Damson Dene Hotel

Damson Dene is a relaxed country hotel in the Lyth Valley at Crosthwaite, sitting in open countryside between Windermere and Kendal, and it has settled into being properly dog-friendly without making a performance of it. Dogs are welcome in most of the bedrooms and across the public areas apart from the restaurant and the leisure club, which leaves the bar and the reception lounge with its open fire as places you can sit with your dog rather than retreating upstairs.

The charge is a flat 15 pounds a night, and the hotel asks only that dogs are well behaved. Guests travelling with dogs pick out much the same things each time: staff who take a dog in their stride, a lounge that feels lived-in rather than formal, and the sense that a wet dog after a Lakeland walk is treated as entirely normal. Couples arriving with two dogs report no difficulty.

The setting does a lot of the work. The grounds are pleasant enough for a last lead walk before bed, the Lyth Valley lanes and the quieter southern fells start close to the gate, and there is a pool, sauna and steam room for the days when the weather wins. Bowness and Kendal are both a short drive for a day out.

The honest caveat is the building. Recent guests describe parts of it as dated, and the bar's 10 pound corkage charge has drawn comment. This is a comfortable, down-to-earth country hotel rather than a polished one, and the 4.6/5 paw rating reflects the welcome rather than the decor. It suits owners who want fells, a fire and a bar their dog can sit in, and who do not mind eating dinner without the dog at their feet.