At the end of last month, Abu Dhabi saw the opening of its first luxury pet hotel, a second of its kind in the UAE. “We give the pets a feeling of being home by giving them a lot of personal attention,” explains Afra Al Dhaheri, founder of the Cloud 9 luxury pet hote,l when asked what the word luxury indicates when applied to animal care.
The young Emirati woman is surprised by the success of the concept. “I eyed long holiday gangers as the potential customer. But many people bring in their pet over the weekend, and some customers come back every weekend.”
The get-away-weekend for the pet may not have been part of the usual tourism industry in the UAE so far, but judging by its success there was quite a demand for the facility. “Having a pet is like having a child, and people may want to go somewhere for the weekend,” says Afra admitting that she never asks why people bring in their pets.
The concept that Cloud 9 offers is new in that it offers several services under one roof, such as boarding, grooming, training, veterinary care and a lot of space to play. Most services are included with a stay in the hotel and all people working in the hotel are animal lovers, who enjoy spending time with the pets.
High-end accommodation is the VIP room, equipped with a fat screen TV, the most popular request according to Afra. “Most of the people opt for the VIP room. They have a flat screen at home and their pet loves to watch it. It makes them really calm,” she tells.
Although providing the best care to pets is what Afra hopes to do for the rest of her life, her initial idea was not only to pamper them. “At first I was concerned about the many abandoned cats and dogs here in Abu Dhabi, and I wanted to rescue them by starting a shelter.”
Due to complicated permit and paper work, the shelter was not a possibility and Afra started a luxury pet hotel. However, she did not leave ‘the poor’ out of sight.
“I think some people abandon their cat or dog when they go on holiday and do not find the proper facilities to leave their pet. With this hotel I am hoping to see the number of abandoned pets cut back a little,” Afra says.
However, she believes that not every stray cat or dog necessarily needs to be saved. “When a cat or dog is healthy and has enough to eat and space to roam and rest, then I think there is nothing wrong it being outside. Some people want to rescue every animal, even when there is nothing wrong with it.
“As a veterinary clinic we offer flexible rates to anybody who brings in a stray cat or dog that needs help,” she says. In fact, upon reading on this website about Sadiq, the man who feeds 450 stray cats every day from the bulk of his monthly salary Afra contacted the man and offered to provide cat food.
In the future Cloud 9 plans to organize animal welfare training sessions for children, intending to raise awareness of the love and care that animals need and Afra herself is planning to dedicate her entire life to animal welfare.
“I am not sure if the idea of a luxury pet hotel will help cutting back the number of abandoned pets, because everybody has his own reason to do such a thing. But I can say that some pets do not even want to leave the hotel anymore after a weekend of staying with us,” says Afra.
During the three-month promotional period a one-night stay will be 150 dirham when opting for the VIP accommodation and 85 dirham for the standard room.