Greenbank Hotel

The Greenbank Hotel sits right on Falmouth's waterfront, with rooms and a restaurant looking straight out over the harbour, and it has become a firm favourite with dog owners exploring south Cornwall. The combination of a genuine welcome for dogs, a waterside setting and an easy walk into town makes it a straightforward recommendation for a coastal break with the dog.

What dog owners notice first is how warmly their dog is received. Guests travelling with dogs consistently mention the welcome touches waiting at check-in, with treats, toys and dog packs laid on, and several are repeat visitors who come back precisely because that welcome is so reliable. Dogs stay in a designated part of the hotel rather than in any room, so it is worth booking early if you want a particular view, and the fee is £20 per dog, per night.

Where dogs can go is more defined than that welcome suggests, and it is the one thing to plan around. Well-behaved, quiet dogs can join you for breakfast in the dog-friendly corner of the bar, but that needs booking in advance, and the main restaurant is not open to them. Owners who arrived expecting the run of the hotel have said as much in their reviews. In practice most work around it easily, helped by the dog-friendly pub beneath the hotel that shares the same harbour views, and by the sun terrace, where dogs are welcome too.

The location is the other big draw. You are a short walk from Falmouth's town centre, with its pubs, cafes and the coast path close at hand, and there is a parking garage beneath the hotel, which matters on a waterfront where street parking is tight. The building is a traditional, historic hotel, so rooms vary and the occasional maintenance niggle turns up in reviews.

The Greenbank suits dog owners who want a comfortable, characterful waterfront base with a proper welcome for their dog, and who are happy with a hotel where dogs have designated spaces rather than the run of the place. On that basis it earns a 4.6/5 paw rating.