Furs class travel: The hotels, superyacht designers and airlines setting new standards for pet-friendly travel

For decades, you would hear fondly whispered rumours in Los Angeles that John Wayne kept a pet cow on his penthouse balcony at the Sunset Tower Hotel so his guests could always get fresh milk. Despite being fairly easily debunked (the lifts, sorry, elevators would have struggled with anything more than a couple of large dogs), the story endured because it spoke to a certain sort of golden-age glamour where pets — and a somewhat cavalier attitude to their care — were all part of an A-lister’s luxury lifestyle.

It was a time when actress Beatrice Lillie would pop into Harrods to find a gift for Noël Coward and leave with an alligator or when Salvador Dalí would be photographed walking an anteater or cradling an ocelot. In California, Tippi Hedren filled her estate with an array of animals so irresponsibly absurd I can only recommend you read the scarcely believable Wikipedia entry for the 1981 movie Roar for which they were assembled to star.

We still see a few A-list animals (including Choupette, the blue-eyed Birman cat that inherited much of the late Karl Lagerfeld’s multi-million-pound fortune when he died in 2019 and celebrated her most recent birthday at the Palace of Versailles), but luxury today is increasingly evolving to let those much-loved companions join in our fun in a much more considered manner.

Dog-friendly travel has been on the rise for some time. It’s a sector set to be worth almost £40 billion by 2030, according to a University of Surrey report issued in 2023. ‘In the past three months alone, clicks to pet-friendly stays on our site have risen more than 70%,’ says Helen Bailey, global head of communications at Mr & Mrs Smith, ‘which suggests we’re no longer merely planning trips with the dog, we’re planning them for the dog.’

Indeed, plot a route around some of the UK’s most in-demand stays and you’ll find your pooch will be at least as pampered as you will. At Heckfield Place in Hampshire, they can run through 400 acres of Hampshire wildflower meadow before curling up beside the fire with a bowl of filtered water as you clutch a (biodynamic) martini. At Thyme in the Cotswolds, the spirit is more family farmhouse than hotel: dogs can roam the on-site pub or soak up some culture at the Tithe Barn exhibition space. Of a recent stay with her labrador, photographer Lily Bertrand-Webb said: ‘Bobby couldn’t believe his luck. He became a real gentleman of the estate and a connoisseur of its home-baked dog biscuits.’

Up the road at Estelle Manor, they get a bed with a special duvet and dog food can be ordered from room service. At Edinburgh’s Gleneagles Townhouse, even the city-break template works — dogs are allowed in the bedrooms and in the roof-level Lamplighters bar (assuming they’re as partial to a good view and a sausage snack as we are). Belgravia’s Mungo & Maud has a dedicated travel section, by the way, with some rather stylish carry-bags for any kind of dog-focused excursion.

What of further-flung adventures? It’s still quite the sight at about 8am at Inverness station in Scotland, when the Caledonian Sleeper rolls in and the dozens and dozens of city dogs it accommodates descend onto the platform ready for some real walkies in the Highlands. Although you still can’t take pets on the Eurostar, you can load up your car with holiday hounds and take Le Shuttle en route to your preferred European haunt (passports and vaccination papers at the ready, naturally).

Agatha Christie obsessives hoping to emulate Wendy Hiller’s Princess Dragomiroff in 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express by taking a pair of canines on the resurrected Belmond route will be disappointed; dogs are a strict health-and-safety no-no. However, on the water, Les Bateaux Belmond are more suited to four-legged guests, in fact, there’s a resident pair — Couscous and Tajine (above) — aboard Coquelicot, the company’s new Champagne-touring cruiser.

Dogs aboard superyachts are a more and more common sight and, although owners of vessels with vintage wooden floors or all-white sun beds might be a little reticent, the smart deployment of puppy pads, faux-grass patches and dog beds is often enough to ensure smooth sailing. Sunreef has incorporated built-in dog bowls, nets and even a dog-friendly paddling pool into some of its yachts. The designers of Freedom, the late fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s yacht, went one step further, adding sloped steps so that his two beloved German shepherds, Lupo and Lapo, could move around — and swim — with ease. Don’t forget your doggy lifejackets, mind.

Taking to the skies is the ultimate jet-set pet indulgence, of course. Rules differ per commercial airline as to where, when and how you can transport your pets and it will mostly involve journeys in the hold (for your pet, that is). If you’re travelling to Abu Dhabi with Etihad, however, you are allowed to take your dog (or your cat, for that matter) in the cabin, so long as it’s at least 16 weeks old and weighs less than 8kg. The Royal Kennel Club and Pet Air UK offer plenty of practical pet-travel advice for all shapes, sizes and temperaments. If you’re travelling in the USA, I couldn’t possibly recommend you follow a friend of mine’s, ahem, lead and order a red ‘emotional support animal’ lead from Amazon to ease the passage of your pet… Of course, you could level-up entirely and entrust your trip to VistaJet’s VistaPet private-jet service, which offers pre-flight orientations for fearful first-timers, dedicated in-flight menus and an array of treats (some created by Michel Roux, no less) as well as all the human trappings of flying private.

PJ-perfect addresses to bookmark in Europe include the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, France (part of the Rosewood group), where an exclusive pet package includes an oh-so-chic Au Départ treat bag; the Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, in Portofino, Italy, where travel-weary hounds can unwind with a dedicated pet massage; and the Park Hyatt in Vienna, Austria, where a special pooch photoshoot can be arranged — staff will even take your dog to the opera.

Lori Hoy is the author of the 2024 University of Surrey report. Her advice to the industry is simple as the topic trends ever upwards: ‘Clear communication about dog-friendly offerings is essential. By doing so, tourism providers can not only enhance the experience for those travelling with dogs, but also position themselves as truly dog-friendly destinations, meeting the needs and expectations of both dogs and their guardians.’ Translated for your pet: who’s a good dog, then? Who wants another treat?