Thackray House, Callander

Thackray House is a five-star country house hotel just off Callander's main street, a distinctive pink building recently refurbished, with lounges, real fires and grounds that are a pleasure to walk. Dogs are welcome in any of the bedrooms here, and the ground-floor rooms with their own garden doors are the detail that makes it work: you can take a dog in and out without crossing reception or the public lounges.

That matters, because the hotel keeps dogs out of most of its indoor spaces. Guests travelling with dogs consistently report that the bedroom, the conservatory and the outdoor bistro are the only places a dog may go, with the lounges and the main restaurant off limits. Pets are not to be left unattended, though the hotel does allow a dog to stay in a bedroom if it is in a travel cage and will not bark or disturb other guests, which leaves an evening in the restaurant open to a settled, crate-trained dog. For everyone else the practical effect is that meals happen in the conservatory or outside. Staff handle that well, laying tables in the conservatory for breakfast and providing blankets for the outdoor bistro when it is cold, the food draws real praise, and the kitchen will prepare a meal for the dog on request. But anyone picturing a dog dozing by the fire in the lounge should adjust that expectation before booking.

Set that aside and the welcome is warm. Staff come across as genuinely interested rather than merely polite, check-in is easy, and rooms come stocked with dog beds, bowls, towels and a treat on arrival. The grounds give you enough space for a proper wander without leaving the property, Callander sits at the edge of the Trossachs so serious walking is minutes away, and the shops are a short stroll from the gate.

The cost is worth planning for: dogs are charged at £20 each per night, which on a multi-night tour adds up alongside a five-star room rate.

Thackray House earns a 4.2 out of 5 paw rating: a high-quality Scottish base, held back for dog owners by how little of the hotel a dog can actually enter and by what the dog costs to bring. It suits couples touring the Trossachs who plan to be out walking all day and want somewhere comfortable and well-staffed to come back to, and who are content to eat in the conservatory.