Pet-friendly hot tub stays in the Western Cape

A dog changes the shape of a holiday. The walk becomes the point, the sofa gains a passenger and the question that decides everything is whether they can come at all. The good news is that some of the finest hot-tub stays in the Western Cape welcome dogs by name, not by exception. These are working farms and quiet retreats with room to roam, gardens that go on and a wood-fired soak waiting once the lead comes off. We have gathered the genuinely pet-friendly ones here. Every stay below takes dogs, so you can plan the trip around all of you, then use the explore page to filter the rest by region, sleeps-count and the facilities that matter.

Greyton's farm cottages, built for muddy paws

Greyton is dog country. Loose lanes, big skies, the kind of village where a wet retriever raises no eyebrows. Suikerbos Cottage at Bokrivier sits on the farm and sleeps 6, with a fireplace for the evenings and a wood-fired hot tub for after the long ramble. It is pet-friendly without fuss. If your party is larger, Blombos Cottage at Bokrivier sleeps 8 and adds a heated pool to the wood-fired soak, so the swimmers and the soakers are both happy while the dog dozes in the sun. Both are working-farm stays, which means space to throw a ball and no neighbours close enough to mind the barking at a passing buck.

A private reserve where the dog comes too

Melozhori Cottage is the rare thing: a stay on a private game reserve that still says yes to your dog. It sleeps 4, with a pool, a fireplace and a wood-fired hot tub set against the kind of open country a dog dreams about. The pairing is unusual and worth understanding before you book. A game reserve has its own rules and its own wildlife, so keep your dog close and leashed on shared ground. The reward is real solitude, a soak under enormous skies and a fire to come back to. It suits one couple or a small family who want quiet and a four-legged companion in equal measure.

Room for the whole pack at Porcupine Hills

Some trips travel in numbers. The Farmhouse at Porcupine Hills sleeps 10 and is pet-friendly, which makes it the natural choice when two families or a reunion of old friends all want to bring the dogs. There is a heated pool for the long afternoons and a wood-fired hot tub for the cold-nosed evenings, and enough ground around the house that nobody, human or hound, is on top of anyone else. The maths is the appeal here: ten people, the dogs, one big farmhouse and a soak that holds a whole conversation. Sort the firewood early and the rest of the weekend looks after itself.

Two-sleepers for the couple and their companion

Not every dog trip needs a crowd. Forest View Yurt at Southern Yurts sleeps 2 and is pet-friendly, a fireplace inside and a wood-fired hot tub outside, the canvas warm and the woods close. It is made for one couple and one dog who want to disappear for a few days. Closer to the city, Camps Bay Retreat sleeps 2, takes dogs and offers a heated pool alongside the wood-fired soak, which is a rare combination so near Cape Town. Walk the mountain, swim, then soak. Both stays prove the same point: bringing the dog need not mean a big house, only a host who counts them in.

Find your own pet-friendly soak

These six are a starting point, not the whole list. The Western Cape has more hot-tub stays that open their doors to dogs across the Winelands, the Overberg and out towards the coast and the easiest way to see them is to filter for what you need. Open the explore page, set the pet-friendly facility, then narrow by sleeps-count and region until the shortlist matches your party. A wood-fired soak, room to roam and a dog asleep by the fire is a particular kind of holiday. Once you have found a host who welcomes all of you, the only thing left to pack is the lead and a towel for two.