With more holiday companies and hotels now making it easier to take canine friends to ski resorts, Arnie Wilson remembers his wedding day in snow covered mountains when he had a ‘best dog’
It’s a dogsend! At last! I don’t have to put my yellow labrador into kennels every time I go skiing!
It’s not that I expect Dylan to join me on a black run – or even a green one. He’s certainly no powder hound! It’s just wonderful to have his company for the apres-ski, and later. And not to have to worry if he’s feeling lonely back home in Sussex.
‘Where’s the TV remote? I need to put this programme on paws’.
Severin’s, a luxury boutique-retreat in the Austrian resort of Lech, one of the world’s most delightful and up-market ski areas, is the latest hotel to introduce pet-dog facilities for clients. And Severin’s breaks allows your dog to accompany you – in style!
According to the hotel: “All dogs are as welcome as their elegant guests and catered for with no less aplomb. Dog beds, food and drink bowls, warm blankets and kitchen-prepared food to each owner’s spec are all provided for guests’ well-behaved dogs.”
This probably wouldn’t apply to the subjects of the Channel 5 programme, “Dogs behaving (very) badly” – but let’s not go there!
The hotel statement continues: “Dog walkers – and even dog trainers – can be booked to exercise them during the day if you are skiing, or they can come with you to enjoy the remarkable hiking trails, as well as a growing trend in ski touring (use an appropriate backpack for smaller dogs and a coat and dog shoes for larger dogs).
Arnie and Vivianne on their wedding day with Max, the ‘best dog’
“At Severin’s, your dog is welcome in the bar and the sitting room as well as in your suite – just not in the restaurant. Lech – small, quiet and terribly smart – is super dog-friendly too and many of the hotel’s favourite restaurant friends welcome dogs including Post Jägerstube, Älpele, Klösterle and Murmeli as well as the bars and terraces at Aurewlia, Burgvital and Arlberg.”
In my experience dogs love frolicking in the snow, and the pine-forests of Lech are ideal for this.
However, I may be slightly biased as I have my own great memory of a canine in a ski resort when I got married… and had a best dog instead of a best man!
It was on a stunning March day in Jackson Hole in 2000 when my Swedish fiancée Vivianne and I stood in the Wyoming snow at 9,095 feet with some 60 guests, with the ceremony being conducted by a US army chaplain.
Above us, a bald eagle circled. Was the soaring raptor’s presence the final touch – an avian blessing for our wedding? Or had it perhaps hungrily glimpsed the adorable Max, a golden retriever with a cask round his neck containing our wedding rings?
It was partly our mutual love of skiing that convinced us that getting married high on the slopes of Jackson Hole, arguably the most spectacular ski resort in America, would be the ultimate way of tying the knot.
Let’s play catch.
So, when I next ski in Lech, I can avoid the fees for kennels and dog-sitters and the worry of leaving one’s best four-legged friend with others. As Severin’s put it: “Seek out snow and memories with your canine pal. You might wonder why you never thought of it before…”
*Severin’s Alpine Retreat is a 20-minute walk from the centre of Lech, part of the largest interconnected ski area in Austria.
The hotel A 9-suites only hotel with a private 4-bed Residence, it also houses top of the range spa facilities including saunas, a steam bath, an infrared cabin and indoor swimming pool. Nightly rates start from €690 for a Junior Suite on a B&B basis.
Dogs are welcome at an additional €60 per night (food, if ordered, is charged extra).
More info at: severins-lech.at
Categories: Austria, Luxury ski and snowboard