Dog owners like to take their pets with them wherever they go, whether it’s a holiday, a walk, a beer with friends or even the office. Dogs are currently not allowed to swim in Lake Balaton, but earlier this year we published a map to show you the dog-friendly beaches of the area. Thankfully, the number of businesses that welcome four-legged patrons is on the rise: there are more and more place where canine friends out and about with their owners can expect to be greeted with a smile and a bowl of water.
For the past three years, kutyabarat.hu has been committed to helping dog owners find these spots – one of their main aims is to spread awareness about the existence and significance of such revolutionary efforts made to improve the lives of our four-legged companions. In a bid to further this goal, the portal will carry on with last year’s initiative, launching a competition to find and reward the best dog-friendly places of the year.
Last year, most of the establishments that emerged victorious were based in Budapest; the awardee located closest to Lake Balaton was Szent Orbán Pension in Zalakaros. By now, a fair number of other Balaton hang-outs are also featured on kutyabarat.hu, including Pelso Pension in Máriafürdő, Határ Restaurant in Almádi and Füred’s Karolina Café and Baricska Csárda. We strongly believe that many more catering businesses deserve to be on the website, so we’d like to urge all Balaton companies to enter the competition if they are open to receiving two- and four-legged guests as well.
How to enter
Businesses of any kind can apply until September 27 (they can enter multiple venues in more than one category): with this step alone, they can get guaranteed exposure, earning the confidence and affection of the website’s users, 2 million responsible dog owners. To be able to enter, participants will have to pay a competition fee of 20,000 HUF+VAT/unit, and fill out and submit the application form. One winner will be named Dog-friendly business of the year in each of the following nine categories (special prizes will also be handed out):
- Restaurants in Budapest
- Restaurants in the countryside
- Cafés in Budapest
- Cafés in the countryside
- Ruin pubs/pubs/wine bars
- Hotels
- Pensions/Guest houses
- Confectioneries
- Offices
Starting on September 28, the jury and the guests will have a month to come to a decision by reviewing a certain spot based on four criteria: dog-friendly attitude, range of services (water bowl, capacity, discounts etc.), communication and social responsibility.
We can reveal in advance that this year We Love Balaton will also weigh in on the issue, and will award special prizes in the restaurant and café categories. Just like last year, our sister site We Love Budapest will pick its favourites as well, this time in the Restaurants in Budapest, Cafés in Budapest, ruin pub and confectioneries categories.
