Animal lover:
“I run a luxury hotel – for dogs!”
While most exclusive hoteliers keep guests happy with room service and fine dining, hotel owner Rebecca Linnell’s discerning clients require active walks, games of fetch and tummy rubs.
Unlike other hotels, The Country Dog Hotel – which Rebecca runs with her partner, Mike, 32 – only accepts canines, with strictly no humans.
Rebecca says, “Creating my own dog hotel has been a dream come true. Since opening four years ago, we’ve welcomed pups from across the country, including VIP pets, like David
Gandy’s rescue dog, Dora, and Harry and Sandra Redknapp’s bulldogs. “Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I feel so lucky to be working with animals every day and making sure they’re happy.”
Rebecca and Mike, who have two rescue dogs of their own, set up The Country Dog Hotel in September 2016 when they saw a gap in the market.
Rebecca, from Somerset, says, “I was raising my six children, and also working at a dog kennel. Mike, a former teacher, and I agreed we wanted to do something rewarding and to be at home with the kids more. We shared a love of animals and we thought, if humans enjoy five-star getaways, dogs would too.”
When a country house with 18 rooms went on sale, Rebecca and Mike used savings and sold their family home to turn the property into a fully-licensed dogs-only hotel, which accommodates up to ten dogs, and they moved their family in, too.
Rebecca says, “We gave the interior a luxurious refurb – with soft fabrics that won’t stain after mucky walks, large dog bathtubs, and a kitchen big enough for baking plenty of doggy biscuits.
“An average day begins at the crack of dawn, when the guests – up to ten at a time – eat a fresh breakfast according to their individual diet plan, such as salmon, boiled eggs or vegetables straight from the garden, before going on a long beach walk with dedicated, trained staff. In the evenings, the dogs wind down – there’s even a cosy log burner for winter nights – before going to sleep in soft bedding fitted into handmade wooden crates.
“On Fridays, our guests enjoy live music. The dogs usually find it relaxing and snooze, but sometimes they’ll get excited and take to the dance floor, wagging their tails – we call it our very own Glaston-paw-y!
“When it’s time to go home to their owners, they leave with a home-cooked biscuit after a bath.
“Soon we’ll be launching more spa treatments, including hydro-baths and natural therapy
OUR GUESTS SPEND EVENINGS LISTENING TO LIVE MUSIC IN FRONT OF THE LOG BURNER
for dogs suffering from physical pains or trauma.
“A long weekend starts at £160 per dog.”
But Rebecca says that, like other small businesses, The Country Dog Hotel has had to adapt during COVID-19. She says, “Business is slower than usual, but we’re still getting enough guests to survive.
“We wanted to do our bit to support key workers, so in April we started a pet foster care initiative, matching volunteers with key workers who needed their dog to be walked, fed, or looked after by someone else while they’re working long shifts. Over 5,000 foster care volunteers signed up and it was briliant to be able to help out.
“We don’t know what the future holds, but for now we’re happy providing silver service for pampered pooches while helping others too.”
By Bella Evennett-Watts
● For more info, visit Instagram.com/thecountrydoghotel