Travel Report
Rekindle your wanderlust with pet-friendly outings, exotic island escapes and a new approach to sustainable travel
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 Splendido hotel 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 petfriendly 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
KISAWA SANCTUARY
Benguerra Island, Mozambique Spanning 300 hectares of virgin territory in Mozambique, Kisawa Sanctuary on Benguerra Island is the first hotel established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Nina Flohr. The stylish royal— her official title is Princess Nina of Greece and Denmark—is best known for her work as creative director of her family’s private aviation company, Vistajet, and she brings her knowledge of luxury to this landmark project, which is currently in its soft-opening phase.
Kisawa has 12 bungalows from one to three bedrooms. Each has an open-air deck, private pool, outdoor kitchen and its very own stretch of beach, providing guests with plenty of room to immerse themselves in nature. Each bungalow is decorated differently, but all of them showcase traditional craftsmanship, with local weaving, carpentry and textiles featured inside. The hotel’s culinary programme
is also commendable: it offers organic, seasonal produce grown at the resort or bought from a network of local farmers, operates a zero-waste policy and does not use any processed ingredients in its dishes. A natural wellness centre that specialises in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine is due to open in July. kisawasanctuary.com
CAP KAROSO
Sumba, Indonesia Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 islands, but Sumba has captured the hearts of first-time hoteliers Fabrice and Evguenia Ivara, who are opening Cap Karoso there later this year. The French couple embarked on the project in 2018, moving to Singapore to oversee the build of the 47-room hotel and 20 villas in southwest Sumba.
“When we arrived, the wild feeling of the place was such a refreshing contrast to the world of globalisation— with buffaloes on the roads, indigenous tribal traditions and pristine beaches,” says Evguenia—and this is exactly the experience she wants to share with guests. But that does not mean sacrificing modern technology or creature comforts. The Ivaras are crafting a space that’s sophisticated rather than spartan: rooms are decorated in a minimalist style, the hotel’s greenhouse will grow produce to be eaten on site, and the couple have also built a solar park that provides 50 per cent of the property’s energy needs.
capkaroso.com
L’ESCALE RESORT MARINA & SPA
Mahé, Seychelles
While the hotel’s name literally means “stopover” in French, L’escale Resort Marina & Spa, which is surrounded by the lush forests and cerulean waters of the Seychelles, has been designed to encourage you to linger. Created by London-based Winch Design, each of the 25 rooms is decorated in calming cream hues and has a spacious terrace or balcony from which to savour views of the mountains or the Indian Ocean. The resort also features a two-storey wellness facility, Eden Holistic Spa, which is focused on the healing power of water.
The hotel is also easy to reach—it’s located on the Seychelles’ largest island, Mahé, and is only a ten-minute-drive from the airport. It also has a sprawling new marina that can accommodate up to 19 superyachts, in case you’re arriving by sea. L’escale Resort Marina & Spa launched earlier this year—perfect timing, as Seychelles opened its borders to all international travellers in March. lescaleresort.com
What does “regenerative travel” mean, and how is it different to sustainable travel? Simply put, being sustainable and eco-friendly means not doing harm, or reaching net-zero carbon emissions, while regeneration is looking to restore and replenish the environment and fix the damage that has occurred. Regenerative travel is about creating better conditions for the environment and for the community.
Bill Reed, principal at Regenesis Group, who worked with my co-founder on the vision for his resort Playa Viva, explains it well. He says, “You’re not going to make a sustainable planet with 100 million certified LEED Platinum buildings or 100 million living buildings. They don’t make a green planet. They make buildings that are less damaging to the planet. But it doesn’t heal the damage that’s already been done or make things work together in a synchronistic way with the living systems that exist all around us. You’ve got to go a step further to regeneration to get the results we need.”
Can you tell us about a hotel that sets a good example?
I’m excited about the work at one of our new Regenerative Resorts, Alladale Wilderness Reserve in Scotland. Located on 23,000 hectares of land, the property is dedicated to rewilding and restoring the barren lands of the Highlands ecosystem. Alladale has planted almost 1 million trees, restored damaged peatlands, brought back the red squirrel, and continually works to engage local youth in immersive on-site programmes that educate them about the natural world.
In 2018, Alladale decided to stop all commercial deerstalking activities at its property, allowing the team of rangers to take full control
of the deer cull. According to a report by the Scottish Environment Link, a dramatic reduction in the country’s wild deer population is needed to reverse the climate and biodiversity crises.
Can you tell us about an experience that captures the essence of regenerative movement?
I was fortunate to visit Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland a few years ago. When the owners conceptualised Fogo Island Inn, they first looked at the food offering and encouraged residents to reactivate the gardens they had once abandoned. Through a return to ingredients that they had forgotten and the discovery of ingredients that their ancestors didn't know were edible, Fogo Islanders were able to rediscover what was already on their doorstep. My favourite experience at Fogo Island Inn is the simplest one—every visitor gets assigned a community host to experience life as a local, from learning the ways of the sea from a fisherman to tasting homemade blueberry pie made from Fogo Island berries. regenerativetravel.com