Doggie concierge is a thing! However my mummy wouldn’t dare use it, I’m too gorgeous! But we’ll come back to that later!
The Devonshire Arms, a luxury dog friendly hotel in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales!
Set in gorgeous tranquil surroundings and just a stones throws from Bolton Abbey, it’s the perfect spot for a quite night away with your pupper! Pawfect!
Staying in a luxury double, gave Chester more than enough places to look Charming!
We checked in last Friday and Chester was immediately made to feel comfortable with his basket delivered to the room prior to his arrival. Not that he chose to sleep in it!
Any pawent knows how important the little things are especially when travelling with a puppy. (Which by the way, is much harder work than anticipated) This hotel is a gem.
Once checked in reception gave us a guided tour throughout the hotel indicating where Chester was welcome and where they would prefer he wasn’t. Our first stop was the Cocktail Lounge, which was to my surprise was dog-friendly! Bonus points for that one! My next favourite thing aside from Chester is COCKTAILS! So being able to actually enjoy a Long Island Iced Tea with Chester beside me is bliss!
Next we went into the wonderfully named and decorated Dog Lounge! It was so cosy and had a gorgeous traditional wood fire, which considering the very wet weather was perfect for drying off after a long walk.
Most hotels that have dog staying tend to keep ground floor rooms and keep them separate from guests that don’t have dogs, but The Devonshire Arms have 32 rooms all apart from 6 are dog friendly! How amazing is that! Our room was located on the first floor. The staircase lead straight into the Dog Lounge, with very easy access to take Chester outside. As much as I would have liked a room with direct outside access for Chester, it was nice to be treated as a hotel guest as much as a dog owner.
After all the travelling we were so glad to get to our room. It was even nicer to find all the complementary items that had been left for us, including
Yorkshire Parkin CakeA selection of the finest Yorkshire teaMini fridge containing complementary soft drinks, milk, Still and Sparkling water, Winegum’s and Gourmet Yorkshire crisps.There were also blankets for Chester in the chest of drawers.
Once settled we decided to explore the grounds and take a wander to Bolton Abbey
Bolton Abbey is a gorgeous site that is over 300’00 acres, which has over 80 miles of walking paths.
They have this fabulous map that shows exactly where is safe for your dog to run and where they should be kept on the lead.
They give great information on walks, giving 3 options
Bolton Abbey Village to Cavendish Pavilion – Around 1 Hour
Cavendish Pavilion to Barden Bridge – Up to 2 and 1/2 Hours
Bolton Abbey to Hare head – 4 Hours
We took the first option as it was absolutely pouring it down!
It was a wonderful walk and Chester throughly enjoyed it, shame the weather wasn’t on our side, but we fully intend to return soon and complete a longer walk!
Back at the hotel and once we had all dried off in the Dog Lounge! We decided to explore the hotel and make Dinner decisions. Enter doggy concierge! The reception area of the hotel contains two mini four poster beds for dogs! How cute is that!
Once we had decided that we needed to go for Dinner I was stressed! Knowing that I would have to leave Chester, made me feel physically sick! Not that the dedicated staff at reception wouldn’t look after him, I knew they would, but I hadn’t left him with anyone other than my Mum in the four months that he’d been with me!
My friend convinced me to leave him and we went into the Brassiere. That lasted all of 10 minutes i couldn’t cope, in hindsight he would be fine, but the separation anxiety was very real at the time!
Once i’d got back to him we quickly realised that he’d equally missed me as much, so much that they had him attached to a handle which he’d broken, and made his escape!
It was funny then and still is, but safe to say I wont be leaving him again for a while!
The whole team at the hotel were wonderful with him and genuinely made us feel at home! If your looking for the pawfect, tranquil holiday where your dog is as important as you then I would 200% recommend The Devonshire Arms!
Sarah & Chester x