H Boutique Hotel

H Boutique Hotel sits on McDonalds Road in the middle of Hunter Valley wine country, an eco friendly villa property aimed at couples doing the winery circuit. The villas are spread across grounds where kangaroos graze at dawn and dusk, and the design leans into the setting rather than fighting it: fireplaces for winter nights, big windows for the sunset over the vines.

Guests talk about comfortable beds, the fireplace, kangaroos on the lawn and sunset views as the things that make the stay. Wine tasting is the whole reason most people are here, and the position puts you within a short drive of the big name cellar doors as well as the smaller family operations. As a boutique property it runs smaller and more personal than the resort style places further up McDonalds Road.

Dogs at H Boutique

Per the hotel's own website, pet friendly rooms are available but you must call the hotel on (02) 4916 4329 to book one. Pet fees apply and are managed by the property, so ask what the fee covers when you ring. The phone booking requirement is worth taking seriously: turning up with a dog and no pet room reserved is the classic way this goes wrong.

With a dog in tow the villa format works well. You get your own entrance and your own patch of outdoor space rather than a hotel corridor, and the kangaroo dotted grounds are a fine backdrop for an on lead morning walk. Keep your mate off the neighbouring vineyard rows; the grapes are someone's livelihood.

Two things regulars mention. The kangaroos come through at dawn and dusk, so a prey driven dog walks on a short lead around the grounds at those hours, and the check-in runs remote, so sort extra towels, waste bags or a vet question by phone early rather than expecting a desk at night. Rooms are booked out fastest on concert weekends next door at Bimbadgen, which is also when the sound carries across the ridge; noise sensitive dogs do better on a quiet weekend.

Close by with the dogs

Pokolbin has a deep bench of dog friendly cellar doors to fill the days: Brokenwood Wines for serious semillon, Tulloch Wines for a family run tasting, and Oakvale Wines where the lawn gets busy with dogs and families on weekends. For other bases in wine country, the NSW dog friendly stays listing covers the rest of the state.