Devon Ilfracombe
Old Maids Cottage
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated October 2026 · paw rating built from 10 verified guest reviews mentioning pets
Bring your dog if
- You want a whole-property rental - no shared lobbies or corridors to navigate with your dog
- You're basing yourself in Ilfracombe / the Devon and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
Worth knowing
- Pet limits: max 2 pets - research-verified; the fee isn't published, so confirm the charge when you book
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 10 pet-mention guest reviews sourced from major booking platforms - guests who explicitly mentioned travelling with a dog. Each review is screened for pet-relevance, then judged for sentiment to compute the paw rating.
- Not a personal visit. We don't stay at every hotel we cover - we summarise patterns from real guest reviews, paraphrased and never quoted verbatim. Full standard on our editorial policy page.
- Last refreshed: October 2026. Policies and pricing drift; we re-check on a rolling basis. Confirm specifics with the property at the moment you book.
- How the paw rating works: Full detail on the methodology page, including the three verification gates and known limitations.
Pet policy at a glance
- Up to 2 pets per booking.
Pet-friendly summary
Old Maids Cottage sits in the small village of Lee, a few miles west of Ilfracombe on the North Devon coast, and for a dog it is mostly a wonderful spot: the village pub - dog-friendly, with a beer garden and food - is about fifty metres away, the lane through the village and fields leads down to Lee Bay in minutes, and at low tide the bay opens into sheltered coves, rock pools and sand where dogs can run. The coast path either way is some of the best walking in Devon, with Woolacombe an easy drive.
Up to two pets are welcome per booking, and parties of four adults with two dogs report the cottage swallowing everyone comfortably. It is a characterful mix of old and new - the original cottage extended at the back - well stocked with games and practical extras, with comfortable beds, good internet and a bathroom count families rave about. The owner draws consistent praise for being easy to reach and quick to fix problems.
The one thing dog owners need to hear plainly: the garden is large and pleasant, but it is not escape-proof. Guests travelling with dogs repeatedly report that an agile or determined dog can get over the wall, and a small one under the gate; some describe the garden as secure while others watched their own dog prove otherwise. Treat it as a garden to share with your dog rather than one to leave a dog alone in, and the problem disappears.
Smaller quibbles: there is no downstairs toilet, and the lane in is genuinely narrow and winding, as North Devon lanes are.
For a family holiday built around beach mornings, coast-path afternoons and a pub you can walk to with the dog, Old Maids Cottage fits beautifully, and it earns a 4.4/5 paw rating.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Garden not escape-proof for agile dogs
- Dog-friendly pub fifty metres away
- Lee Bay coves and rock pools at low tide
- Two dogs welcome
- Narrow lanes into the village
About this hotel
Old Maids Cottage is a four-star holiday cottage in the village of Lee, about three miles west of Ilfracombe on the North Devon coast. The extended cottage has three bathrooms and sleeps a family with room to spare, a short walk from Lee Bay and the coast path. Check-in is from 4pm and check-out by 9.30am.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
Ilfracombe, EX34 8LW
