Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile
30 North 300 West
Kanab, UT
Purpose-built for the animal in the room, five miles from the largest no-kill sanctuary in the country.
About Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile
The Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile is the lodging arm of Best Friends Animal Society, the organization behind the largest no-kill companion-animal sanctuary in the country, a few miles north in Angel Canyon. Where most motels tolerate pets, the Roadhouse was designed around them from the studs out. Furniture sits raised off the floor so nothing can crawl underneath and get stuck, every room has a double-door entry so an excited dog cannot bolt past the exterior door, and bath products are cruelty-free. It opened in 2019 in downtown Kanab, a two-story property of forty rooms with a Mercantile shop off the lobby, and it exists for a specific traveler: the one who plans a trip around an animal, whether their own or one they are about to meet.
What Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile Is Known For
There is no other motel in the country designed this thoroughly around the animal rather than the person. The raised furniture, the double-door airlocks, the in-frame pet beds, the splash-pad dog parks, the wash stations, and the sleepover program are not amenities bolted onto a standard motel. They are the reason the building exists. That every dollar spent here flows back to the sanctuary up the canyon is the kind of thing a traveler feels good about long after checkout.
Amenities
- Pets Welcome
- EV Charging
- WiFi
- Pull-out pet beds built into the bed frame
- Double-door pet airlock at every room
- Two fenced dog parks with splash pads
- Dog-washing stations with shampoo and towels
- Adoptable animal sleepover program
- Two free sanctuary cafe lunch tickets per room
- Tesla charging
- Mercantile shop supporting the sanctuary
What Guests Love
- The adoptable-animal sleepover program lets you host a shelter dog or cat overnight and return it more adoptable, an experience no ordinary motel can offer.
- Rooms are engineered for animals: an in-frame pull-out pet bed, floor-level water fountains, and a double-door airlock so nothing slips out the exterior door.
- Two complimentary tickets to the sanctuary's Angel Village Cafe plant-based buffet come with every room.
- Two fenced dog parks with splash pads and full dog-washing stations sit right on the property.
- Every dollar spent, from the room to the Mercantile, supports the no-kill sanctuary a few miles up the canyon.
Worth Knowing
- The free guided sanctuary tour departs from the Roadhouse itself. Reserve a spot ahead in busy season, as seating is limited.
- To arrange an adoptable-animal sleepover, contact the sanctuary in advance rather than assuming one will be available on arrival.
- Tesla charging is on site but the desk needs to grant access, so mention it at check-in.
- Kanab is a popular base for Zion and the Grand Staircase in spring and fall. Book several weeks ahead for peak-season weekends.
- The complimentary cafe tickets are for lunch at the sanctuary, not an on-site breakfast, so plan the day around a midday visit up the canyon.
The Room
Each room is built to make an animal comfortable rather than merely permitted. A padded pull-out pet bed tucks into the base of the bed frame, low water fountains sit at floor level, and small nooks in the nightstands give a cat or small dog a place to hide. The double-door entry acts as an airlock, so you can open the room without a leashed sprint for freedom. Beds are dressed in quality linens, the bath products are cruelty-free, and guests consistently note how spotless the rooms stay despite being fully animal-friendly. Nothing about the room asks the animal to behave like a guest in a place that was not built for it.
The Grounds
Out back are two fenced dog parks with splash pads for hot afternoons, plus dog-washing stations stocked with shampoo and towels for the end of a dusty canyon day. A long exterior mural runs the rear of the building, painting adoptable sanctuary animals, pigs, horses, cats, dogs, hummingbirds, into the red-rock landscape. Parking is on site and free, with Tesla charging available at the desk. The Mercantile off the lobby sells travel gear, pet supplies, and Best Friends merchandise, with proceeds supporting the sanctuary. Downtown Kanab and its restaurants are a short walk in every direction.
The Experience
The reason to stay here is the sleepover. Guests can arrange to bring an adoptable dog or cat down from the sanctuary for the night, giving the animal a break from the shelter and a real read on how it does in a home, then return it in the morning a little more ready for adoption. Even without a sleepover, staying here puts you inside the Best Friends orbit: two complimentary tickets to the plant-based buffet at the sanctuary's Angel Village Cafe come with the room, and the guided sanctuary tour departs from the Roadhouse itself. It is the rare motel where the point of the visit is not the room.
Details
Kanab, UT 84741
The Boutel designation is earned, not purchased. Boutels is editorially independent and has no financial relationship with any listed property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile serve breakfast?
No, Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile does not serve breakfast.
Does Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile have WiFi?
Yes, Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile has WiFi.
What is there to do near Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile?
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary: 5 miles, about a 10 minute drive, or you can bike there. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park: 12 miles, about a 25 minute drive. Zion National Park: 40 miles, about a 80 minute drive.
How far is Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary?
5 miles, about a 10 minute drive, or you can bike there.
How far is Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park?
12 miles, about a 25 minute drive.
How far is Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile from Zion National Park?
40 miles, about a 80 minute drive.
Is Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile pet friendly?
Yes, thoroughly. The Best Friends Roadhouse was built around animals, with a pull-out pet bed inside the bed frame, floor-level water fountains, a double-door airlock at every room, two fenced dog parks with splash pads, and on-site dog-washing stations. There are no pet fees.
What is the animal sleepover program at Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile?
Guests can arrange to bring an adoptable dog or cat down from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for the night. The animal gets a break from the shelter and a trial run in a home setting, and you return it in the morning. Contact the sanctuary in advance to set one up.
How far is Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary?
The sanctuary is about 5 miles north of the Roadhouse in Angel Canyon, roughly a 10-minute drive. The free guided tour departs from the Roadhouse itself.
Does Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile have EV charging?
Yes. Tesla charging is available on site. Access is granted at the front desk, so ask when you check in.
Does Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile have a pool?
No, there is no pool. The property has two fenced dog parks with splash pads instead, along with dog-washing stations.
How far is Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile from Zion National Park?
Zion's east entrance is about 40 miles from the Roadhouse, roughly a 50-minute drive through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel.
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Things to Do Near Kanab and the canyon country
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
5 miles, about a 10 minute drive, or you can bike there.
5 miles, about a 10-minute drive. The largest no-kill companion-animal sanctuary in the country sits in Angel Canyon just north of town, caring for roughly 1,600 dogs, cats, horses, pigs, birds, and rabbits on any given day. The free guided tour departs from the Roadhouse, and the on-site Angel Village Cafe serves a plant-based lunch buffet.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
12 miles, about a 25 minute drive.
12 miles, about a 20-minute drive. A field of active coral-pink dunes reaching fifty feet high, the color coming from eroding Navajo Sandstone. There are separate areas for off-highway vehicles and for walking or sandboarding, and leashed dogs are welcome in the non-OHV section.
Zion National Park
40 miles, about a 80 minute drive.
40 miles, about a 50-minute drive. The east entrance road climbs through slickrock and switchbacks into the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, one of the most dramatic park approaches in the country. Kanab is a quieter, less expensive base than Springdale for exploring the canyon.