The Parador Inn (Pittsburgh)

When BF and I settled on Pittsburgh, we also discussed bringing my dog with us.  After that was settled, I set out to find a dog-friendly B&B (BF and I try to stay at bed & breakfasts, small/owner operated, help out small business and they’re usually a lot more fun, if more expensive).  A quick Google search turned up a few that looked interesting, but putting in our dates knocked out a few… then I came across The Parador Inn. 

Though the site said nothing about being pet-friendly, I’d found it by searching ‘pet friendly bed breakfast Pittsburgh’ so I quickly emailed the innkeeper (and owner).  He responded promptly that he doesn’t advertise as pet friendly, preferring people to check with him first (as NO, NOT ALL pets are welcome, and I don’t blame him one bit – please leave your untrained puppy or your giant bull mastiff at home when you come visit me!), and Keywee was welcome (I described her in my initial email to him).  At $150 a night, we were set – by the way, $150 a night for a bed & breakfast is ridiculously cheap.  I seem to always find gorgeous places that are $250+ a night, and our favorite (now closed/retired) place was closer to $550 a night.  $150 is a complete steal…! 

For breakfast, the site stated ‘full American breakfast’ which amused me because I always hear ‘continental breakfast’ – well, this meant every morning that we wanted, between the hours of 8 and 10, we could go downstairs and Ed, the owner, would whip up something yummy for us to eat.  Always bacon, homemade bread (we had orange cranberry bread and another type that I didn’t try because I was really full, with apricot preserves), a yogurt parfait, and the first morning, fluffy banana pancakes (he told me the secret to these when I confessed my pancakes suck, but I swore not to tell anyone under penalty of death! sorry!). 

The next morning we had breakfast there (we skipped a morning to have brunch at DeLuca’s), a strawberry + yogurt parfait awaited us. 

And French toast!  BF loves French toast! 

My one teensy complaint would be that the yogurt parfaits are adorable and a nice touch, but pre-making them lets the granola get soggy.  I’ve only recently discovered the joys of putting crunchy things in my yogurt (yes, me, the texture fiend, never thought of it before), but either a ‘yogurt bar’ set up where people can make their own, or perhaps putting them together while we eat our main courses, would keep the granola fresher longer (and less waste; BF didn’t eat his, so I don’t know what happened to those – at least if they were kept as separate components, it wouldn’t necessitate being thrown away). 

The food was all lovely and yummy, and I found out “full American breakfast” means always having bacon 😉 but even aside from the food…

We chose the Lady Palm suite, which was at the top of the stairs by itself and clocked in at a whopping 869 sq. ft.  That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the suite was larger than my entire apartment, another reason the extremely reasonable prices sat well with me. 

But the best part of everything?  The other guests were extremely friendly, chatting with us over breakfast and talking about what to do each morning, while Ed was extremely accomodating and friendly, really nice, helping us figure out some things and suggestions as well.  He also had membership at the nearby YMCA so I was able to run (on a treadmill) while there as well! 

I really enjoyed my time at the Parador Inn, and can definitely see myself returning.  In fact, I will probably stay there everytime I go to Pittsburgh – it was conveniently located, had its own parking lot, and there just isn’t any reason to stay elsewhere for more money with less friendliness and less amenities…

highly recommended