Devon Blackawton
The Roundhouse, Blackawton
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated October 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 Blackawton / the Devon and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 9.8/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Pet limits: max 3 pets - research-verified; the fee isn't published, so confirm the charge when you book
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 3 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 9.8/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: October 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
- Up to 3 pets per booking
- Dogs must be kept under control and exercised off the premises.
- Dogs must be kept off the beds and the furniture.
- Dogs must never be left in the property unattended.
- Tell the letting agency the details of every pet coming with you.
- Registered assistance dogs are accepted at every property the agency lets, even where a property description says pets are not allowed.
Pet-friendly summary
The Roundhouse is a big converted barn on a farm near Blackawton in the South Hams, built for large family gatherings: it takes fifteen or more across the main house and an annexe, with an indoor pool and a games room. Up to three dogs can come, which suits the multi-household groups the house is designed for.
The pet rules are set by the letting agency rather than the house, and they are specific. Dogs must be kept under control and exercised off the premises, kept off beds and furniture, and never left in the property unattended, and every pet has to be declared at the time of booking. Registered assistance dogs are accepted regardless.
The single most important thing to know is that the garden is not enclosed, and it is shared with the other holiday lets on the same site. It is a lovely landscaped space with a play area and plenty of room to sit out, but it will not hold a dog, and guests who arrived expecting a secure garden have said as much. If your dog cannot be trusted off lead, plan around it: the surrounding lanes, the beaches near Dartmouth and the coast path all give you somewhere to go, but you will be on a lead in the grounds.
The second is a cat. A black cat lives on or around the farm and gets into the house persistently, through open windows and onto beds, and several groups have found it impossible to keep out. Guests with allergies have had to keep windows shut in warm weather, and it has wound up visiting dogs. Worth factoring in if yours is reactive to cats.
Set against that, the house does the job well for a big group with dogs in tow: acres of open-plan space, hard floors, a well-equipped kitchen, a pool for wet Devon afternoons, and an owner who responds quickly when problems are reported. Feedback on upkeep is mixed, with recurring notes about tired fixtures and cleaning that needs more attention than it gets, so give the place a look round on arrival.
Best suited to a large multi-generational party with one or two steady, lead-walked dogs, who want space and a pool more than they want a secure garden. It earns a 4.3/5 paw rating.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Up to three dogs per booking
- Grounds are open and shared, not enclosed
- Dogs exercised off the premises
- Resident cat gets into the house
- Space and a pool for big groups
About this hotel
The Roundhouse is a converted barn on a farm near Blackawton in Devon's South Hams, sleeping large groups across a main house and an annexe. An indoor pool, a games room and landscaped grounds make it a multi-generational gathering place, with Dartmouth, Totnes and the South Devon beaches a short drive away.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
The Roundhouse, Bickleigh Farm, Blackawton, TQ9 7HZ
