Celebrating 10 years of luxury at Africa’s first 5-star dog hotel in Cape Town

It’s not every day that you meet a hotel guest whose tail wags at check-in, but in Cape Town’s city centre that’s exactly the norm. 

atFrits Dog Hotel and Daycare Centre, which was Africa’s very first five-star dog hotel, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. 

I sat down with founder Yanic Klue to talk about how this bold concept has flourished into a thriving pet-hospitality business, and why dog lovers across the city are still flocking through its doors.

“It all started when I saw a dog-hotel in the United States and knew that I had to do this in Mzansi,” Yanic recalls. From that moment in 2010 she spent five years planning and developing what became atFrits, long before the idea of a luxury dog “hotel” existed in South Africa.

When atFrits launched on 1 December 2015, it wasn’t simply a novelty: it was a first. 

Cape Town’s city authorities gave the green light to the concept and the hotel opened its gates to canine guests.

Yanic remembers the early years: “We were the first dog hotel on the African continent. What makes us unique, we’re like a one-stop shop for dogs,” she explains. 

The facility offers daycare, overnight boarding, grooming spa treatments and physiotherapy. From the outset, live 24/7 webcam monitoring was built in to ensure transparency and peace of mind for pet owners.

Reflecting on occupancy figures, Yanic says that the concept caught on very quickly and became popular “with 90 % occupancy year-round in its early years.”

Over the past decade atFrits has handled more than 370 000 dog stays, a figure that highlights how the “fur-baby” culture has grown in South Africa.

“We don’t see status, background, or bank balance; we simply see dogs,” she stresses. 

While atFrits does host a few celebrity pooches, the business was never designed for glamour alone. “Whether it’s the pet of a well-known client or a rescue staying for a short while, every dog receives the same love and attention, provided they’re fully vaccinated and sterilised over six months of age,” she adds.

Setting the standard

One of the things that distinguishes atFrits is its transparency and commitment to trust. “We are still the only dog hotel in South Africa with 24/7 cameras installed throughout the facility,” Yanic says. 

“Transparency builds trust, and trust builds community.” According to media coverage, other up-and-coming dog hotels have emerged, but some have cut corners; the atFrits founder remains vocal about the need for rigorous welfare standards in this growing market.

In 2018 the business even expanded to include a full-scale cat hotel and grew its operational team considerably. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic Yanic made the strategic decision to purchase and return to the original building, emphasising that “the core of atFrits has always stayed the same; the cameras, the care, the familiarity – those are the things that matter.”

The entrepreneurial vision

As a female entrepreneur in a niche field, Yanic has faced her share of scepticism. “Entrepreneurs are sometimes too impatient and end up starting their business prematurely. They don’t think through all the influencing aspects and how they are going to reach their target market and create trust,” she says.

Her careful groundwork, from brand development to facility planning, paid off.

“For us, all dogs deserve the best care. You won’t leave your children in an environment that you yourself will not feel comfortable in. At atFrits, it’s all about transparency, the level of care and knowledge, what the hotel sounds and smells like, and the quality of service we deliver. Trust and consistency are everything,” she says. 

And pet-owners quickly responded: loyal clients and hundreds of five-star reviews followed.

Community impact

More than just a luxury dog hotel, atFrits has an ethos of upliftment. Among its initiatives is the Cape Town Pet Upliftment Project (CTPUP), which works with the Cape of Good Hope SPCA to provide affordable sterilisation, micro-chipping and vaccinations for pets in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. 

Yanic says: “If every business in South Africa just changed the lives of the people and animals around their businesses, South Africa would be a better place.”

Many atFrits’ staff and partners come from local communities; seamstresses in previously disadvantaged communities are supported to start their own businesses producing dog-clothing and accessories. 

By doing so, the business both caters to pet-owners and contributes meaningfully to its neighbourhood.

Looking forward

After ten years in business, atFrits is using its anniversary as a moment to reaffirm its mission: to care for dogs as family, uplift people through meaningful work, and run a business where transparency, trust and humanity are non-negotiable. 

Yanic sums it up: “People are always saying, How can you set up a dog hotel in a third-world country? But they don’t realise small and medium businesses like this are what will make our country move forward. They’re keeping the economy alive.”

For pet-owners in Cape Town, this means that the days of leaving your dog in a standard kennel are not the only option - and if you want the full five-star canine treatment for your fury family members, the doors of atFrits are open.

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