Lake District Castle Inn Hotel & Spa

The Lake District Castle Inn sits in its own grounds above Bassenthwaite Lake, a four-star spa hotel about an eight-minute drive north of Keswick and within easy reach of Binsey and the quieter northern Wainwrights. For anyone building a walking break around their dog, it makes a comfortable base: room to unwind indoors after a wet day on the fells, and open countryside on the doorstep.

Dogs are welcomed in a set of ground-floor rooms that have to be arranged with the property in advance, and a pet charge applies (see the policy notes below). Several of these rooms open through French doors straight onto the back car park, which guests travelling with dogs single out again and again - it means you can let the dog out first thing, or load a muddy spaniel back into the car after a hike, without crossing the lobby or shared corridors. There is also a separate area on the grounds set aside for dog walks.

Staff come across as the strongest part of the pet offer. Guests who booked the wrong room type by mistake describe the front desk sorting it out quickly and without fuss, and some were offered food for their dog at no extra cost. The wider hotel adds a pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, so it works as a proper relax-and-recover stay rather than just a bed for the night.

Two caveats recur among dog-owning guests, and both trace back to the ground-floor pet rooms. Hard flooring means footsteps and floorboard noise carry between rooms, so light sleepers - and dogs that startle easily - can have a disturbed night. A few arrivals also noticed a lingering dog smell in the room. On balance the Castle Inn suits steady, well-socialised dogs whose owners want a full spa-hotel stay with genuinely easy outdoor access, more than it suits nervous or noise-sensitive dogs who would settle better somewhere quieter and single-storey.