Ambrose Hotel, Barrow-in-Furness

The Ambrose Hotel is a small inn on Duke Street in the centre of Barrow-in-Furness, sitting above a bar, and it is the sort of unfussy place that takes dogs in its stride. Dogs of any size are accepted and they are welcome in the bar downstairs, which means you are not confined to the room in the evening. Guests get their own keys and can come and go as they like, and there is free parking across the road.

Staff are the strongest thing about it. Dog owners describe being looked after properly, with fresh water brought for the dog without being asked, help with bags, and an easy welcome for a solo traveller arriving with two dogs. Value is the other draw: rooms are cheap for what you get, there is a communal fridge, microwave and toaster, tea and coffee are topped up on the landings, and food is available downstairs. The train station, the bus stops and the town's shops are all walkable, and there is a large pet store within easy reach for anything you have forgotten.

The caveats are real and worth reading before booking. The bar is the social hub of the building and it gets loud, particularly when football is on, with noise carrying up to the rooms well into the evening. And because dogs are genuinely common here, you will meet other people's: guests have been startled by large dogs met suddenly on the stairs, and a dog with a drunk late-night bar group is reported to have snapped at someone passing. This is not the place for a nervous or reactive dog, nor for a family who would rather not run into one. Rooms are up narrow stairs with no lift, and there are recurring reports of maintenance niggles and rooms not being serviced on longer stays.

Best suited to an easy-going owner with a sociable dog who wants a cheap, central base for the Furness peninsula and does not mind a pub underneath. It earns a 4.2/5 paw rating.