Claremont House Holiday Apartments

Claremont House is a pair of four-star self-catering apartments on a quiet residential street a few minutes back from Llandudno's promenade, and it is one of the more comfortable dog-friendly bases on this stretch of the North Wales coast. Each apartment has its own driveway parking, which is worth more than it sounds in a seaside town in August, and there is a small front garden that guests with dogs use as a first stop of the morning.

The property takes dogs only, one per booking, and the owners want to approve it before you book. There is a £30 charge per dog per stay, and the owners state there is no limit on dog size. A welcome basket is left in the kitchen, and guests with dogs consistently describe the place as spotless and easy to settle into for a week.

Llandudno is the real draw. The Great Orme is a walk away and gives you headland paths with views over both bays, the promenade is about ten minutes on foot, and the town's shops, pubs and restaurants are close enough that the car can stay on the drive. Both beaches are around twenty minutes' walk.

The apartments are not without problems, and they cluster around sound and light. The entrance is shared rather than private despite being described otherwise, and the communal door sits right beside one apartment's own door, which is enough to unsettle a dog every time somebody comes or goes. Floorboards carry noise between the flats. One bedroom is very bright even with the curtains and blind shut, the apartments get hot with only a fan to help, and the mattresses come up as hard more than once. Garden furniture has been found in need of a clean. The pet supplement strikes some owners as steep for what it is.

At 4.3/5 this suits an owner with one settled, unflappable dog who wants a clean, well-kept apartment inside walking distance of the Great Orme, and who is not counting on total quiet.