Harbour View Retreat, Brixham

Harbour View Retreat is a self-catering apartment set high above Brixham harbour in south Devon, and the view is what people come back for: trawlers working below, the harbour laid out from the lounge and bedroom windows, and a furnished terrace with chairs, a lounger and a sofa to sit out on with a dog at your feet. The owners live next door and are quick to help, which takes a lot of the friction out of a self-catering stay.

The pet terms are unusually relaxed. Dogs stay free, up to two per booking, and there is no limit on the size of dog - a genuine rarity, since coastal lets of this type usually cap it at one small dog. Guests regularly arrive with a pair and report no fuss about it. The off-road parking space is the other practical win, close to unheard of in this part of Brixham; once you are down the hill the harbour, shops and pubs are minutes away, and plenty of guests leave the car untouched all week and take the ferry to Torquay or the bus to Paignton instead.

Three caveats matter, and dog owners are candid about all of them. There is no grass or garden, just a small decked terrace that turns slimy and green in wet weather and tracks muck indoors, so a mat for the patio door is worth packing. The walk down into town runs to roughly a hundred steps each way, steep with it, which is hard going for an older or arthritic dog and a real barrier for anyone with mobility problems. And the approach by car is tight - narrow, steep lanes where large cars have come off worse, though the owners send directions and reversing into the space is the trick.

Cleanliness is the recurring gripe. Most guests describe the apartment as spotless, but enough have reported a slow-draining shower, a cooker or shower door that needed going over, or marks on the sofa that it is fair to flag; a throw of your own is a sensible thing to bring.

For owners of one or two sure-footed dogs of any size who want harbour views, a sunny terrace and their own parking, and who can handle the steps, Harbour View Retreat earns its 4.7/5 paw rating.