These luxury retreats cater to our furry friends
Properties welcome pooches, offering safety amenities, spa service and tea time
To dodge the hefty doggie-daycare bill (or avoid asking your friendly neighbour for another favour), consider bringing your pets the next time you travel. With more hotels catering to four-legged VIPs — very important pets — it’s increasingly common to find complimentary perks and exclusive activities designed to delight furry family members.
From gourmet meals to grooming, here are places that ensure Spot will have just as good a time as you: Tea time The Egerton House Hotel, a luxurious five-star hotel in the heart of London’s Knightsbridge area, serves an upscale doggy afternoon tea experience in its drawing room. The tea service features a selection of canine-friendly treats, including chicken and beef meat loaf, homemade biscuits, ice cream and a special chew toy to take home. Overseen by a pet concierge, the doggy afternoon tea joins other amenities available to furry guests, including a personalized pet welcome, turndown treats, embroidered pet towels and dogwalking services. Philanthropic paws Treat your dog to a special spa service with a stay at the Betsy Hotel South Beach in Miami, Fla., where staff welcome pooches with open arms. A portion of guests’ overnight fee is donated to support local dog shelters and the hotel’s charitable efforts in Zimbabwe through the SPCA. The hotel has also partnered with Miami-Dade Animal Services to host the HOPE Express, a monthly event where locals and visitors can meet shelter dogs and cats in hopes of finding them a forever home. Safety first In partnership with Fido Friendly magazine, Provenance Hotels offers pet-safety amenities across its properties, including sustainably produced beds and plush toys from West Paw Design, do-not-disturb door hangers for pets left alone and custom tags featuring the hotel’s information to ensure the return of a lost pet. Guests can also order from a gourmet room-service menu designed by the Honest Kitchen, which produces human-grade dehydrated food from real fruits, veggies and lean meats. Pooch pampering Furry friends staying at the RitzCarlton Golf Resort in Naples, Fla., receive a welcome gift that includes bottled water, an organic treat, an oversized pet bed and food and water dishes. The pampering continues with a special in-room dining menu designed by the resort’s culinary team, featuring delicacies such as chicken paw pie, bull-neck burgers and Irish oatmeal with bananas and red delicious apples. Selections start from $10 and are also available to order at the hotel’s poolside grill. Tasty treats The Gansevoort Meatpacking and Gansevoort Park Avenue hotels in New York offer guests a fashionable pet-amenity program that has been developed in partnership with artisanal dog patisserie Lord Jameson. The program is $125 (U.S.) per dog and includes a stylish dog bed, chew toy, collar tag and food and water bowls. When checking out, a 225gram package of Lord Jameson’s finest organic, gluten-free treats is presented as a parting gift. Denise Dias is a Toronto writer.