The Moorland Hotel, Haytor

The Moorland Hotel sits under Haytor on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, and it is one of those country house hotels that treats dogs as guests rather than as an exception to be managed. There is a dog menu. Dogs are welcome in the lounge and the dining room as well as in the bedrooms set aside for them, and guests travelling with dogs describe a welcome warm enough that it becomes the thing they mention first.

The setting does most of the rest. Haytor and the open moor are on the doorstep, with wild ponies, tors and long walks straight from the car park, and the hotel keeps a boot room with a bench and towels for coming back in wet or muddy - a small thing that makes a winter stay considerably more civilised. Some rooms open directly onto the garden, which is worth requesting if a late trip outside is part of your routine. The terrace and garden are a genuine feature, and breakfast looking out over them draws consistent praise.

Two practical points come before the rest. The hotel takes small to medium dogs only, and the dog-friendly rooms are arranged by ringing the hotel rather than booking online, so call ahead rather than assuming one will be free. A pet charge of £20 per room per night applies on top of the room rate.

The other caveats are about space and sound. The dog-friendly rooms are among the smaller ones, and guests who have stayed in them say so plainly. The rooms are not especially well soundproofed, which cuts both ways: you may hear the neighbours, and in a hotel this popular with dog owners you may hear one of their dogs too. Not every guest is delighted by dogs in the dining room either, so if yours is vocal or unsettled around strangers, the busiest service is not the one to choose.

Best suited to dog owners who want a comfortable, well-run country hotel with proper walking from the door, and who are willing to accept a compact bedroom to get it. It earns a 4.5/5 paw rating.