Rooms Above Sugar Boat

Rooms Above Sugar Boat is a small set of rooms above a bistro on Colquhoun Square, in the centre of Helensburgh, and it treats an arriving animal as a guest rather than an exception. Owners who have travelled with pets describe bowls and treats put out in the room, and the welcome is not limited to dogs - cats have been accommodated the same way, with the same trouble taken. That, along with a consistently warm reception from staff, is what earns the rooms a 4.6/5 paw rating.

The rooms themselves are modern and quirky, individually decorated, and quiet despite sitting above a working bar and restaurant. That last point is the one that matters most if you are settling a dog for the night. Beds are comfortable, cleanliness comes up again and again, and breakfast is generous.

The setting is the other draw. Colquhoun Square is a couple of minutes from Helensburgh's waterfront, so an early or late walk along the seafront is straightforward, and the town is a practical base for the Clyde coast and the southern end of Loch Lomond.

The pet terms are clear enough to plan around: one animal per booking, a flat fifteen pounds for the stay, a dog bed and bowls waiting in the room, and dogs kept off the beds and the furniture. The team will also book a dog in with a groomer two minutes' walk away, which is a useful thing to know at the end of a wet week.

Two things are worth planning around. Parking is genuinely awkward on the square, though there are free spaces a few minutes' walk away - worth knowing if you would rather not leave a dog in the car while you hunt for one. And the restaurant downstairs, while very good, is priced at the top of its range and portion sizes have disappointed some guests, so the dog-friendly pubs around the town centre are worth a look for an evening meal.

It suits couples and solo travellers with one small, settled animal who want a characterful town-centre room with good food underneath it, rather than a property with grounds to run around in.