advantage of this social hour at the Kimpton Fitzroy London and had a wonderful time getting to know the staff and other guests.

Walking into hotel room — Kimpton Hotel Arras

Kimpton hotels also offer wellness perks to keep your health on track while you’re traveling. This includes complimentary bikes to ride around town, a yoga mat in every room, Peloton bikes, and free fitness classes at many locations.

If you need coffee or tea in the mornings as I do, Kimpton has complimentary coffee and tea in the lobby every morning. You can also request a coffee maker to be placed in your room if you would like coffee throughout the day.

Kimpton's-complimentary-Coffee — Complimentary coffee and tea in the lobby

Kimpton's list of items — Forget something? Kimpton’s got it.

Plus, if you happen to forget something, Kimpton has you covered. All you need to do is call the front desk and request an item. You can request things like cell phone chargers, humidifiers, lint rollers, deodorant, and more.

FIRST IMPRESSION

I always get nervous driving downtown in any city, but Asheville’s downtown is pretty small, so it wasn’t a problem navigating and finding the hotel.

The hotel only offers valet parking, which I am not a fan of, but it’s pretty common when staying in a hotel located downtown. The bellman told me that I also had the option of finding street parking around the hotel, but that would have been too much of a hassle with all the luggage I had along with my dog. Valet parking was $30 per night, which is pretty average.

I told the bellman, Bailey, that I would need some time to unpack and organize everything in my car before I gave them my car keys and he was very understanding and patient. He noticed Kuma sitting in the back seat and instantly asked me if it was okay to give her a treat. Of course, Kuma loved this and I was also happy that he was giving her lots of attention.

Newspapers on display with art sculpture — Free newspapers

After I got all my things in order and placed everything on the luggage cart, I was directed to the check-in desk. I was given my hotel key cards within minutes and Kuma also got a goodie bag of treats and toys.

Bailey guided me to my room on the 6th floor and showed me how the elevators worked as well since they operated a little differently. Instead of pressing the up or down button like a typical elevator, I had to scan my hotel key card on the touchpad, then input the floor, and finally, the device would display which elevator to wait for.

THE ROOM

I booked a standard room with two queen beds and was given Room 604. The room was pretty spacious and I was pleasantly surprised with the magnificent view I had of downtown Asheville with the mountains in the background. Kuma especially loved the large windows looking down at the people below walking about.

The beds were very comfortable along with the pillows. The only thing I wish I had was an extra blanket. For some reason, I was not able to adjust the temperature to what I was comfortable with. It always felt colder than what I had set the thermometer at.

Hotel room with two queen beds — Standard room with two queen beds

Crystal petting Kuma on bed — Kuma loves trendy hotels

Next to the window was a nice lounge chair with a side table. I used this chair often when I had to use my laptop or answer some messages on my phone. It was nice and relaxing while having a lovely view in front of me.

Across from the chair was a full-length mirror and next to that was a long working desk with 6 drawers. You can probably use this space to lay out your carry-on suitcase too since there was plenty of room.

View of buildings and mountains from hotel window

Near the entrance is the closet with an iron, ironing board, umbrella, robe, yoga mat, digital safe, cups, ice box, small refrigerator, and extra storage.

The bathroom was very spacious with a trendy barn door. The mirror had nice lighting and there was plenty of counter space at the sink.

The toilet was to the left and on the other side was the standup shower stall. The shower was perfect the first night I used it with great pressure and temperature, but the last day I used it, the water was lukewarm. That was a little annoying since I love to take really hot showers.

AMENITIES + BAR + RESTAURANT

Along with the usual Kimpton perks, this hotel also offers these amenities as well:

Complimentary WiFi - I used WiFi a handful of times and it worked really well.

Fitness Center - An amazing spacious gym that’s fully equipped with two Peloton Bikes.

Urban Exhale Massage Spa - Five-star massage treatments.

On-Demand Family Fridge Program - Helps guests safely store breast milk.

District 42 - This bar is gorgeous and also lively at night.

Bargello - Restaurant with seasonal and locally sourced dishes from Executive Chef Tyler Slade.

Kimpton Hotel Arras Fitness Center with Peloton bikes — Kimpton Hotel Arras Fitness Center

PET-FRIENDLINESS

Pets are treated extra special here and every pet guest receives a goodie bag of treats, waste bags, and a toy. We especially loved the Brew-Yahs! from Asheville’s local pet store.

As mentioned earlier, all pets stay for free no matter what breed or size. This is a deal-breaker for a lot of owners that travel with their pets because most hotels will charge a fee and also have a size limit. In fact, any number of pets are welcome as long as they fit through the door.

Bag with dog treats and toy — Free doggie goodie bag from Patton Avenue Company

If you forgot to bring pet bowls or a dog bed, Kimpton will happily lend you one and bring it up to your room. I asked for a large dog bed and Kuma loved the oversized bed.

This hotel also provides complimentary access to Wag! Premium during your stay (including 10% off all services booked, waived booking fees, and 24/7 access to licensed veterinary professionals). Wag! connects pet parents with professional pet caregivers for pet walking, boarding, or sitting.

If you booked a walk with Wag!, and arranged a dog walk while staying at this hotel, you can just leave a key with the front desk for the dog walker.

Kuma laying on large dog bed — Kimpton provided this cute bed for Kuma

Kuma relaxing on the hotel bed — Kuma enjoying the hotel life

And of course, she received lots of attention and treats from the staff.

The only thing I had trouble with was finding a good spot for Kuma to relieve herself. There aren’t very many grassy patches around downtown Asheville, so we had to walk a couple of blocks to find a good spot for her.

LOCATION

The location is fantastic as you are right in the heart of downtown Asheville and within walking distance of numerous restaurants, cafes, shops, and breweries. Some places to note that were right around the corner from the hotel were Farm Burger (grass-fed burgers), Kress Emporium (handcrafted items by local artists), Old Europe (coffee and pastries), and Hazel Twenty (boutique clothing store).

Shopping at Hazel Twenty — Shopping with Kuma at Hazel Twenty

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I loved my stay here with Kuma. We were both treated well and Kuma loved all the attention and treats she was getting all the way up to the end when we picked up the car from valet service.

Special thanks to Bailey for being so personable and helpful. Upon checkout, he also told me that my favorite band, Interpol, was actually staying at the same hotel! Not that I ran into any of the band members, but I thought it was just cool to know.