Days Inn by Wyndham Kendal Killington Lake

Days Inn Kendal Killington Lake is a roadside hotel attached to the M6 services, and its appeal is almost entirely practical: a place to break a long drive north or south with a dog in the car, on a site that happens to overlook a lake rather than a car park. Rooms on the right side have genuine views over the water.

Dogs cost £15 per pet per stay, and up to three pets are accepted per booking, which is unusually generous for a budget chain and makes it workable for multi-dog households. Tell the hotel before you arrive so a suitable room is allocated. A £50 sanitation charge applies if the room needs it after a dog has stayed, so it is worth being careful. Service animals stay at no charge.

The staff are the strong point. Reports of the team being friendly and going out of their way to help, including sorting out problems with the room, are consistent even in otherwise critical accounts.

The rooms are the weak point, and the criticism is specific: dated fittings, bathrooms in need of updating, and at least one room with a smell persistent enough that reception had to step in. Sound insulation is poor. Doors banging and voices in the corridor through the night are hard enough for any guest and harder with a dog in the room, so a light sleeper - canine or otherwise - should factor that in. Groundworks around the lakeside path have also disrupted the obvious short walk.

This is a stopover rather than a destination: fine for a single night mid-journey with a dog, at a low price, with tolerant expectations about the room. It earns a 4.1/5 paw rating.