Planning a holiday is exciting, but leaving darling Mitzy at home is gut wrenching. Going away without your pets requires careful planning and organisation; and there is always an associated level of anxiety that accompanies a holiday away from pets. When you leave your pets in the trusted hands of family members or house sitters it’s comforting, but it’s not quite the same when you’re without the four-legged furbuckets. In an ideal world, we’d lock up the house, put Mitzy in our handbag and toddle off to our destination, but this isn’t possible when we’re hightailing it to a place that doesn’t accept pets. Luckily for us, more and more hotels are adopting a dog-friendly attitude, which is good news for frequent travellers that simply don’t want to leave Mitzy moo at home.
Hotels in Cape Town have jumped on the bandwagon, and there are now numerous hotels with a fantastic four-legged policy. 3 of our favourite luxury hotels along Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard offer dog-friendly rooms, which we’re quite happy to hear about.
As a general rule of thumb (or paw), most hotels only accept small dogs or dogs under a certain weight limit. Unfortunately, this means that Beast the Bull Mastiff, Max the Boerbul and Phoebe the friendly Rotti will need to stay at home. Smaller dogs – although more opinionated – tend to be easier to control, and less intimidating towards other guests. Great Danes should also probably stay at home – no one wants a horse in a hotel.
It goes without saying that all inoculations need to be up to date, and dogs must also be housetrained. No hotel wants to see their antique plush ottoman destroyed by Bogart’s bowel issues and inability to digest the night-before’s lamb meal.
If you’re an international traveller flying to Cape Town, you’d need to find out what the protocol is when it comes to flying with dogs.
Without further ado, here are our top 3 luxury dog-friendly hotels on Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard, designed to make you go barking mad. Of course, this only scrapes the surface of all the doggone terrific hotels out there!
The Radisson Red Hotel at the VA Waterfront
The Radisson Red Hotel is located in the hub of Cape Town – the VA Waterfront. The Waterfront is centred around a yacht basin and is dotted with designer shops, bustling cafes, award winning restaurants and elite five star hotels.
The arty and bold Radisson Red is located – specifically – in the hip and happening Silo district, a stone’s throw away from the Zeitz MOCAA gallery. The Red Hotel slots in perfectly into its surrounds with its contemporary and fun design that actually looks and feels like you are staying in an art gallery. It’s chilled and vibrant; with a reception area containing table-tennis, games tables and business areas. This is one of 5 RED concept hotels in the world, and is certainly the perfect pooch palace.
Dogs and cats (yes – cats!) are welcome at the Radisson Red. There are a whopping 10 pet-friendly rooms, perfectly kitted out for you and the dog. Each of these rooms have pet beds and treats for your pets. It is to be noted that dogs and cats cannot weight more than 8 kg. But that’s not all. There’s a resident dog at RED who is called Baxter. Baxter even has a craft beer named after him – does your dog? Probably not.
Pets are welcome in all areas of the hotel, except on the rooftop. The rooftop area is reserved for humans who love cocktails, poolside vibes and aerial views of the Mother City.
Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa Close to Camps Bay
Sitting quietly along the coast at the foot of the 12 Apostles mountains, and just a few minutes outside of swanky palm-fringed Camps Bay Beach, lies the ultra-luxurious Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa. With a backdrop of fragrant fynbos and a foreground of salty sea breeze, the Twelve Apostles is certainly located in a prime position. The Red Carnation Hotel Group clearly want their guests to be cocooned by the Cape’s natural wonders while enveloping themselves in exquisite luxury. But, they don’t only want YOU to experience their hotel, they also want your pampered pooch to experience a bit of the action.
The team really have gone the extra mile in terms of being dog-friendly. Our favourite thing? That would have to be the handy “Pet in Residence” door hangers ! There are a few rooms specifically selected to accommodate pets and each comes with a choice of pet beds, bowls and even a pet menu. This all needs to be arranged prior to your reservation and you’ll need to give the Twelve Apostles pet policy document a good read.
The basic pet rules state that only dogs under knee height are allowed and that they must be kept on a tight leash in public areas. The restaurant is not for dogs, but pooches are more than welcome in the Leopard Bar. A dog deposit is required upon arrival, just in case Mitzy decides to chomp the cushions.
The Bay Hotel in Camps Bay
The bustling Bay Hotel is literally across the road from Camps Bay beach, and is the perfect beachy holiday hotel. The swimming pool overlooks the vibrant main road and beach area, and is the ideal place to kick back with a cocktail or five. Of course, if you bring your dog with, it’s probably not ideal to set them loose around the swimming pool.
The Cabana rooms are the rooms that are family-friendly and pet-friendly. Each of the rooms has a separate entrance and are located in the gardens, which means easy access to the lawns. You’ll need to apply for a pet-friendly stay and also pay the fee of R170 per day per pet.
