Ask Jennie Watson about Boston and the chances are the first thing she will tell you is about Catie Copley at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel.
Popular with guests and staff alike, Catie is no ordinary member of the hotel ‘staff’.
The 14-year-old black labrador has her own bed in reception, and there is a stamp of her paw print for guests to use to ‘sign’ books they buy from the hotel shop. And if they are missing their own pets while on holiday, they can even take Catie out for a walk.
Travel Weekly Cover Star and dog lover Jennie was so smitten, she made sure the first picture she tweeted from the Cover Stars trip to Massachusetts was a picture of the lovable canine.
“I fell in love with Catie, although I didn’t have time to take her for a walk,” she admits. “It gave the hotel such a friendly feel. They even hold birthday parties for her.”
For Jennie, the chance to explore Boston and Cape Cod was an opportunity she was determined not to miss. “I have always wanted to go to Boston, so when I saw the Cover Stars trip, I decided to go for it,” she says.
Jennie’s photoshoot in Wrentham Village Premium Outlets was an experience she will remember for a long time. “I wore a jumpsuit that I wouldn’t normally have picked and they put big eyelashes on me and gave me big hair – it was nice to look completely different,” she says. “A few tourists even got their cameras out.”
As a history buff, the sightseeing tours gave Jennie an opportunity to find out more about US history, as well as see places that feature in so many films and TV shows.
From the history and movie walking tours around Boston and views from the Skywalk Observatory to a tour focused on the Kennedy family and a visit to the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Jennie couldn’t get enough of America’s history.
“I loved Boston. It is quieter and prettier than New York and there is so much history,” she says.
“My dad loved the history about the Kennedy family and that is how I got interested in it. When I was in Cape Cod, there was time to go on a shopping trip but I opted to go with the boys on a Kennedy-themed tour. It was a great day out and I learned so much.”