Dunedin hotels

Sitting in the tub in the Edinburgh Suite at Fletcher Lodge in Dunedin, New Zealand. Photo by David Lansing.

We’re going to Fletcher Lodge on High Street, we tell the cabbie that picks us up from the Dunedin airport.

“I think I know the one,” he says. “Barks a lot.”

“Who barks a lot?”

“Fletcher.”

“Who’s Fletcher?”

“That’s the dog. Scottish terrier or something. Is that the place you’re thinkin’?”

No idea, we tell him. Did anyone say anything about a dog at the hotel? Don’t think so. Still, when we pull in the driveway to the somewhat Victorian looking lodge, there is, indeed, a small salt-and-pepper dog sitting on the stoop waiting for us.

“There he is,” says the cabbie. “That’s Fletcher. The one I was tellin’ ya about.”

Nevermind the dog. After 36 hours of travel all I want is a long bath. And maybe a drink. Ewa, the Polish-born owner, has them both waiting for me in my room, the Edinburgh Suite. Sherry on the dresser and a lovely claw-foot tub. Run the water, hot as I can stand it, pour myself a thimble full of sherry, and then for the next half hour or so, I give myself a good soak. Lovely.

Fletcher, the dog, in the office at the Fletcher Lodge.