The Halyard Liverpool, Vignette Collection by IHG

The Halyard Liverpool sits on Duke Street, minutes from the city centre, and it is one of the more convincing dog welcomes in a British city hotel. Dogs are not merely tolerated in the room: they are allowed in the bar and the restaurant too, which removes the single biggest friction of a city break with a dog. You are not eating every meal upstairs.

The practical touches land as well. Guests travelling with dogs describe finding a dog bed and a food bowl waiting in the room, and treats handed over at reception on arrival. Those are small things, but they are the difference between a hotel that has ticked a box on a booking form and one that has thought about what a dog needs after a long journey.

The hotel itself is a four-star property and the general standard is high, with a 9.4/10 rating across more than 2,900 guest reviews. Rooms draw praise for space and for walk-in showers, breakfast is well regarded, and the finish reads as new rather than tired.

Two things to weigh. Duke Street sits in the middle of Liverpool's nightlife, so the location can be noisy, and a dog that reacts to street noise may be happier on a higher floor or away from the front, which is worth a note on your booking. Parking is not on site either; the nearest multi-storey is about five minutes on foot, manageable but it does mean unloading a dog and the bags in stages.

With a 4.6/5 paw rating, The Halyard Liverpool suits anyone who wants a proper city-centre stay without leaving the dog behind, and particularly anyone who resents being exiled from the restaurant because of it.