Travelling with your dog has never been easier in the UK. As thousands of Britons made the leap into dog ownership during the pandemic, hundreds more pubs, restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels have opened their doors to our four-legged friends.
But there is a difference between being dog-friendly and dog-tolerant, as not all hotels are well set up for people bringing pets. The best dog-friendly hotels might offer your dog treats on arrival, provide poo bags and bowls in the room and perhaps even a dog bed. Extra dog-friendliness points go to places that throw in pet sitting services, maps for local walks and home-cooked meals for your beloved hound.
Here’s our pick of the best dog-friendly hotels in the UK.
The best dog-friendly hotels in the UK are:
- Best for outdoors adventures: Low Mill Guesthouse, Booking.com
- Best for budget breaks: The Rocks at Plas Curig, Booking.com
- Best for waterside fun: The Lovat, Booking.com
- Best for golfing: Slieve Donard, Booking.com
- Best for serious hikes: The Inn on the Lake, Booking.com
- Best for urban exploring: Kimpton Charlotte Square, Booking.com
- Best for city style: Holmes Hotel, Booking.com
- Best for beach trips: The Victoria Inn, Booking.com
- Best for family holidays: Moonfleet Manor, Booking.com
- Best for romantic getaways: Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa, Booking.com
Best for outdoors adventures: Low Mill Guesthouse, Yorkshire
Where: Bainbridge, Yorkshire Dales, England
The best hotels for dog owners are run by dog owners themselves, and Low Mill Guesthouse is a delightful little bed and breakfast with resident greyhound Dolly to greet you at the door. Its three bedrooms are set within an 18th-century corn mill and it’s all about little luxury touches with a few quirky details: think Dali-inspired clocks hanging on original brick fireplaces, ceramic dog ornaments guarding your bedroom door and in-room bathtubs with glorious Dales views.
Price: Doubles from £125, B&B
Best for budget breaks: The Rocks at Plas Curig, Snowdonia
Where: Snowdonia National Park, Wales
Don’t let the word “hostel” put you off, as The Rocks at Plas Curig is on the more luxurious side of budget travel. Run by a dog-owning born-and-bred Snowdonian, this place has thought of everything, from little hooks all over the supremely stylish communal areas for tying the dog up while you’re eating or cooking in the lovely kitchen, to a cosy fire pit overlooking the Llynnau Mymbyr. On a clear day, you can see right across the water to Mount Snowdon, and there are myriad walks right on the hostel’s doorstep – the national park really is an adventure playground for dogs.
Price: Doubles from £60, self-catering
Best for waterside fun: The Lovat, Loch Ness
Where: Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands
There’s a lot to love about The Lovat, not least because it sits just a short walk from the shores of Loch Ness, Scotland’s most fabled body of water. The restaurant here is spectacular and dog-friendly, serving tasting menus and delicately flavoured dishes with local produce at their core. Accommodation for dog owners is in the Garden Rooms, which sit behind the main house – a 19th-century construction with wood-panelled walls and lovely lounges to languish in – and have their own private patios for dogs to roam around. There’s a fenced-in lawn out the front of the hotel where you can play a spot of fetch before bed, and countless walks along the Caledonian Canal and around Loch Ness itself. Don’t miss a tour on the Jacobite Cruises boats for a proper introduction to Loch Ness.
Price: Doubles from £110, B&B
Best for golfing: Slieve Donard, County Down
Where: Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland
Six acres of grounds and two 18-hole golf courses nearby will keep you entertained at Slieve Donard, and the dog will love racing around on Murlough Beach (though be sure to keep them on the lead in the nature reserve area). The hotel itself is a magnificent red-brick Victorian property with elegant bedrooms and a serene spa. Dogs are allowed in most public areas of the hotel, including the restaurant and bar for refuelling after a day on the fairway.
Price: Doubles from £180, B&B
Best for serious hikes: The Inn on the Lake, Lake District
Where: Lake Ullswater, Glenridding, Cumbria
Lake District hikes should always end in a bar with a view and The Inn on The Lake delivers: find one of the dog-friendly lounge areas or head straight for something to eat in their Orangery restaurant and you’ll be able to dine and drink with spectacular vistas of Ullswater. Some of the bedrooms have these same mesmerising views framed by tall Victorian windows and heavy curtains to keep the chill out. There’s a lovely lawn right by the water for those morning loo trips, and from here you can set out on the 20-mile Ullswater Way.
Price: Doubles from £250, B&B
Best for urban exploring: Kimpton Charlotte Square, Edinburgh
Where: New Town, Edinburgh
City-centre hotels don’t get more dog-friendly than this. “If it fits in the lift, it’s allowed in” is the policy at Kimpton’s hotels, and the Edinburgh Charlotte Square property has a bonus for dog owners seeking to explore the Scottish capital. The fenced-in lawns in the centre of the square are for residents only, and as a resident at this hotel you get the key to the gardens, which means off-lead games of fetch in a safe city-centre space. It’s a short walk to Princes Street Gardens and the Old Town, and the onsite restaurant, BABA, is dog-friendly and serves the best blackened sweet potato with pomegranate molasses you’ll ever taste.
Price: Doubles from £130, B&B
Best for city style: Holmes Hotel, London
Where: West London
The Sherlock Holmes theme in this Baker Street hotel errs on the side of subtle, but it’s there in some of the artwork throughout its compact, stylish bedrooms. Dogs are well catered for: there’s Lily’s Kitchen biscuits and a bed in the room, plus they’ve got spare dog leads and food behind reception should you need any extra. Dogs can dine with you in the ground-floor lounge and bar, and you’re just around the corner from Regent’s Park here for long, city-centre walks.
Price: Doubles from £250, B&B
Best for beach trips: The Victoria Inn, Norfolk
Where: Holkham, Norfolk
This handsome pub with rooms sits a 10-minute walk from the regal Holkham Hall, ripe for dog walks and cycling (with rentable bikes and dog buggies), but even better is the vast sandy beach that spreads out along the coast just 10 minutes north. Check into the cosy bedrooms here, with their plush carpets and leather armchairs, spend the afternoon on the beach, and then return for dinner in the dog-friendly dining area. The local venison curry is a particular highlight.
Price: Doubles from £200, B&B
Best for family holidays: Moonfleet Manor, Dorset
Where: Weymouth, Dorset
Moonfleet Manor has gone all-out to keep all ages and pedigrees happy on the Dorset coast. Set on the shores of the Fleet Lagoon, a 30-minute drive from Weymouth, this homely hotel has lawns and gardens where the dog can enjoy a run, indoor and outdoor play areas for the kids – including a soft-play warehouse and games room – and a spa for the adults.
Price: Doubles from £140, B&B
Best for romantic getaways: Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa, West Sussex
Where: Climping, Arundel, West Sussex
It might look like it was built in the 12th-century, but Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa is actually a 19th-century construction made from architectural salvage – think medieval doorways and centuries-old windows. But aside from its old-timey character, it delivers on excellent, locally produced food – order from the Climping Menu for a dinner with supremely low food miles – and offers an incredibly relaxing seaside spa. Dogs can join you to eat in the lounge areas and roam around the gardens on a lead (watch out for peacocks), and you can leave them in the room while you enjoy the heated outdoor pool where you can swim to the sound of waves crashing on the shore nearby.
Price: Doubles from £200, B&B
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