Spa bliss that’s just a bit barking

Sally Peck takes her canine companion on a therapeutic break for two in London

The companion you choose for a spa visit colours your experience. My friend, Caryn, has a delightfully sharp tongue and a facility for speaking in a low-yetaudible voice. I go with her when gossip is on the agenda – but this is an entertaining, rather than rejuvenating, experience.

What you want in a spa companion, is a non-judgmental friend who has the same budget as you, and with whom you feel utterly at ease. Enter, the labrador.

My dog, Mathilde, is 12 years old. We’ve had many a happy (and muddy) stay in the countryside: the Ickworth, with its glorious house and grounds; Ockenden Manor, with its Elizabethan rooms and proximity to the Downs. The pleasures of a country stay with a dog are many.

But here, just in time for National Dog Day, is an entirely different prospect: a sleek hotel in the heart of London with a canine-friendly aura and (stay with me here) a humanand-dog spa package.

The Rosewood London, in Holborn, is a study in stylish juxtapositions: there’s the regal Edwardian building with elegant modern decor; the flamboyantly and meticulously liveried staff and their pleasingly laid-back vibe. The hotel’s courtyard buzzes in the week with an after-work drinks crowd, and the on-site bar and brasserie are deservedly popular – and yet the hotel is as peaceful as if it were in the countryside. The only noise within is the chirping of the caged parakeets that live on the landings of the giant marble staircase.

But if Rosewood London has no monopoly on sleek style or great service, it is staking its claim as being the most dog-friendly hotel in the capital. When you and your canine companion arrive, you’ll probably meet Pearl, the resident golden retriever, whose business card – complete with telephone extension – will be waiting for you in your suite, an impressive chunk of central London real estate, decorated in white, grey and fawn-coloured fabrics. Of course, you may find this superfluous, having already been furnished with “Pearl’s Pals’ Guide to London”, a well-edited list of local pubs, restaurants and juice bars that welcome dogs, and the best parks for walks (the hotel is located just above Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London’s largest public square, a good place to start).

The hotel welcomes dogs to its Grand Premier Suite with a pristine Barbour dog bed in the signature tartan, laid out with a range of Lily’s Kitchen treats and meals. And just when I was beginning to wonder whether the monogrammed linen

Spa companions: Sally and Mathilde in the Grand Premier Suite, left, which is made available for guests with dogs at the Rosewood London in Holborn, above