The only thing as relaxing as a vacation is a staycation, am I right? I mean, you’re forced into relaxation and if you choose your hotel right then you should feel like you’re in a completely different city.  Peter and I have had many vacations in the past with many more currently in the works but we wanted a night away from our everyday routine where we could just kick back  and relax without all of the time spent planning or travelling. Staying at The Archer Hotel, located in the Domain, gave us the vacation “vibes” that we wanted and needed. At the Archer Hotel, we indulged with a luxurious suit, excellent room service and happy hour, from one of my favorite restaurants in town, WHILE poolside – yes, happy hour was served by the pool. Best off all, we got to bring our fur baby, Hinata! Let me clarify just a little bit here because being “dog” friendly usually just means that they’ll tolerate them – often for a huge fee. Archer Hotel isn’t just dog “friendly”, the way that they treat and accommodate the 4 legged loves of our lives is in a league of its own.  Being a discerning client, Hinata (our sweetheart Beagle) insisted on leaving her own review – please see her review below.

I can honestly say that Archer hotel understands what it is to provide a luxurious stay! For me, luxury means that all of the little details are thought of and taken care of. With Archer, every single detail was thought of, which I’ll tell you about below. The hotel itself is STUNNING in terms of its decor and build quality! If I had to describe it, I would say it’s very Texas Glam and that’s absolutely perfect for being in the capital of Texas. To give you an idea, we drove in to park at valet and as we stepped out of the car, to a warm welcome, we saw a sign standing about 4 feet from the ground that said “Live Love Bark”  with a big doggy water bowel beside it – so in other words, I was smiling before I even walked into the building.  As far as the Texas Glam style goes, picture this for the lobby, as you walk in there’s a huge, beautiful, chandelier next to a massive mural of wild horses and they pull it off perfectly. I can easily say that Archer sets a good, early, first impression and stands out from the rest.

 

I wasn’t sure what to expect with our suite but when I walked in our suite I was immediately super happy. As I began to look around, I was blown away as I consider myself to have a very good sense for decor and rarely find anywhere that does it all right. With Archer, the bright whites paired against contrasting dark woods with a little bit of pop from the mural of wild horses covering the wall and the mosaic tiles in the bathroom…absolutely beautiful! Having taken in all of the details from lobby to our suite, I was getting so excited to kick back, relax and enjoy the night there. I could’t wait to take a bath in their, fit for a princess, bath tub then lounge on the patio overlooking the domain. Did I mention that I got to have my puppy right there with me? I can’t tell you how perfect life felt at that moment (if you have your own puppy, you’ll appreciate how hard it is to leave them behind and how amazing it feels to bring them along). As if this wasn’t all enough to get us off to an amazing start, we received a knock at the door only a few minutes after beginning to settle in and what happened next brought a huge smile to my face as we were surprised with sparkling wine and cheese board…2 of my favorite things. Yet again, a lot of great hotels fall flat when it comes to food and tend to have “mediocre” options – Club sandwich, BLT’s etc (not that either of those are bad!) – the wine was really nice and that cheeseboard was so freaking good! I mean it was a legitimate cheeseboard, the likes of which you could expect at a high end restaurant and if you’ve been following me for any period of time, then you’ll know that Peter and I are huge foodies! Even Peter was impressed! (now that’s something)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello people,

My name is Hinata (The Beagle) Tarr and thank you for reading my review. I hope that your puppies are with you while you read this and that they have been fed a lot of treats today. I wanted to leave my address here asking you to ship any extra treats you might have over to me but Mom made me take it down. Something about privacy…although I’m really not sure what privacy has to do with eating treats and I can’t imagine how it could be as important but I rarely get my way when it comes to treats but before I forget, I wanted to tell you about the Archer Hotel. Also known as Palace of Pups! Hopefully I haven’t given too much away.

We arrived in the city of “Domain” riding our black beast with four wheels underneath it, I think his name is “car” since that’s what Mom and Dad always call him (or her? I don’t know how to tell). A man named valet got into the beast and took over the reigns. Upon getting out, I was quite pleased and honored to see that the people of Archer Hotel had put out a silver water bowl for me with fresh water and a sign for puppies. That they did all of this work for me let me know that these were classy people and in using my Beagle snout to sniff around, I could tell that other esteemed members of the puppy world had visited the Archer Hotel (I believe it is a kingdom…again, I’m not sure).

The glass came alive and moved out of our way letting us into the Archer (is it a palace? Because a Kingdom like this should have a palace? Still not sure). Mom and Dad referred to the glass creatures as “sliders” or “sliding” doors, I can’t remember exactly but they were scary enough for me not to want to hang around and learn more. The people of Archer Hotel were very nice, they pointed at me, spoke to me and gave me a head rub – which I always appreciate. I was thankful not to have to take any photos as I had just woken up from a nap and the “sliding doors” had me on edge still.

After some horrifying travel through the Archer (palace?) Hotel, we ended up in our new home away from our home…I’m still not sure how this all works. I put my snout to use and began exploring this wonderful new space. After a few minutes, a man came to our door and with him were gifts and luxuries fit for a King! Surely, the King of the Archer Hotel had recognized who I was and decided to his respects and I can assure you all that I will remember this act of class forever. But let me tell you what his majesty sent me, I was sent a plush puppy bed to lay on, entertainment gadgets (a tennis ball and a stuffed animal Brontosauraus) along with some of the finest, grain free, peanut butter flavored treats and two silver bowls for my meals and beverages. How did they know that I love peanut butter?!? How did they know I wanted entertainment gadgets? (what you all call “toys”) How did they know that I love a comfy plush bed to lounge on during the day? How, how how? I do not know but I sure hope Mom & Dad take note that this is how a typical day should be. What can I say about the people of Archer Hotel and their kingdom? From the perspective of a discerning puppy who knows how to relax, I can say that these are very special people and any other puppy would be lucky to visit their wonderful (palace? Seriously…someone needs to check this out for me. It has to be a palace, that’s the only thing that makes sense)…hotel! Yes, that’s the word they used, sorry – us Beagles get lost in details…or aromas…or treats…or other food…where was I again? Yes, the Archer Hotel. Ahh, I miss it. I loved it. I can NOT wait to go back. I will conclude by saying this, if I didn’t know that I’d get grounded for the rest of my life, I would steal our beast on wheels named “car” and have him take me back to the Archer Hotel so that I could live there!!! If this is what my Mom and Dad do whenever they’re away, I want to go along on every future trip – especially if we are visiting the Archer Hotel.

I give this establishment my Platinum Paw Rating and Two Paws Up!

 

Big thanks to Archer Hotel for accommodating Peter, Hinata and myself. Our stay was nothing short of perfection. Peter and I can’t wait to visit their New York location!