Admirals, Brixham

Admirals is a whole-house rental a few streets back from Brixham harbour, set up for dog owners from the outset. The garden is yours alone, there is parking on site, and the pet terms are published up front rather than left to a phone call. If you find hotel corridors and lifts a strain with a dog in tow, having your own front door and enclosed outdoor space is the practical draw here.

Dogs are welcome for £40 per pet, per week, with one pet per booking. That single-dog limit is the detail to check first if you travel with a pair.

The house itself reads well in guest feedback: high ceilings, generous room sizes, comfortable beds and a warm, well-equipped interior come up repeatedly, and it scores strongly with families and couples in for a weekend away. Feedback from dog owners is more mixed. Cleanliness is the recurring theme, with an unclean freezer and rubbish left under furniture (which a visiting dog duly found) among the complaints. At the low end, one account describes damp in the bathroom, kitchen appliances that were not working, and an uncomfortable run-in with neighbouring residents over a visiting dog, alongside noise from other dogs in the surrounding streets.

Brixham itself suits a dog well. It is a working harbour town rather than a resort, the South West Coast Path runs straight through, and Berry Head Country Park a short drive along the headland gives you open cliff-top walking all year. Several harbourside pubs take dogs in their bar areas, and the town beaches carry the usual summer restrictions, so the coast path tends to be the reliable option in peak season.

Admirals works best for a couple or small family with one dog who want a private base for coast-path walking, and who are comfortable raising anything they find on arrival. If spotless housekeeping is non-negotiable, or you are bringing more than one dog, look at other Brixham options first.