The Norwood

The Norwood is a small four-star guest house in Torquay, a few streets back from the seafront on the English Riviera. It is owner-run rather than corporate, and that is the character of the place: guests are met with a drink on arrival, small treats appear during the stay, and the breakfast is generous enough to come up in almost every write-up.

Dogs are specifically listed as allowed, and the dog-specific feedback that exists is glowing. The hosts are described as extending the same fuss to the dog as to the humans, down to a sausage of its own at breakfast. That rests on a single stay rather than a pattern, so read it as a good sign rather than a guarantee, though it fits the wider picture of hosts who go out of their way.

The property's booking listing publishes nothing else on pets: no fee, no weight or breed limit, no numbers. Since this is a small owner-run house rather than a hotel with dozens of rooms, a call before booking is worth the minute it takes, to confirm the dog is fine in the room you are being given and whether more than one is acceptable.

Two practical notes. The house runs on house rules, and some guests have found the list longer than they expected, covering food in the bedrooms, care with the towels and care with the plumbing. In a family home run as a B and B that is reasonable enough, but it is worth knowing the tone before you arrive with a muddy dog. And parking at the rear is tight: a larger car can be a squeeze, though the hosts have found spaces for guests who ask.

It suits a couple or a small family with one well-mannered dog who want somewhere warm and small-scale within walking distance of the seafront, and who do not mind a house with rules. Owners of several dogs, or of a dog that needs a lot of indoor space, should look for something larger.