Kyah Boutique Hotel

Kyah Boutique Hotel sits on Brightlands Avenue in Blackheath, the highest of the Blue Mountains villages, and it plays to that address: boutique rooms, a hot tub and sauna, a tennis court, a games room and its own restaurant in Blaq. It suits couples doing a mountains weekend as much as small groups, and Blackheath itself is the quiet alternative to Katoomba, with Govetts Leap and the Grose Valley lookups a few minutes away.

Dogs at the Kyah

Per the hotel's own terms and conditions page, pet friendly rooms carry an additional fee of $50.00 AUD, and requests for a pet room must be emailed 48 hours before check-in, so this is a book-ahead arrangement rather than a turn-up-and-hope one. Dogs stay on leash and accompanied at all times, they are not permitted in the internal common areas or in the hot tub and sauna areas, and guests are asked to pick up after their pet, with extra cleaning fees possible if the room needs more than the standard tidy.

Regulars with dogs ask for the entry level King Rooms, the ground floor ones with parking at the door, which saves carrying a wet dog through indoor spaces it is not allowed in anyway. The grounds are leash-only and there is no fenced run on site, so the hot tub and sauna are a tag-team affair with one of you outside with the dog. Bring an old towel for mountain mud, because the boutique linens were not bought for paw wiping.

Early risers walk toward the Evans Lookout side of the Grose Valley edge or the quiet perimeter near Blackheath Golf Club at dawn, when the foot traffic is zero. The village's cafes with outdoor seating cover breakfast with the dog at your feet, since Blaq keeps pets outside its dining room.

The vibe

The mix of a hot tub, sauna and Blaq restaurant on site means evenings tend to stay at the hotel, which works fine with a dog settled in the room. Blackheath's village has bakeries and pubs with dog friendly outdoor seating a short walk away, and the town's famous lookups are all car or e-bike distance. Between the games room and the tennis court there is enough on site that a rainy weekend does not turn into a cabin-fever situation.

For an off-leash run on the way in or out, Springwood Dog Park sits on the Great Western Highway route with separate small and large dog areas, and Bangalla Park Fenced Dog Park is the other fenced option in the lower mountains. If the Kyah is full, more dog friendly stays in NSW covers other mountains and regional options.