It is not often that you hear of a renowned, five-star hotel going to the dogs. But on the outer reaches of Cape Town, the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa has literally done just that, welcoming guests of the canine variety with special two day Smooch Your Pooch packages.
Before you mutter in disbelief, let me tell you that for many of us our dogs are as dear as offspring and that there are few places where they can enjoy a fab holiday with their owners. The hotel recognises this and goes all the way (if not a bit overboard) in making sure that Fido is suitably pampered.
VIPs (very important pets) are greeted on arrival with decadent doggy biscuits. Once checked in to a deluxe room with special pet-friendly features, your four-legged friend will find a gift basket brimming with treats and toys (owners get some goodies too).
There are plush doggy beds, monogrammed bowls, dishes of woofy treats and toys to entertain even the most laid-back of mutts.
This is Cape Town. Camps Bay, actually. Well, outside Camps Bay proper on a wild stretch of untamed coast where the hotel is wedged between the mountains and the sea with only the busy Victoria Road in between. The road is not excessively noisy, but it does detract from the otherwise au naturel atmosphere.
Back at the “12A” doggy’s dinner is something else, with a special pet room service and dog sitters available to read from special doggified bedtime story books.
DVDs are available and if a small screen doesn’t appeal, there’s a mini cinema in the hotel that offers special screenings with the likes of Cats and Dogs, Scooby Doo: The Movie and Wallace and Grommit.
The pampering isn’t restricted to pets though. Next door, at the Sanctuary Spa — a sort of fairy tale grotto gone zen — sweet-smelling unguents await.
And while pooch is sleeping off the sweeties, you can opt for a super-heated chamber and lots of mud. Yes, a rasul is something completely different. It is mud wrestling without close contact, combined with a Turkish bath of sorts. And the result is a curiously soft, tingly, clean skin.
The lowdown
The Smooch Your Pooch packages start from R3 760 per room, per night. Slightly more affordable are the Cape Cool Nights package and the Nature’s Gift package at R795 per person, per night sharing and R995 per person, per night sharing. For details of these specials contact the hotel on: (021) 437 9000.