You could leave the pooch or kitty with a sitter, or board your four-legged buddy in a kennel. But a few places around the country now call themselves hotels for pets, and they offer more luxurious alternatives to traditional pet-boarding facilities, including “private suites” or small rooms instead of cages.

What do you do with Fido or Fluffy if they don’t get to travel with you?

* Paradise 4 Paws is one such self-described “pet hotel.” It opened in May in Schiller Park, near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, and offers its guests a large indoor grass play area, a splash pool, and Webcam access so you can check on your pet while you’re away. For cats, there is plenty of opportunity for climbing in the cat adventure jungle.
Unlike most kennels, which are usually open business hours, Paradise 4 Paws also offers pick-up and drop-off service 24 hours a day.

* The Animal Humane Society plans an upscale boarding facility, Now Boarding, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport to open in late fall, complete with spa, play areas, therapy pool and a grooming area. You’ll be able to drop off your pet (dogs, cats and other small animals), park your car and get a shuttle to the airport.

* Other pet hotels located near airports include Pet Paradise Resorts, with branches near airports in New Orleans, Houston, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla.

* Airpet Hotel near airports in Portland, Ore., and Seattle-Tacoma

* Stay Pet Hotel, described as a “boutique hotel for dogs,” also near Portland International

* The Dog Mahall & Cats 2, near the airport in Orlando

* And in St. Louis, the number of pet-friendly hotels is quite limited. If there are more, I’d like to know.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.