The two hardest parts about being avid explorers in Montana are leaving our two cats at a kennel if we are gone for more than a day, and driving crazy long distances without staying overnight somewhere. I love exploring, but long drives can get tiring, and it breaks my heart to leave our cats at a kennel, knowing that they will be miserable in a small box, since we don’t have anyone who could pet sit for us and accommodations often don’t allow pets, especially cats.
Enter the Andrus Hotel, a purrfect historic boutique hotel in Dillon, Montana, that is pet-friendly and doesn’t discriminate against cats!
Note: this is an honest review in exchange for a comped stay at the hotel. Read my Affiliate Disclosure and Marketing Philosophy statement here.
The Andrus Hotel in Dillon, Montana, is charming and luxurious, unlike what you’d expect out of a town the size of Dillon. In fact, this is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at–and I have stayed at a nice selection of hotels due to growing up in Hawai’i and due to various work trips at my last job!
The hotel was originally opened in 1917 and since then has been renovated into an amazing place to stay. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. As of writing this blog post, the Andrus Hotel is also a 2022 Nominee Finalist for the Historic Hotels of America 2022 Awards of Excellence.
Home Sweet Home
The Andrus Hotel in Dillon, Montana, is one of the cleanest hotels I have ever stayed at, one of the few hotels where I didn’t automatically rip the comforter off the bed. And those who know me or have followed me a while know how picky I am, so this is pretty high praise!
In fact, the Andrus Hotel prides itself on being one of the cleanest hotels in the USA. Despite allowing pets, I didn’t see evidence of their past furry guests in our room. The hotel manager explained that they clean the room top to bottom, use lint rollers, and have a special pet vacuum. The duvets and everything are washed, unlike other hotels. The in-room guide book also referred to the fact the hotel’s owner is a doctor, who has extremely high standards for cleanliness. The hotel takes our health and safety more seriously than most hotels I’ve seen.
I loved that the Andrus Hotel has hardwood floors. Not only does it make cleaning easier for staff (I assume), it is also pet-friendly (easy to clean when your pet spills their water bowl!) and so much nicer than the lousy ancient carpets that hotels usually have. You can easily see how clean it is versus guessing when was the last time a hotel’s carpet was shampooed.
The Andrus Hotel in Dillon, Montana has a great location, within walking distance to several shops, bars, a dollar store, coffee shops, and restaurants. Check out my blog post on “11 Things to Do in Dillon, Montana, for a Fun Vacation or Staycation” to get a sense of the many things you can do in Dillon. In addition, Dillion is a great location for several scenic drives and adventures. We had one day of packed adventure, where we hit up Bannack State Park, the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway, Crystal Park, Coolidge Ghost Town, and the Big Hole Valley!
The Patagonia Suite
The Andrus Hotel boasts 12 suites at the pent-house level, all of which have fully-equipped kitchens. There are two two-bedroom suites, nine one-bedroom suites, and one studio suite. Our room was known as “The Patagonia Suite.” The Patagonia Suite had a nice corner view with mountains and the town right outside our windows. There was a living area, a kitchen, a bathroom, two closets, and a bedroom.
To me, the Andrus Hotel is like staying at a nice Airbnb but without the stress of all the arbitrary rules and fees that Airbnb hosts often enforce. The suite’s kitchen had cutlery, a cutting board, a wine bottle opener, serving utensils, a small selection of pans, a dish rack, plates, bowls, cups, a coffee maker with K-Pods, a stove, a microwave, and a full refrigerator.
This is great for budget-conscious guests who want to pay for a nice room but might want to cut costs in other areas. My favorite hack to save a little money is to make homemade breakfast sandwiches that we can pack for our trips and eat for breakfast before going out to explore for the day. It was lovely having a full-size fridge to store our drinks, food we packed, and restaurant leftovers.
The decor was clean and modern, with some historical elements remaining, like the classic shower/bathtub. There was an insanely cool cast iron tub, sink, and glass towel bar that were in our bedroom and original to the Andrus Hotel. Both the living room and the bedroom had TVs, which were smart TVs with both cable and access to common streaming platforms–meaning we were able to watch our current shows!
Other thoughtful touches included a laundry bag, a laundry hamper, and mirrors. There is both A/C and heating in the room.
Feline Fine on Caturday and the Rest of the Week
This was our cats’ first time at a hotel, and both of them loved the hotel. I’m pretty sure Anakin wanted to be the hotel’s next Pharoah (more on that in a bit). He loved sitting on the window sills to watch the town and birds, and had fun exploring every nook and cranny of the room. Kenobi was a bit nervous for several hours, as he is our nervous wreck of a cat, but after I gave him some treats, he was happy and started having a blast rolling around on the bed.
I have to admit, it was wonderful having the cats there to welcome us back after dinner or a drive, and to cuddle with them. It just made the trip so much better not to have to worry about if the cats were doing okay at a kennel and feeling guilty that we were having fun while they were in kitty prison. It was stressful as well, given I was terrified the cats would cause a mess or damage the room, but the pros of having the cats far exceeded the cons. When we packed up to leave, Anakin plaintively mewed and was inconsolable for a couple of hours.
The Rest of the Andrus Hotel
The hotel feels both historical and modern, which again, I love, since I want to stay somewhere clean and comfortable, and I love history. The decor is unique, with lots of murals sharing information about the hotel’s history. The elevator has a giant mural of King Pharaoh, a huge, 190-pound Great Dane who was supposedly the hotel’s first bellhop and would help customers carry their luggage up from the train station.There also are a couple of bullet holes above the elevator from a robbery that happened decades ago.
The Andrus has a rooftop patio with chairs that is great for viewing sunrise and sunset. It was chilly in October, but we made sure to check out both a sunrise and a sunset during our stay. The hotel guest book also noted you can arrange private catered events or astronomy from the rooftop.
The hotel lobby is open, airy, spacious, and chic, with a fake fireplace, snazzy furniture, and cool light fixtures. It is accessible 24/7 with a key card, even during the hours the front desk isn’t staffed. Another benefit guests have is 30 minutes of free archery lessons at Badger Archery, which is also a 24/7 practice range. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to check out this perk, but would have loved to channel my inner Legolas and do some archery.
At the Andrus Hotel, you can rent bicycles if you fancy a bike ride around town. Guests also have access to a free and private 24/7 basement gym. It was very clean with useful exercise machines, yoga mats, weights, a bathroom, a shower, and some lockers.
The Andrus Hotel offers so many options and amenities that it is hard to provide a comprehensive list, including options for airport pickup (for a fee) or shopping (for a fee). The Andrus is very focused on customer service, so all you have to do is call and ask about what you want to see if they can make it happen.
They even have a nice Board Room if you want to have a work meeting there that can accommodate 10-15 guests! It is also possible to lease out the entire hotel’s 12 suites for a private event, or rent the rooftop, so if you’re a bride looking to wow your guests, definitely check out this venue.
There is a laundry room with coin-operated laundry machines and bags of ice. Again, this is super helpful since you can pack light and do laundry if you so wish during your stay. I often prioritize staying at places with laundry machines, so this is definitely a huge plus for guests!
The Yellowstone Suite
One room I briefly got to tour was the Yellowstone Suite. I’ve included some pictures since it was a stunning space and even more impressive than our room. It would be PERFECT for a honeymoon, romantic getaway, a fun girls’ weekend, a family, or a getaway for two couples traveling together. While the Yellowstone Suite tries not to have pets in it, there is a suite that mirrors it, the Carnegie Library Suite, that is pet-friendly as well.
(To explain, the Andrus Hotel is trying to be mindful of people with allergies and is trying to limit pets to certain rooms to aid in this effort–but they also won’t turn a guest and pet away if there is only one room left, even if it is one they are trying to minimize the amount of pet stays in).
The Andrus Hotel: A Bucket List Location for Your Montana Adventure
If you’re planning a trip to Montana, or looking for a romantic staycation, and especially if you want to bring your furbabies, then The Andrus Hotel should definitely be on your Montana Bucket list! The rooms are comfortable, clean, and impressive, and customer service is great. The hotel has everything you need for a comfortable stay, is located in a cute town with history all around, and has epic adventures as close as 30 minutes away or as far hours away.
Location: 33 S Idaho St, Dillon, MT 59725
Phone: (406) 925-5024
Website: https://www.andrushotel.com/
