Cuisinease, Ollerton

Cuisinease is a homestay in Ollerton, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, where guests take a room in the host's own house rather than an anonymous hotel - and the dog stays in the room with you. For a solo traveller or a couple touring the area with a dog, it fills a slot the chain hotels along the main roads rarely do at the price.

The listing is clear that only dogs are allowed - no cats or other pets - and discloses an extra charge of £10 per pet per stay. Guests' experience of the charge has varied with where they booked, with some reporting no charge at all and others a nightly rate, so it is worth confirming the current figure when you book.

What wins guests over is the hosting. Reviews describe a warm, attentive welcome that still leaves you space, comfortable and well-equipped rooms with a fridge and the option to cook your own food, and breakfast included with a cooked upgrade and evening meals available. Dogs get a genuine welcome rather than a grudging one, and the quiet residential setting with easy parking makes arriving simple.

The recurring caveat is space. The rooms carry a good deal of furniture, and guests with bigger dogs - a greyhound among them - have found things snug: fine for a small or medium dog with its own bed on the floor, tighter for anything Labrador-sized. A softer-than-average mattress divides opinion too. None of it reads as a complaint about the dog welcome, which guests consistently praise.

The location suits dog days out, with Sherwood Forest and its waymarked trails close by, a supermarket minutes away for supplies, and Clumber Park within an easy drive. Cuisinease is best suited to solo travellers and couples with a small or medium dog who want a friendly, well-priced base near the forest; it earns a 4.4/5 paw rating from the dog owners who have reviewed it.