Arden Guest House, Craigmillar Castle Edinburgh

Arden Guest House is an OYO-branded ground-floor en-suite guest house at 126 Old Dalkeith Road in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh (EH16 4SD), about 2.5 miles south-east of Edinburgh city centre. For dog owners, it is one of the strongest-value Edinburgh dog-friendly bases on the site: dogs are welcomed at no charge, and the property has a fully enclosed back garden plus parkland directly opposite.

A booking-time caveat first, because it matters. Different online listings tell different stories about whether this property accepts dogs. BringFido and Trip.com currently list it as no-pets; Yelp, Agoda guest reviews, and the property's own pattern of dog-friendly stays all confirm the opposite. The likely cause is OYO platform-wide default settings that do not match the local property's actual policy. Before booking, ring the guest house directly on 0131 664 3985 to confirm - and avoid booking via BringFido or Trip.com if their interface refuses to accept the dog, since those platforms may decline a pet booking even when the property itself would have welcomed it.

The pet setup itself is one of the most genuinely dog-tuned in the buildout: dogs welcome at FREE pet fee (stronger value than the typical UK £10-15/night), a fully enclosed back garden where dogs can go off-lead to toilet, and parkland directly across the road for proper walks. The confirmed pet-traveller reviews back this up with specific praise: "the best part is that they allow dogs, there is a garden in the back where you can let your dog off-leash" and "very nice dog friendly as well, would definitely recommend."

The Craigmillar location is south-east Edinburgh - not the Old Town but a 10-minute drive or bus ride from the city centre. Importantly there is a bus stop directly in front of the guest house and private parking on-site if you have a car. That matters when travelling with a dog: you can drive in, park behind the property, walk the dog in the parkland opposite, and bus into town when you want to leave the dog at the guest house briefly.

The 10 en-suite rooms are basic OYO-branded ground-floor singles, doubles, and en-suite layouts - ground-floor is helpful for older dogs that struggle with stairs. The continental breakfast is included, and a £5 hot breakfast option is well-rated. The bathrooms are small (the confirmed pet-traveller specifically noted this) but the breakfast room overlooks the garden.

The pet policy on Agoda discloses no specific size limit, no breed restrictions, no max number of pets. Worth confirming on the phone what sizes of dog they accept and how many per room before booking. Request a pet-friendly room explicitly at booking.

Data caveat: this opinion rests on 2 confirmed pet-traveller reviews against a 70-review Agoda pool. The pattern of OTA-listing disagreement is genuine and worth navigating around at booking time, but the property is clearly dog-welcome in practice.

Best suited to: budget-conscious dog owners visiting Edinburgh who want a no-pet-fee guest house with off-lead garden + parkland walks across the road and bus + parking access to the city centre; less suited to those wanting Old Town walking access from the door or larger rooms.