Your guide to the best pet friendly vacation homes in India : SaffronStays!
Welcome to Saffron Stays! A place where you only have to be aware of fluffy cuddle attacks.
What’s better than a leisurely, short vacation where you’re pampered throughout your stay? A leisurely, short vacation where your floof can come along too, of course! Pet-parents, imagine a scenario where you don’t have to leave your pets at a shelter/with friends or worry about airlines’ rules and rates of pet travel, when you’re going on a vacation. Imagine just taking your pet along in a car to a luxurious villa not far from the city. Sounds ideal, right?
Luckily for us, that’s precisely what SaffronStays offers! Team BarkButler sat down for a chat with the enterprise’s Founder, Mr. Devendra Parulekar, and discussed their decision to extend the inclusivity to beyond just human guests.
**Team BB: **Can you tell us a little about SaffronStays and about what made the management decide to make this a pet-friendly venture? **Devendra: **SaffronStays is a network of 180+ private vacation homes across the country. We look into staffing and managing private vacation homes and heritage bungalows that are owned by HNIs like entrepreneurs, industrialists, actors, cricketers, doctors and so on. We look after the operations, maintenance, marketing and the entire customer experience of these homes. Since these properties are homes (not hotels), each house is specific to its owner. Some homeowners do not have a problem with pets in the homes and so, they offer people the opportunity of having a vacation with dogs and cats.
Saffron Stays: Helping hoomans paw-cation at bow-tiful and won-fur-ful villas.
**Team BB: **In what capacity are pets allowed within the homes? **Devendra: **I know that in some pet-friendly resorts, pets aren’t allowed inside the rooms — provision is made for them downstairs in kennels. But pets can roam freely in our pet-friendly villas. They aren’t allowed in the bathrooms and the homeowner may have some specifications like not allowing them in the pool. In some homes, owners do not mind having pets in the pool as long as guests are willing to pay cleaning charges. We take the owners’ preference into consideration.
**Team BB: **What are the things that pet-parents need to arrange for the pets, versus what do you provide? **Devendra: **We can tend to requests for curd-rice or boiled chicken for the pets at an additional cost. However, we have observed that pet-parents often carry food for the pets, themselves. We understand that each pet has a different need and requirement. While we do offer food, the pets’ bedding has to be arranged by guests themselves.
**Team BB: **What’s the procedure for booking for pets and at what point in the booking are pet-parents supposed to inform that they are bringing pets along? **Devendra: **We need to be informed right at the start of the booking to help the on-site staff be better prepared about whether it is a dog or a cat, and which breed they belong to. However, sometimes it so happens that bringing along pets is a last-minute decision. In that case, they can pay the extra charges on-site, online.
Saffron Stays: A furry adventure awaits for your doggos and cattos.
**Team BB: **Is Rs. 500 per day per pet the fixed rate? **Devendra: **It’s usually Rs. 500, but bigger villas may charge up to Rs. 1000. We have also had cases of pet-parents offering to pay Rs. 2000 to bring their pets along to villas that aren’t pet-friendly (on special requests only).
**Team BB: **Lastly, would you have any tips for those traveling with pets? What should they take care of to have a pleasant stay at SaffronStays? **Devendra: **Basic pet-parent etiquette and understanding is all that’s needed. The property may have resident pets and the staff may be slightly unsure of how to interact with guest pets at first. Having them on a leash for the starting few minutes is nice. It would also be helpful if their nails are trimmed, so that they don’t accidentally scratch someone while playfully jumping up on them. And lastly, pet owners need to be careful that pets do not harm the personal belongings, artefacts and furnishings at the villa; most of them have sentimental value, are exclusive and expensive.
Website: www.saffronstays.com (Select ‘Pets’ in the Amenities section.)
Note: Avoiding feeding your pets before travel reduces occurrences of motion sickness in animals. Please ask your vet if any medication is needed for this too.
To travel with your pets when you don’t have transportation, read our blog about Pet Taxi.
For interactive toys for pets that you can take on the staycation, check our toys out on Amazon.
A vacation might feel due because of the pandemic we are facing however it’s critical to travel safely during these times especially with your family/friends. Please take note to carry all safety essentials and follow the covid regulations.
