While mum and dad are on vacation, fur babies can now have a luxurious staycation of their own at the Sunshine Coast’s newest pet resort.
Pet Resorts Australia has unveiled the latest in luxe facilities across its six-hectare (15-acre) Eumundi property, which has suites featuring international destinations, a la carte in-room dining, a commando course, spa and even a splash park.
The resort also boasts premium guest and resort rooms, pet pampering, doggy daycare, dog training and experienced pet nannies to care for the fur-baby guests.
The newly renovated property is already proving extremely popular, with pet owners having to book up to 12 months in advance, depending on the season.
Chief operating officer Blake De Bruin said the uptake of pet accommodation for short stays and doggy daycare had spurred the creation of the facilities.
“At our Eumundi resort, dogs can now stay in a destination suite with rooms inspired by the plains of the African Serengeti or Tuscan villas, for example,” he said.
“During playtime, they can try their skills on our custom-built commando course or cool off in the splash park.
“All our resorts also offer pet postcards – so owners get progress reports and photos of their pet’s time with us – and additional services like room service. It’s like a 5-star hotel for four-legged friends.”
Mr De Bruin said an Animal Medicines Australia report showed households were home to almost 30 million pets and Aussies were forking out $33 billion annually on their fur-babies.
“This has seen pet resorts across the nation record a huge uptake in bookings since COVID travel restrictions eased,” he said.
“In Queensland, we’ve been busier than ever. We are seeing resorts booking out six to 12 months in advance, so we have heavily invested in quality accommodation across both our new Eumundi and Townsville sites.
“We know people and their pets got accustomed to being together day in, day out during COVID. Since people have returned to work and are holidaying freely again, we know that pets are experiencing a lot of anxiety and owners don’t want their furry friends left alone.”
He said the humanisation of animals was also becoming more prevalent in Australians’ lives.
“It feels great to be able to offer a style of accommodation where people can feel comfortable knowing their pets are getting the best care – and not have that guilt on their backs leaving them behind,” he said.
“That was part of the inspiration behind creating the destination suites. If mum and dad are going to Italy then, hey, why can’t their pet stay there, too?
“Now more than ever, Australians are willing to spend the money on quality accommodation and enriching entertainment for their four-legged friends, if it means having peace of mind that their pets are cared for as they would be at home.”
He said the family owned company was continuing to upgrade the facilities and was in the midst of introducing another level of accommodation.
“We’ve got a new level of luxury suite coming – our royal suites – which we don’t have anywhere in the country yet and are under construction now,” he said.
“We hope to have them completed around the end of July, all going well. We are very excited about those.
“We are leading the way in innovation, quality and care, and we will continue to evolve with the changing attitudes of Australians, and lead the way in pet care through investment in our facilities.”
A destination suite costs $101 a day and includes:
- all-day pet nannies
- soothing music for relaxation
- premium daily meal
- daily room service item (special of the day)
- daily outdoor recess
- daily enriched playtime
- daily splash park or commando course play session
- comfortable, air-conditioned room with bedding
- in-room dining with fresh water
- TV for entertainment
- health recordings and daily monitoring
- a pet postcard with holiday pictures (minimum seven-day stay)
- on-call vet services
- bath and blow-dry.
To find out more visit petresortsaustralia.com.
Local journalists supporting local people. Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email at the bottom of this article.
