HotelChatter

Although the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Colorado’s scenic Beaver Creek ski resort is extremely pet-friendly, for guests who can’t bring their own pooches along, the resort created the Loan-A-Lab Program with Bachelor as its headliner.

That’s not to say the friendly canine will curl up with you in bed or in front of the fireplace, but guests who wish to do so can take him for a walk on the resort’s trails by making a reservation with the Loan-A-Lab hiking program at the resort’s Concierge Desk. Bachelor is available starting at 9:30am Monday-Friday, and on select weekends for 30-minute and 1-hour hikes, as well as snow-shoeing right out the resort’s back door on two designated trails. Guests can also come by for some licks and loving from Bachelor between 9:00-5:00pm in the lobby. That is, when he’s not occupied by official duties.

Best of all, this companionship is offered free of charge, though guests who do take Bachelor out for a walk are encouraged to make a confidential, voluntary donation to the Eagle Valley Humane Society through a drop box by the Concierge Desk. That’s just Bachelor’s way of giving back since he himself was recently adopted from the Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue to be the resident Labrador at the luxury hotel. Talk about rags to riches. Or scraps to filet mignon!

Guests who bring their own dogs to the resort pay a per-stay fee of $125, but the resort donates $25 of that to the ASPCA. In the summertime, the Ritz-Carlton also features enhanced doggy amenities such as “Very Important Pooch” pet supplies like all-natural, organic food and treats, water bowls and an overstuffed dog bed; “Fido’s Spa and Fitness” services (yeah, we’re talking doggy gym and spa treatments here); and guided “Doggy Daybreak and Twilight” hikes.

Nothing beats a dog’s life…