Disappointing Service for the Price: £1130 for 13 Days.£1130.43 for 13 days / £86.96 per day during Christmas Period + £120 for Shuttle to Royvon Merthyr total (£60 each way).- Our boxer lost 4.5kg during his 13 day stay with fur malting and ribs visible (34.5kg to 30kg) - he ate like he was starving when we got him home (they also returned some of the food we provided to be eaten during his stay). When I requested an update on how he was eating during his stay, they said via email that he was 'eating well'.- He had horrible breath that smelled like he'd been eating his own poo (which he has never done before).- He was walked on a slip lead repeatedly despite us asking them not to use a slip lead with him.- The base price per day (£35 or £45 per day during Peak Season) includes no toilet breaks / walks or anything apart from the kennel and an "Enrichment Report". You have to add on at least a couple of 10 minute toilet opportunities (daytime £3.20 / bedtime £8.60) or woodland walks (£10 for 20 minutes).- "Enrichment reports" consist of a few photos during the woodland walk or play/enrichment/training sessions you pay extra for - no photos of other activities / in the kennel unless you specifically request via email (e.g. we asked for a photo of him in his kennel and one of him enjoying his daily Kong we paid for (£2.70) and then received that as well). Only 1 written report was provided with the photos in 13 day stay and 1 video. When I complained via email, I did get a more detailed response on how he was getting on which was appreciated.○ At this premium price, we were expecting lots of videos and photos as well as a detailed report every day on how he was getting on and what he'd been up to, which is not the case and is not what is suggested on social media (e.g. King (Dec-24) where they show a detailed written update on how the dog is doing as well as photos).○ The walks and enrichment activities looked lovely from the pictures on the whole (apart from when he was being walked on the slip lead).- We booked one training session as well during his stay (£17) and received a 2 min video of this which looked good, but received no report or feedback otherwise on how it went / what went well / what they worked on.- We were provided with a WhatsApp number to message if we wanted more updates, but no-one ever responded to this number.Will not be booking again.

Response from the owner: Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about Homer’s recent stay. We’re sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations and appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.Value for MoneyWe understand your concerns regarding the cost of Homer’s stay, particularly during the Christmas period. Our pricing reflects the tailored nature of our services, allowing owners to choose activities and routines that suit their dog’s needs. Homer’s schedule included a significant number of enrichment sessions and activities, which enhanced his experience but also increased the overall cost. These sessions, priced at approximately £10 per half hour, are optional, but they contributed to Homer’s high level of activity and enjoyment during his stay.Additionally, during peak periods such as Christmas, our staff are paid double or triple time to ensure we retain the best professionals in the industry. This commitment to quality staffing allows us to deliver exceptional care to all our guests, supported by our 65-year heritage and reputation. We also strive to keep supplementary charges, such as the pet taxi service (30p per mile), fair and competitive.Homer’s experience reflects the personalized care we provide. The countless images we shared with you showed him being energetic, playful, and clearly having the time of his life—whether exploring the woodlands, enjoying his Kong, or engaging in his enrichment activities. He truly made the most of his time with us.Communication and UpdatesWe acknowledge that our communication did not fully meet your expectations. While we provide an enrichment report with photos of daily activities, we do not currently offer written updates or videos for every session as part of our standard service. Based on your feedback, we are revising our messaging to ensure that all customers have clear and accurate expectations about the updates we provide.That said, we shared regular updates during Homer’s stay, including numerous photos showing his activities and well-being. For example, one of the updates included:“I wanted to reassure you that Homer is doing wonderfully. Richard mentioned how much he enjoys his Kong, and I know you’ve already seen pictures of him savoring it. He’s also been having a great time exploring the woodlands, taking in the scents and surroundings, and bouncing around during his play sessions. Andrea, our manager, shared that he’s one of the most settled dogs we’ve had—so relaxed and loving his enrichment activities.”At the end of Homer’s stay, we sent a final update from Andrea, highlighting the love and care he received:“We are very sad to see Homer go tomorrow. I have bathed him today, cleaned his eyes, and applied paw and nose balm on him. He had loads of kisses during his bath. I will miss him very much. He is such a character—so sweet and loving. Thank you for trusting us with his care; I can assure you he was very loved and had loads of fun.”While these updates reflected Homer’s well-being and enjoyment, we understand they did not align with the level of communication you expected. We are committed to improving our processes to better meet customer needs.Homer’s Well-BeingHomer is a delightful dog, and it was a pleasure to care for him. His weight loss was due to his increased activity levels, which we carefully monitored. His feeding routine was tailored to prevent bloat, a precaution particularly important for Boxers. The images we shared during his stay show how much he enjoyed his activities and the care he received from our team.Commitment to ImprovementYour feedback has prompted us to make several improvements:We will update our messaging to set clearer expectations for communication and updates.We will review our internal processes to ensure all customer instructions and feedback are acted on promptly.We will continue to focus on balancing affordability with the high-quality care our guests deserve.

Nicole Krueger

I would absolutely recommend Royvon for residential training. My partner and I sent our 16 month German shepherd, Nova, to the 3-week board and train at Royvon to help us continue progress on some of Nova’s behaviours we have had challenges with changing such as over excitement around other dogs and new environments and a lack of engagement with us in these situations. This also served as boarding for us whilst we were on holiday for a week. Nova is super friendly which makes it difficult to take her places as her over excitement can easily make other dogs nervous and put us in a tough situation handling her. We were nervous to send Nova to a board and train as she has never been away from us this long and we were not sure how she would get on in the kennels, but the staff at Royvon, and our trainer Charlie, quickly put us at ease through a 121 consultation and a tester night in the kennels. We looked at a few other board and trains and Royvon was the clear choice. Not only did Charlie work with us to understand our real trouble areas with Nova, but she created a training plan catered to Nova and our needs. We got so many videos walking us through the training and what it targeted that we were able to follow along the three weeks and really see progress and understand what we would need to do to continue the training with Nova once she was back with us. Outside of the training videos, we got daily updates and photos from the care staff showing us Novas play sessions and letting us know how she was getting on. We loved seeing Nova have play sessions with staff and other dogs staying there making us feel at ease that she was having fun as well and being well taken care of. After the 3-weeks we had a 2-hour handover with Charlie where she walked us through what was covered and had us run through drills so we felt ready to carry on all the hard work she put in. It’s only been a few days since we picked Nova up, but we can already see the difference in her engagement with us during our training sessions and her ability to relax indoors. We’re so excited to see continued progress with everything Charlie has showed us and keep working on her training at home and in our local environments. Although she still has a ways to go, we already feel so much more positive and confident that we will get to our desired goals and we have been having lots of fun with working with Nova! Looking forward to our follow-up sessions and we will definitely consider the other services Royvon offers as we know Nova is in great hands! Thanks to Charlie and whole team for everything.

Hannah Duncan

A million percent would recommend, Charlie went above and beyond with our nervous, reactive boy and did absolutely everything she could to make him and us feel comfortable with his residential training, the foundations she's laid with both him and us are incredibly clear and the confidence we have with him now is unreal, I was too anxious to walk him before but after leaving him at Royvon for only three weeks am now able to enjoy his walks to the fullest and now look forward to them! He is still reactive (because Rome wasn't built in a day), but we now have the proper tools in place to be able to manage him and build his confidence up to a level where he'll be able to walk past unknown dogs and ignore them, and we have no doubt that he is capable because Charlie has showed us how! It was the hardest decision ever to send him but after seeing the difference and how far he's come we would do it again in a heartbeat, we have absolutely no regrets and will forever be grateful for the care that Charlie and the whole team showed to him, and for the understanding that they showed me being a very worried puppy mum, if anyone is in two minds about whether or not Royvon will help their dog then forget any doubts, 10/10 service in every way imaginable!!!

Zoe Counselling email

The first thing i want to say is Royvon far exceeded my expectations for what I was expecting from my 1.5 year old xl bully. I wanted the best training for him due to all the bad press they get and following neutering, he went back into some silly puppy behaviour so wanted it nipped in the bud ASAP.Maslow went for 3 weeks residential and spent a lot of his time with Charlie who is fantastic. She sent regular updates including videos and pictures which we could go through in preparation for getting him home. We had updates daily from the report team to let me know that his report was ready. He had a great time.I cannot recommend Charlie and the team enough. Definitely worth the money and he has come home ready to carry on with the training and is listening to me and eager to learn. If you're having issues with your dog then give the team at Royvon a call, it's made my life a lot easier already.

Charlie Stearn

Having used Royvon for my parents' rescue dog a few years ago with such a positive experience, they were my first thought for my 10 month old Border Collie puppy, Molly. Molly was struggling with her confidence around other dogs, reactivity to cars, lead pulling and a strong prey-drive towards small animals/birds.Molly's trainer during her stay was Charlie who was brilliant. She was able to quickly build up a strong relationship with her and it was easy to see that Molly felt really comfortable. Charlie sent photos and videos from each training session which helped me to track her progress and are great to refer back to now that Molly is back home. Charlie quickly identified Molly's strong herding instinct and was able to direct this positively into various "games" which are great outlet.Throughout her stay, I also received daily photos from the care team taken during her group play sessions as well as enrichment reports. She was initially only socialised with one older, calmer collie to build up her confidence before being introduced to a larger group. It was great to see her confidence grow.Molly is much more focused on walks and confident around other dogs and cars. Thank you to Charlie and the team at Royvon!

Nicole Peterson

We have a very timid and anxious Chihuahua who loved working with Charlie on games that helped him get more comfortable on walks and with other people. Charlie was patient and very helpful, always uploading videos of what we did so we could keep training at home.

Avril James

Bert can be a little bit difficult, but we are never made to feel like he is too much to handle at Royvon. Love the fact they remember who he is when we arrive. Fabulous care by Royvon and won’t use any other kennels - thank you!

Call_Me_PAPII666

Brought my German shepherd for the 3 week residential training and I’m more than happy with the results and explained everything that I needed to manage my dogs reactivity

Kirk Johnson

The whole team at Royvon provides such an excellent experience and customer service. We specifically chose the 3 week behavioural training for our excitable Belgian Lab and we have seen such a huge improvement. We received daily updates throughout the 3 weeks with videos and photos of how the training was progressing and so that we could become more knowledgeable on the exercises we will need to be doing. Our trainer Charlie was very professional and genuinely treated our boy like he was one of her own. The training concluded with a thorough handover session and training pack along with several reinforcement sessions. Faultless service overall and highly recommended Charlie and the whole team at Royvon.

Henry Bremridge