Seillean Trang, Isle Of Skye

Seillean Trang is a small wooden chalet on the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, set up for two to three people with sea and hill views on the doorstep. It is the kind of quiet, self-contained base that suits a dog holiday in principle: you are a short drive from the Armadale ferry, the Point of Sleat walk and miles of empty shoreline, and there is no shared corridor or lobby to negotiate with a lead in hand.

In practice, guests travelling with dogs have had a more mixed time of it, and the 3.7/5 paw rating reflects that rather than the setting. The recurring theme is house rules that only surface once you arrive. Dog owners have reported being told at the door that dogs are not allowed on the beds, and that the garden is off limits in the evening because the owners' young children are using it. There have also been reports of extra charges that were not flagged at the time of booking. None of these are unreasonable rules in themselves, but arriving after a long drive to Skye and hearing them for the first time is a poor start, and more than one party has said they would have booked elsewhere had they known.

The owners live immediately next door and manage the heating from their own property, which several guests found intrusive whether or not they had a dog with them. Set against that, the guests who did enjoy their stay were warm about the welcome, the recommendations they were given and the dog-friendliness itself, so the experience clearly varies from booking to booking.

Those rules are now documented rather than left to the doorstep, which takes most of the sting out of them. The charge is £7 per dog per night, up to two dogs are accepted, and dogs stay off the beds - a blanket is provided so they can use the sofa instead, with a cleaning charge if the beds are used anyway. Leads are required throughout the property and beyond it, because there are young children, poultry and sheep close by. Read the rules before you book and the location does the rest. Arrive expecting a relaxed, anything-goes dog welcome and you will still be disappointed.