Our pets are our most loyal, trusted pals, devotedly following us from room to room, on to the sofa and generally even to bed.
Many of us took in dogs just lately to help us survive the lockdowns, needing both the physical company and solace a loving pet can present. Indeed, the UK dog inhabitants has elevated by 10 per cent during the pandemic, to an estimated 12 million, with 33 per cent of households now proudly owning one.
Which presents us with a conundrum now that the world is opening up once more, we’re going back to work and even – if we’re fortunate – on holiday: what ought to we do with our canine companions once we aren’t at residence?
After they’ve seen us via a lot, leaving them in a kennel for days appears ungrateful, even churlish.
Luckily, nonetheless, simply as dog possession has soared, so too has the availability of luxury care for pups. An increasing number of chic lodges designed particularly to look after pets means we can get pleasure from our holidays, or settle back into office life, without worrying that our canine are spending their days staring out of soulless crates, pining for our return.
And for those desperate for a break with their pooch, loads of excessive-end motels now accommodate you both, providing special dog dinners, spa treatments and monogrammed accessories to boot.
Here, three writers and their newly liberated canines visit some of the very best . . .
STEAK DINNERS, SPA DAYS – AND MUD-FREE PAWDICURES
Herbie, 18 months, is Antonia Hoyle’s Labrador. If you beloved this article therefore you would like to receive more info pertaining to synthetic turf Shop kindly visit our own web site. He checked in to The Hamptons Boutique Pet Hotel, in Solihull, West Midlands (in a single day boarding from £55, thehamptonspethotel.co.uk).
Herbie, 18 months, is Antonia Hoyle’s Labrador. He checked in to The Hamptons Boutique Pet Hotel, in Solihull, West Midlands (pictured)
‘We’re buzzed discreetly through forged iron black gates and on to a winding drive that leads to a white, wooden-panelled hotel,’ recalled Antonia (pictured with her dog, left)
We’re buzzed discreetly by way of forged iron black gates and on to a winding drive that leads to a white, picket-panelled lodge.
Welcomed by staff in gold-embossed uniforms, I marvel at the chandeliers, artificial lawn – www.pearltrees.com – as my associate sprawls himself on a turquoise velvet chaise longue and sighs contentedly.
Already, this has the hallmarks of an indulgent holiday – for him, not me, nonetheless, as a result of Herbie, my Labrador, is the guest. As a human, I’m merely his chauffeur – though frankly, it’s so flash right here at the Hamptons Boutique Pet Hotel, I’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
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‘We have many individuals trying to book themselves in, too,’ says glamorous owner Emma Moss, who is within the resort spa when we arrive, shaving pom-poms into the legs of fellow guest Fergus, a toy poodle who is having a £50 ‘lion cut’.
Fashion prints in crystal frames line the partitions and a press release mirrored sideboard with the Chanel emblem sits within the corridor.
All ten dog bedrooms have their own televisions and underfloor heating, while the beds are made up with pillows and velour throws.
Room service is de rigueur, but there are canine herbal tea baggage in the bedside drawer, should Herbie feel like making his own refreshments.
‘Some people say I’m utterly bonkers,’ admits Emma, a married mom of four who, in 2019, converted a stable block on her 110-acre farm near the village of Hampton to create the luxury accommodation.
A demob-blissful Herbie heads to the Emerald Suite, which has a golden bed – children’s sizes are put in as ‘the dogs love them and they have waterproof mattresses’ -and an image with the slogan, ‘Too glam to present a damn’.
He’s not, but his fellow company – amongst them immaculately coiffed cockapoos and cocker spaniels – do certainly seem the Kardashians of the canine world.
Little wonder, maybe, given that a stay of 5 nights or turf artificial synthetic grass more qualifies friends to a complementary remedy at the fragrant, spacious canine spa – be it a £30 full-physique therapeutic massage or £20 facial scrub.
Excited, Herbie runs off to play in the indoor backyard – an adjoining, all-weather barn with artificial grass that won’t muddy £18 ‘pawdicures’ – earlier than settling into the day-care room to watch the women’s Olympic cycling medal ceremony.
The hotel has its personal chef to rustle up personalised biscuits for afternoon teas and canine popcorn for film nights (Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a favourite, apparently).
Pan-fried steak with snuffle beer sauce is available for £12.95, but some visitors are vegan.
‘They have mango for treats,’ says Emma, whose workers of five stroll canines several occasions a day while encouraging play in the one-acre backyard, where Herbie enjoys a swim in the pond.
At £55 a night time – which is more than the value of some Premier Inns – that is the sort of place rich canine owners drop off their little darlings in Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.
Emma’s hotel is proving so well-liked within the put up-lockdown world that she’s considering admitting cats, ‘and we’ve had quite a couple of enquiries about guinea pigs and rabbits’.
While I wonder how a lot Herbie really appreciated the silver vases and turf artificial grass sequinned cushions, he’s actually enjoyed being spoilt – and that i swear I hear a sigh as he says goodbye to his new Pomeranian buddy, still lounging on a black, diamante-studded sofa.
ULTIMUTT MINI-BREAK WITH TREATS APLENTY
Kate Spicer and her three-12 months-outdated Podenco Ibicenco, Boof, checked in to The Treehouse Hotel in London for its special Ulti-Mutt Staycation with Lily’s Kitchen package deal (from £299, treehousehotels.com)
Kate Spicer and her three-12 months-old Podenco Ibicenco, Boof, checked in to The Treehouse Hotel in London for its special Ulti-Mutt Staycation with Lily’s Kitchen package deal (pictured)
‘Until a few months ago, Boof had by no means been in a city, let alone here, in the center of Central London, mere feet from Oxford Circus,’ admitted Kate (pictured along with her pet)
Boof and I’ve had a few adventures, not least driving from her Ibiza residence to lockdown Britain after i collected her last December. Those roadtrip hotel stays left me traumatised as she tried repeatedly to flee – and typically succeeded.