The Bear Hotel, Wareham

The Bear Hotel is a traditional town-centre hotel in Wareham, a Saxon market town on the edge of the Isle of Purbeck, and it takes its name seriously: most of the bedrooms are named after famous bears, from Paddington and Baloo to Iorek Byrnison. For dog owners it offers what a self-catering cottage cannot, which is staff on hand, breakfast cooked for you and a walkable town on the doorstep.

Dogs are welcome in all of the downstairs public areas, so you are not confined to the bedroom in the evening, and seven of the bedrooms take dogs. Feedback from owners is warm about the welcome itself, with the staff, the rooms and the food all drawing praise alongside the simple fact that dogs are made welcome at all. The hotel is equally clear about what it expects in return: one dog per booking, a fifteen pound charge for the stay, flea treatment up to date, your own bed or bedding brought with you, and dogs kept off the beds and furniture.

Three bedrooms, Aloysius, Pooh Bear and Rupert, are kept pet free, so the room you are offered matters. So does where it sits. Rooms above the breakfast room catch the morning noise of tables and chairs, which guests have found carries more than they would like. If you or your dog sleep lightly, ask for something away from the public rooms when you book. That is an easy request at a hotel of this size.

Wareham itself is walkable, with the quay and the river path a few minutes away, and the Purbeck hills, Corfe Castle and the coast a short drive for longer days out. The Bear suits owners of a single dog who would rather be looked after than self-cater, and who want a compact town base rather than somewhere remote.