Coach Cottage, Portstewart

Coach Cottage sits a short walk from the seafront and main street in Portstewart, a small resort town on Northern Ireland's Causeway Coast. It is a self-catering house rather than a hotel, which means dogs and their owners get a whole property to themselves with no shared corridors or lobbies to negotiate - a set-up that tends to suit nervous or excitable dogs well.

The feature that comes up again and again from guests travelling with dogs is the fully enclosed rear garden. Owners describe it as secure and escape-proof, with enough lawn for a game of fetch or a good sniff around, which makes letting a dog out first thing in the morning straightforward. Several visitors have brought more than one dog, and families have paired dogs with young children and grandchildren without any problems.

Inside, guests consistently praise how clean, cosy and well equipped the cottage is, from a fully stocked kitchen to thoughtful welcome touches on arrival. The host earns repeated mention for being responsive and easy to deal with, which matters when you are arranging a stay around a pet.

The location puts you within a five-minute walk of Portstewart's main street, restaurants and promenade, with Portrush and the wider north coast within easy reach for longer walks - the sort of base that works for exploring the Causeway Coast on foot with a dog.

A couple of things to keep in mind: the property's listing does not publish specific pet terms, so it is worth contacting the host directly to confirm how many dogs are welcome and whether any charge applies before you book. One or two guests also noted that the road outside can get busy and noisy at times. On balance, Coach Cottage is best suited to dog owners who want a self-contained, walkable base on the north coast with a secure garden and an easy-going host.