Isle of Wight Isle of Wight
Shepherd's Cottage, Isle of Wight
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated August 2026 · paw rating built from 5 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 Isle of Wight / the Isle of Wight and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 9.3/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Pet fee: £25 per stay (One medium size dog or two small dogs are welcome) - research-verified; confirm at booking
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 5 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.
- Wider context: The property has 10 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 9.3/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: August 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
- Pet fee: £25 per stay.
- One medium size dog or two small dogs are welcome
- On-site pet amenities: dog exercise area.
- Dogs must be booked in advance and kept on a lead everywhere on site apart from the Bark Park, which is set aside for exercising them
- Dogs are not allowed inside the facilities block, cafe or shop, and must stay at least five metres away from the facilities block
- Dogs must not be left unattended outside your unit
- Only dogs are accepted, and no other pets are allowed
Pet-friendly summary
Shepherd's Cottage sits at Stoats Farm above Totland Bay, at the western end of the Isle of Wight, and it is one of the better kitted-out dog-friendly cottages on that side of the island. Dogs arriving here find bowls and a dog bed already waiting in the property, which is the kind of detail owners notice and mention repeatedly.
Two things about the pet terms are worth knowing before booking. The farm charges a flat 25 pounds per stay rather than per dog, and guests travelling with a dog consistently report that the amount was not shown at the point of booking but applied afterwards. Most judged the sum itself fair; the surprise was the issue. Budget for it and it stops being one. The size rule is worth reading alongside it: one medium dog or two small ones, and dogs only, with no other pets accepted.
The second is the garden. It is not secure. Owners have found the fencing incomplete and a gap beneath the property gate, and more than one has flagged that a dog cannot safely be left loose outside. The site rules largely settle the question anyway: dogs stay on a lead everywhere on the farm except the Bark Park, a fenced area set aside for exercising them, and must not be left unattended outside the unit. That makes the fencing less critical than it first sounds, but it does mean the off-lead run happens in one designated spot rather than at your door.
Beyond that the property is strong. It is modern and well finished, with comfortable beds, a fully equipped kitchen, secure on-site parking, a welcome pack, and a small shop and cafe on the farm, and staff who deal with issues promptly. A pub serving food is a couple of minutes' walk. Tennyson Down is close enough for a proper walk before breakfast and the beach is nearby, so the dog-walking is excellent. Note that dogs are not allowed inside the on-site shop, cafe or facilities block.
The WiFi is slow, there are no coat hooks, and peak summer rates are high for what it is. Even so, a 4.5/5 paw rating across five confirmed dog-owner stays makes this a good base for walkers with a dog on the west Wight, as long as you treat the garden as unfenced.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Dog bed and bowls provided in the cottage
- On-site Bark Park for off-lead exercise
- One medium or two small dogs accepted
- Pet fee of 25 pounds per stay
- Garden not secure, dogs on lead on site
- Tennyson Down walks within easy reach
About this hotel
Shepherd's Cottage is a four-star self-catering cottage at Stoats Farm near Totland Bay, at the western end of the Isle of Wight. It is modern and well equipped, with secure on-site parking, a small shop and cafe on the farm and a pub within a couple of minutes' walk. It scores 9.3/10 across 10 guest reviews.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
Stoats Farm, Isle of Wight, PO39 0HE
