Roma, Colwyn Bay

Roma is a three-bedroom holiday house in Rhos-on-Sea, on the Colwyn Bay seafront in north Wales, with sea views from all three bedrooms and the promenade a short flat walk away. It is set up for family holidays, with a separate games room holding an arcade machine, a dartboard, a console and a shelf of DVDs and board games, and it takes one well-behaved dog. It earns a 4.8 out of 5 paw rating from guests who brought one.

The enclosed rear garden is what dog owners mention most: fully secure, big enough to sit out in, and laid with artificial grass rather than lawn. Opinion splits on that. Some guests are grateful for it, because dogs come back indoors without muddy paws; others booked expecting real grass and found the artificial surface less appealing for a dog to use. Worth knowing before you arrive, either way.

Inside, the details have been thought through: dog bowls, stair gates top and bottom, a guard for the open fire, a wood burner, and a welcome pack that usually runs to milk, tea, coffee and cake. The house is warm, the beds get consistent praise, and the owners are described as quick to answer a question without hovering.

For walking, the location is hard to beat. The promenade runs flat along the front for miles, the beach is a few minutes away, and dog-friendly pubs and shops are about ten minutes on foot, which keeps the road itself quiet. Off-road parking sits at the front. Snowdonia, the waterfalls and the rest of the north Wales coast are all straightforward drives.

The recurring complaint is cleanliness rather than the house. Guests have found dog hair worked into the carpet from previous stays, dust behind the furniture, and on one changeover a vacuum cleaner that smelled strongly of wet dog. The turnaround window is short and the deeper clean does not always happen. The stairs are steep too, although they break into two flights with a landing between.

Best suited to a family or two couples with one dog who want a seaside base with a secure garden, promenade walks and something for children to do when it rains. Less suited to anyone bringing more than one dog, or hoping for real grass underfoot.