Best dog-friendly hotels UK

If you're searching for a decent dog-friendly hotel in the UK, our undercover inspectors stay at hundreds of hotels, to bring you honest and impartial reviews you can trust.

As well as receiving glowing appraisals (each scored four out of five stars or above) overall, all of the hotels below welcome dogs. There are rural retreats like Another Place in the Lake District, which recommends dog-friendly walks from the doorstep, but we've also got city stays, including a rare pet-friendly hotel in the heart of London. 

We completed stays at the hotels included within the past two years. Prices are for a classic double for a Saturday night (peak price) and correct at the time of publication. All scores are out of five.

Find out more: the best dog insurance, as rated by our experts

Plan better holidays

Our independent recommendations show you the best places to go, who to go with and how to pay less. Join today from only £4.99 a month.

Join Which? Travel

Well-rated dog-friendly hotel in Devon: Hotel Endsleigh

Score: 4.5

Peak price: £290

Book your dog-friendly stay with Booking.com

Check prices direct

This Dartmoor hotel was once the enviable rural retreat of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, who, in 1814, enlisted the help of landscape designer Humphry Repton to transform its grounds. Now part of The Polizzi Collection, both the Grade I-listed house and surrounding gardens are resplendent. Pick up a map and explore the 108 acres – you’ll discover follies, grottos, waterfalls and an arboretum, as well as a yew arch and fragrant rose walk with views down to the River Tamar.

Rooms: All 19 rooms have been elegantly designed by Olga Polizzi and many retain period features – we loved the fire buckets and hose reels on the landing upstairs. Our Classic Double (room 16), with its botanical paintings and roll-top bath (not all rooms have separate showers), overlooked the stables and clock tower. For the best garden views, choose one of the Repton rooms. Original hand-painted wallpaper is still on show in the Bedford rooms. A two-night stay is often required. There is a £25 charge for dogs. A dog bed, bowls and treats will be waiting on arrival.  

Food & drink: Venison, duck breast and turbot with seaweed beurre blanc were among the mains on our three-course dinner menu (£67.50), although many visit simply to enjoy a garden stroll followed by afternoon cream tea (£35).

Where are dogs allowed? They're not permitted in the main restaurant, but staff offer to take your dog on a walk while you dine. Dogs are allowed in other public rooms and the terraces.  

Our verdict: Everything about Hotel Endsleigh is enchanting, including the attentive staff. A first-class escape.

Reviewed: May 2023.

Well-rated dog-friendly hotel in Inveraray: The George Hotel

Score: 4

Peak price: £175

Book your dog-friendly stay with Booking.com

Check prices direct

Near Loch Fyne, this convivial hostelry has been owned by the Clark family since 1860, and on our visit Kris, who’s currently at the helm, chatted with locals, overnight guests and four Austrians who’d travelled to Inveraray to tour the neo-Gothic castle. A former coaching inn, the George has an atmospheric cocktail bar which is the main dining area – it still has its original 18th-century stone walls and flagstone floor, as well as settle benches and a crackling open fire. Meals are also served in the modern, light conservatory. 

Rooms: Access to the main building’s 18 bedrooms is up a winding, tartan-carpeted staircase and along creaky corridors filled with antiques and oil paintings. Our standard room had a spacious en suite bathroom with a walk-in shower, and two love seats in a ‘chit chat corner’. Book the Merchant’s Suite for a raised spa bath, double rainfall shower and wood-burning stove. There is no additional charge for dogs.

Food & drink: Food is served from midday and includes the likes of haggis, neeps and tatties (£12), a seafood selection featuring Loch Fyne salmon (£16) and pan-fried scallops (£18). Do enjoy a nightcap too – if you’re unsure which whisky to order (there are 400 to choose from), knowledgeable bar staff are only too happy to help you find your favourite.

Where are dogs allowed? Everywhere in the hotel, including the restaurant and bar.

Our verdict: A friendly, good-value haunt that’s full of character – one visit won’t be enough.

Reviewed: November 2022.

Well-rated dog-friendly hotel in London: One Hundred Shoreditch

Score: 4

Peak price: £223

Book your dog-friendly stay with Booking.com

Check prices direct

Shoreditch is the byword for hipster cliches, and you’ll find every single one inside OneHundred. There’s a co-working space upstairs, a Peloton studio downstairs and a cocktail lounge in the basement where they’ll mix your gin with dandelion leaves. Yet behind the scenes are 258 stylishly furnished rooms with comfortable beds just a 15-minute walk from the City.

Rooms: Here, even the ‘studio’ rooms (the smallest) feel spacious. The effect is helped by neutral paints, woollen cream carpets and a sleek scarcity of clutter. And with a generous checkout time of noon and blackout blinds pulled down, the comfy bed is the sort of place you want to live in. You need to book specific dog-friendly rooms although these are available across all different room types. It's an extra £35 and dog bowls, beds and treats will be provided. 

Food & drink: Something equally miraculous is happening in the downstairs restaurant: a stylish bistro of deep woods, brass rails and leather seats where mains (like Cornish Fish stew and a garlic spelt risotto) come in at under £20. For Shoreditch, that’s remarkable. Sadly, breakfast was underwhelming – the full English and healthier options were there, but items were slow to be refilled. Plus, it feels cheap that hotel guests receive lukewarm filter coffee while baristas whip up frothy flat whites for walk-ins off the street.

Where are dogs allowed? All dogs are welcome everywhere except the Seed Library.

Our verdict: Ignore the hipster theatrics and One Hundred is one of London’s best mid-range bargains.

Reviewed: January 2023.

Well-rated dog-friendly hotel in Rye: The George 

Score: 4

Peak price: £248

Book your dog-friendly stay with Booking.com

Check prices direct

If you didn’t know The George was almost destroyed by fire in 2019, you might wonder how the owners got away with such a complete, rip-it-up-and-start-again refurb. Where’s the musty smell you normally get in 16th-century coaching inns? While there are still oak beams and an original fireplace in The Dragon Bar, the smart wood panels and end-grain flooring look like they were sawn yesterday. 

The modern art and statement décor – a sailcloth hanging on the dining room wall, bold red paintings – should be an affront to this venerable old Rye institution, but instead it’s like a stylish new suit on an old friend.

Rooms: All the 41 rooms have their own personality, even the new ones in an annex by the courtyard. Five are dog-friendly (in classic and luxury categories) and cost an extra £50 per night.

For couples it’s worth paying extra for a Classic – rather than Cosy – room. The latter only just squeezed in a bed (although they still have a bath as well as shower). The extra varies, but we found one upgrade in December for £36 extra. Go one step further and choose a Superior Room and you get a roll-top bath and even more space - around another £50 on top.

Food & drink: The fish stew at dinner is rich with garlic and cream, giving it a lush, generous flavour and silky texture. At breakfast, the eggs with smashed avocado have the perfect amount of chilli for first thing in the morning – a gentle nudge rather than a kick.

Where are dogs allowed?  The bar is dog-friendly, but the restaurant is not. However, guests with dogs are welcome to eat in the snug (part of the bar), which has the same menu as the restaurant.

Our verdict: A hotel as good as this makes a trip to charming Rye even more appealing. 

Well-rated dog-friendly hotel in Norfolk: The Gunton Arms

Score: 4

Peak price: £175

Book your dog-friendly stay direct 

Set within a thousand-acre deer park near Cromer, the Gunton Arms is a traditional gastropub with rooms – with a difference. Owner Ivor Braka, a rock ‘n’ roll Chelsea art dealer, has hung pieces from his provocative collection (which includes works by Damien Hirst and Lucian Freud) in every bohemian cubbyhole. This rock ‘n’ roll energy is further confirmed by a receptionist who remarks that a guest is planning to drop in for lunch in his helicopter. Yet, on our visit, rugby-watching locals outnumber extravagant flying visitors.

Rooms: Our room in the coach house is an elegant jumble of country-house fabrics and vintage lampshades. There’s a free-standing bath, and twin sinks in the huge grey-marble-tiled bathroom - plus a range of local toiletries. The cheapest rooms (£135) in the main house are snapped up months in advance. There are a few select bedrooms at The Gunton Arms that permit dogs, so book accordingly - and let the hotel know in advance so they can prepare the room. It costs £20 extra. 

Food & drink: Chef Stuart Tattersall cooks succulent, locally sourced steaks on the open fire under the fossilised skull of a 10,000-year-old elk. It’s not something you see every day. Neither are you likely to often eat a first-class full English breakfast under the neon glare of Tracey Emin’s illuminated signs.

Where are dogs allowed? Your dog can accompany you to dinner, but let the restaurant know you'll have a dog in tow so that they can seat you accordingly. 

Our verdict: Braka could have hidden his art away, but his collection – like his unpretentious inn – is accessible to all. A decadent feast for the eyes. 

Reviewed: May 2024

How we review hotels

Unlike all other national UK travel magazines and newspaper travel sections, Which? Travel never accepts freebies. We pay wherever we stay.

All our hotel inspections take place anonymously. We book a standard double room online, just as you would, and we sample the hotel’s facilities, just as you would.

That means no special treatment, no reviewer upgrades and no opportunity for the hotel to influence our verdict.

And no matter how badly the hotel fares, we always publish the review, warts and all.

Our ratings

We use an overall star rating for the hotel based on what we think you should expect for the type of accommodation (B&B, luxury hotel etc) and price.

All our ratings strictly adhere to the following criteria:

• 0 stars – A dreadful hotel. We would not recommend staying here.
• 1 star   – A sub-standard hotel we think is well below average in its category.
• 2 stars – An adequate hotel we think has room for improvement.
• 3 stars – A solid hotel that meets our expectations.
• 4 stars – An excellent hotel we think is above average in its category.
• 5 stars – An exceptional hotel we think is among the best of its type.