While December fills homes with lights, festive dinners and the promise of a long-awaited break, it also brings back a familiar concern for many pet owners preparing to go on holiday: who will look after their beloved animals with the same care they receive at home?
Sweetnest, a pet hotel in Uccle, was created to offer that peace of mind.
A vision born at home
Saskia Otte built her business around a simple idea: pets deserve the same comfort, attention and emotional safety as their humans. Before launching her business, she spent years entering people’s homes as a pet-sitter.
Saskia, owner and founder of Sweetnest. Credit: Handout
“I noticed a real demand from owners who didn’t just want someone to feed their animals - they wanted a presence in their home when they had to be away,” she tells The Brussels Times.
Her motivation was also personal. “For my own rabbit, I had been looking for a warm, soft place where he could feel at home when I travelled. It didn’t exist in Brussels - so I decided to create it myself.”
A background in animal care
Saskia’s path made her uniquely equipped for the challenge. She studied five years of veterinary medicine, became a veterinary nurse and went on to work with animals of every kind.
“I’ve worked with local and tropical species, I’ve travelled a lot for this job, and I’ve always had animals at home. It made me understand that every animal needs personalised attention,” she says. “That’s exactly what I wanted to bring to Sweetnest.”
Calm, spacious and intimate
Since opening in June 2024, Saskia has insisted on keeping Sweetnest small and serene. The hotel welcomes only 25 animals - fifteen cats and ten rabbits.
“I didn’t want a mass boarding facility. I wanted a calm, spacious place with just a few rooms so each animal gets the attention it deserves,” she explains.
The rooms resemble small apartments rather than cages: hiding spots, cushions, toys and furniture calibrated for emotional comfort. “I wanted to reimagine pet boarding. Not cages with bars, but real private rooms like humans have in hotels, a little apartment for each animal.”
Real private rooms for the pets. Credit: Handout
For the most anxious pets, these cosy spaces can make the difference between stress and tranquillity.
A daily routine for each animal
Sweetnest includes a gentle shared area where animals can play, rest or simply observe. “Even the shy ones participate in their own way - some don’t touch the toys, but they like to sit and watch the others. It gives them presence without pressure,” Saskia says.
Sweetnest also has a backyard for the pets. Credit: Handout
Her method is simple: observe, adapt and reassure. “I try to make the animal feel at home, to respect their rhythm and habits. For stressed animals, I sometimes change their hiding spots or move them to a room without vis-à-vis.” She spends individual time with each pet, offering play, cuddles or calm companionship.
Growing the Sweetnest family
In October 2025, Saskia expanded by taking over Hôtel Carotte, a cat-only hotel that had existed for a decade, located in Linkebeek, at the outer limits of Uccle.
Saskia just opened Hôtel Carotte by Sweetnest in Linkebeek. Credit: Handout
“It’s a 100% feline hotel, it looks like a dollhouse. Taking it over was a personal challenge, a way to expand Sweetnest and deepen my knowledge.”
A holiday lifeline for pet owners
As Christmas approaches, demand for Sweetnest increases. For many, the idea of leaving a pet in an impersonal boarding facility undermines the holiday spirit.
At the pet hotel this philosophy is summed up in the house motto: “Far from stress, close to the heart.” For Saskia, those words are more than a slogan, they are a promise to every animal and every owner who walks through the door.
Sweetnest: Far from home, close to the heart. Credit: Handout
“The idea isn’t that animals adapt to the hotel,” she insists. “It’s the hotel and me that adapts to them.” By creating a space where comfort, safety and emotional well-being come first, Sweetnest aims to offer pets a true home away from home, and owners the peace of mind that their companions are cared for with genuine love.
Here is a list of pet hotels in Brussels and its surroundings:
- Sweetnest: rue Edith Cavel 216 - Uccle
- Hôtel Carotte by Sweetnest: Kleindalstraat 11 - Linkebeek
- Royal Félin: rue Saint-Guidon 94 - Anderlecht
- Charaton: rue Borrens 35 - Ixelles
- Nos Petits Amis: rue Lambert Vandervelde 52 - Auderghem
- Pelgrims Pension: Maelbeekstraat 15 - Dilbeek
- Madame Cocker: rue de Mot 20 - Etterbeek
- L’arche de Laura: Leeuwerikenlaan 6 - Dilbeek
- Sweetturtle: rue de Nieuwenhove - Uccle
