Lympstone Manor (Relais & Chateaux, Exmouth)

Lympstone Manor is a Georgian country house above the Exe estuary just outside Exmouth, run by chef-proprietor Michael Caines as a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms and its own working vineyard. It is the luxury end of dog-friendly Devon, and the way it handles dogs is more considered than a simple pets-by-arrangement line.

Dogs are welcome in two of the suites and in all six shepherd huts, and each dog-friendly room is set up properly: a dog bed, a towel, a bowl and a torch are provided. Dogs are not allowed inside the main house, but they are welcome on the terraces, throughout the grounds and at the pool house restaurant, which means you can eat with your dog beside you rather than taking turns back in the room.

The shepherd huts are the pick for anyone travelling with a dog. They sit among the vines with estuary views, they are warm and comfortable, and they give you your own door onto the grass instead of a corridor and a lift. Guests staying with dogs are consistently positive about them, and about how far the staff will go to accommodate a party arriving with a dog in tow.

Two things are worth knowing before booking. First, which rooms take dogs is not obvious at the point of booking, and the shepherd huts in particular are easy to miss, so ask directly rather than assuming. Second, dogs are meant to be on a lead throughout the grounds, and guests have noted that this is not always enforced, so if your dog is reactive around loose dogs, factor that in. Service has also drawn criticism at breakfast and around the edges, which stings rather more at five-star prices than it would elsewhere.

Lympstone Manor is best suited to dog owners planning a genuinely special stay who book one of the huts and expect to spend their time in the grounds and at the pool house rather than in the main building. It earns a 4.5/5 paw rating.