Pezula Hotel – Pet Friendly Review

Bailey and I were itching for a road trip to our favourite place so we packed the car & hit the road to Knysna. It was a spontaneous decision (we seem to work best that way) & boy was it the best decision!

The Knysna Lagoon is our happy place, one of many up the Garden route, but nothing seems to beat low tide at the Lagoon. With the tide at its lowest, not a breath of wind our peaceful moment was interrupted with an exciting text message – “Hi, We see that you are in Knysna & would love for you & Bailey to spend the night at our Hotel, The Pezula Hotel .” This stunning 5 star hotel has just become Pet Friendly & thanks to Social Media we had the chance to enjoy a Dog & Human experience at a VERY ‘larny’ Hotel . We of course were thrilled & honoured and eagerly headed over there for some fine dining & ironed crisp white sheets.

With sand in my shoes & slightly smudged mascara I quickly dressed Bailey in his best at least. His Leather Bow Tie, one of a kind 😉 & we rolled up to the entrance. Upon arrival Bailey was first greeted (as it should be), I followed with a hand shake & an apology for how dirty my car was (you know, 5 star and all that…) – & with no judgement we were welcomed with Champagne for me & bottled water for Bailey! To be honest I was not prepared for such a welcome. I was incredibly touched at the amount of effort that was put in to make us feel so welcome. For a Dog Owner like myself, observing the detail & attention that Bailey was getting, blew my mind & made me incredibly happy. It is not everyday a Labrador or a dog bigger than a Yorkie for that matter can be so accepted in a Setting like this. I was well aware & so grateful.

After Photos of Bailey & Staff members, then Bailey & Me, then Bailey, and then more photos of Bailey and Staff Members, Champagne & Dog Treats, we were asked to hop in our Golf Cart to be wizzed away to our Villa. The sun was setting, Spirits were high and Bailey was having a panic attack ( Keep it together Bailey ) We arrived at our villa. It was walking distance from Reception, but when in Rome…

Before I continue , I must applaud the Staff for being so lovely, so welcoming & so kind! You made our stay what it was, Thank you!

We were just in time to appreciate the sun finally setting over the Golf course which happened to peep through our view. We sat outside in our Private garden (after Bailey bailed into a pond) and breathed in all the beauty that surrounded us physically & in our hearts. Really counting our lucky stars for this gift – while simultan keeping one eye open for Baboons, yip, Africa, we love you!

Now Pezula has made the Hotel Pet friendly & that includes the Restaurant. Basically everywhere except the Spa. I think that is a reasonable rule, otherwise Bailey would take preference over all the Spa offers leaving the therapists exhausted with no energy left to rub my feet. 

We were invited to Dine in the Hotel with other guests, but it had been a long day (ok, I was paranoid that Bailey might take a turn at each table begging for food while drooling over Louis Vuitton Shoes & Gucci Handbags) so we opted for our fireplace to be prepared & ordered some Room Service. 

Like I said before, the detail around having Bailey stay over was so appreciated. In our Room there was a Dog Bed, Dog Treats, Poop Bags, Food Bowl, Water Bowl and Two Bottled Still Waters all laid out sweetly for Bailey. This meant so much to us, he truly is my child so it really did mean so much.

A bit about Pezula

The award-winning Pezula Private Estate is recognised internationally as one of the most successful luxury developments in the world. Located on the Eastern Head of Knysna on South Africa’s scenic Garden Route, just 40 minutes’ flight from Cape Town, it consists of 612 hectares and has nearly 4 kms of coastline.

 

As much as we appreciate the offer of a Dog Bed in our room there was no way Bailey would sleep on it. We argued for hours over this but Bailey’s love for Crisp & Clean Bedding with high thread count made his argument valid. So we snuggled up together on our huge Bed & had an incredible nights sleep. 

A new day dawned, we took some photo’s and prepared to leave our little haven. Bailey thought this was now home, so he was quite peeved when I said that we are leaving. Until he saw his friends again at Reception, he was wagging his tail & happy again!

My overall opinion on this experience ? True delight. It was not stressful for one second, one would think allowing your dog and all his shedding fur into such luxury would make you feel a touch on edge, but thanks to the Staff I was not even slightly stressed. Guest’s faces lit up at the sight of this Handsome Four Legged Hottie. The more his tail wagged, the happier the humans surrounding him appeared. Staying in our own Private Villa felt comfortable, no other guests would have even known that their was a dog around, even if he was a “Barker” , we still would not have been a nuisance to others, encouraging the Hotel to continue with this. If I wanted to go to the Spa or play a round of Golf, I would have had the option to call a Staff Member who would take Bailey for a walk or stayed in the room with him while I was out. How awesome? 

I highly recommend booking in to this Hotel. This is my very honest perspective of our stay. I am so thrilled to see how Hotels & 5 star accommodations are trusting us as Responsible Dog owners to have our Furries with us on holiday. Not only is this wonderful for us but also a game changer in the tourism industry in my opinion.

Thanks again Pezula & hopefully see you soon!

Where to next Bailey?

xxx 

**Please do follow Pezula on Instagram as they grow their following: https://www.instagram.com/pezulahotel/

Website: www.pezulahotel.com