Monty Cottage, Exmouth

Monty Cottage is a boutique self-catering house on Montpellier Road in Exmouth, a few streets back from the seafront and an easy walk into town. It carries a 4.5-star rating and reads like it: the whole house is yours, decorated properly rather than fitted out as a rental, with a conservatory dining area and a garden that catches the sun.

Dogs stay for a £35 fee per stay, and the rear garden is enclosed, which is the detail that matters most in a town rental. Owners arriving with more than one dog have been accommodated. The other practical win is private parking inside the gates, which in Exmouth in August is worth about as much as the garden.

The welcome stock is unusually thorough. Guests consistently arrive to find everything from dishwasher tablets and tea to toiletries already in place, dog biscuits among them, so you can turn up without a car boot full of supplies. The kit generally gets described as better than people expect from self-catering, down to the beds and the appliances.

Location is the other draw. Exmouth Beach is a short walk and keeps dog-friendly stretches at the eastern end towards Orcombe Point, with restrictions on the central section over the summer, so check the current dates. The Exe Estuary Trail runs from the seafront for flat, traffic-free walking, and the train line into Exeter carries dogs, so you can leave the car behind for a day. Budleigh Salterton and the East Devon coast path are short drives east.

This is a residential street rather than a seafront position, so you trade a sea view for quiet and parking. Best suited to a couple, a family or a small group with one or two well-behaved dogs who want a high-spec base within walking distance of both the beach and the town. It earns a 4.6 out of 5 paw rating.