When you are considering a kennel or "dog hotel" for your dogs when you go out of town what do you look for?

Our dogs really seem to like the place we use. Everything is open so you can see where our dogs will be staying and so the dogs have plenty of stimulation. Each run has a dog house in it, a large water bowl, a concrete floor, and a partial roof to provide shade. During weather extremes they get to go into the main house where they go into their own crates from home.

Whenever we turn to the right out of the neighborhood the dogs get very excited because they know that is the way to the kennel, so apparently they like it. Besides going left means we are going to the vet and I know the dogs don’t like that.

What do you feel a kennel should definitely have? What should a kennel NOT have? How do you judge the attitude of the staff? What do you look for that makes you feel it is a good place for the dogs to stay? What are red flag warnings that steer you away from a prospective kennel?