The Best Friends: Roadhouse and Mercantile project, designed by WOW atelier, is a 1970s hospitality project that was turned into what some may call the best motel ever. Situated just outside the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, this project is built around pets and their needs, transforming what used to be a dull sea of asphalt into what might just be the world’s most pet-friendly motel.
At the centre of this transformation is the “HUB”, a versatile new building that acts as the heart of the place. By day, it’s a mix of retail space and cosy lounging spots where people and pets can relax. By night, it turns into a restaurant, bar, or event space, perfect for a variety of activities. Gregory Walker and Chimso Onwuegbu, the lead designers, didn’t go for store-bought furniture, having designed and built their very own movable storage pieces and transformable walls to make sure everything serves more than one purpose, making the space incredibly flexible.
The guest rooms are designed with a lot of thought for pet comfort and convenience, being called the most pet-friendly rooms in the world. They feature innovative elements like Pet Murphy beds that fold out of the wall, giving pets a place to sleep as luxurious as that of their loved ones. The front doors are also specially designed to let in fresh air and provide visibility without risking the pets wandering off, allowing them to enjoy the very important task of sightseeing safely.
Every detail in these rooms works hard to cater to both human and animal guests, with features like easy-to-clean surfaces and clever storage solutions that maximise space while keeping things comfortable. The design philosophy behind the Roadhouse and Mercantile emphasises that creating a truly pet-friendly environment requires more than simply accommodating pets—one needs to take into account their unique needs in the design to create a space where pets and their owners can genuinely feel at home.
Photo Credits: Skylar Nielsen
