Taking the Lead
Rekindle your wanderlust with pet-friendly outings, exotic island escapes and a new approach to sustainable travel
The hotel industry is waking up to the needs of some particularly special family members—our pets. Luxury hotels around the world are now offering five-star stays tailored to our furry friends, featuring everything from massage therapists for dogs to pet perfumes.
At the Beverly Hills Hotel in California, dogs are welcomed with personalised homemade cookies—with their names written on them in icing— and dog walkers are on call 24 hours a day. Pet-friendly packages are also available at Belmond’s Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Italy, which reopened in May. The 16th-century monastery-turned-hotel now has a dedicated pet concierge who can arrange a trip to Portofino’s luxury shops, where you can buy bespoke bowls, pet perfumes or a pampering grooming session for your dog. The glamorous hotel, which was a favourite of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, also has in-property perks: a petsized fluffy dressing gown, all-day doggy room service
and open-air Swedish massages by trained pet therapists. Owners can sit in on the massages and learn techniques to replicate at home.
Small Luxury Hotels has one of the few websites that allows travellers to filter searches for pet-friendly accommodation. To date, it lists more than 150 hotels that offer VIP pet treatment, including The Sukhothai in Bangkok and Crossbasket Castle in Scotland, which offers a special “dog’s dinner” menu created by Michelin-starred chef Albert Roux. Another member hotel, The Fish Hotel in the UK, goes the extra mile by offering dog hydration stations throughout its Cotswolds estate, a dog agility course, a bathtub equipped with canine soap and shampoo, and an afternoon tea experience featuring treats from high-end store The Barking Bakery.
The luxurious Oetker Collection is a hotel group that is proudly pet-friendly, so much so that many of its hotels are home to resident pets. A Birman cat called Fa-raon is a permanent guest at the Le Bristol in Paris; he is typically spotted sitting pretty on the concierge desk. The Brenners Park-hotel & Spa in Baden-baden, Germany has been a relaxing respite of the European elite since 1872. Today, it serves as the stomping ground of Kléopatre, another Birman cat, who often snuggles near the open fireplace.
The newest pet to join the Oetker crew is Lilbet, a fluffy, fun-loving Siberian Forest cat who is ensconced in the Lanesborough Hotel in London. belmond.com; dorchestercollection.com; oetkercollection.com; slh.com