Tranquility at Sandown Bay

Tranquility is a chalet on the Sandown Bay holiday park, set back on the clifftop above the bay on the east coast of the Isle of Wight. What sells it to dog owners is the ground immediately outside: a wide open stretch of grass in front of the chalet with a view out to sea, and no shared corridors, lifts or reception to walk a dog through. Parking is at the door and check-in is by keybox at any hour, so a late arrival with a tired dog is straightforward.

The walking is genuinely good, with one condition attached. A path drops down the cliff to the beach in about five minutes, though it is steep and earthy and better suited to sure-footed walkers; a gentler ten-minute route runs along the clifftop meadows instead and is the one to take when you are carrying anything. Once you are down there the sand runs south towards Shanklin and the beach is dog-friendly, and guests report plenty of other dogs on it, which tells you the local walking is well used.

The condition is the park's lead rule. Dogs have to stay on a lead whenever they are outside the chalet, and owners of dogs who want to run off some energy have found that frustrating given how much grass is in view. It is worth planning around: the beach and the clifftop paths are where a dog gets a proper stretch, not the lawn outside the door. Nothing about a pet fee or a limit on numbers is published, so settle that with the owners when you book.

Two practical points. The chalet sits inside a large holiday centre and is not easy to find on a first visit, so ask for directions to the plot before you set off. And towels are not provided as standard, which catches enough people out to be worth packing for.

At 4.5/5 on paws, this is a good fit for owners of a lead-walked dog who want a quiet clifftop base with sea views, cheap by island standards, and cliff-path access to a dog-friendly beach.