Walton Hall Hotel & Spa by Sunday

Walton Hall is a country house hotel set in parkland at Walton, just outside Wellesbourne in south Warwickshire, with a spa, a pool and a restaurant in the main house. Dogs are properly provided for, but the detail matters more here than at most hotels: they are allowed in the Standard Rooms and in the self-contained apartments, and specifically not in the Hall Beds rooms, which includes the Superior and Suite categories. Booking the smarter room and then arriving with a dog is the mistake to avoid.

The grounds are the reason to bring one. There is a substantial amount of parkland to walk in without leaving the estate, and it is one of the things guests with dogs pick out. Dogs are also permitted in the bar area, which is genuinely useful if you would rather not eat every meal in your room - though it is worth knowing that not every other guest expects to find a dog beside them at breakfast.

The charge is twenty pounds per dog, per night, and it buys the permission and nothing else. Guests who have paid it have been notably unimpressed that no bowl, bed or treats arrive with it, and across a multi-night stay with two dogs it becomes a real line on the bill. That sits inside a wider theme in recent reviews: the room rate is low for what the building is, but a good deal is charged separately on top, the spa and pool included, and parts of the bedrooms are showing their age.

The 4.3/5 paw rating reflects that split. The welcome for dogs is real and the setting is excellent, but this is a hotel where the extras add up and where the fabric is tired in places. It suits people who want parkland walks, a spa and a country-house setting at a keen room rate, who will check what is included before booking, and who are travelling with one dog rather than several.