Moonfleet Manor Hotel

Moonfleet Manor is a country-house hotel at Fleet, just west of Weymouth, set above the Fleet Lagoon with Chesil Beach beyond. It is run as a family hotel first, with a kids' club, play barn, pools and a spa, but dogs are part of the plan rather than an afterthought, and guests travelling with one come away talking about how well the place is set up for them.

Dogs stay for £25 per dog, per night. The room comes with a dog bed and treats, there are wellies and dog towels in the entrance porch for muddy returns, and there is a dedicated dog wash with hot and cold water. The dog wash is easy to miss, so ask where it is at check-in. Dogs can go most places on a lead, but not the restaurant, the pools, the play barn, the Den, the cinema or the children's play area. Instead, tables are laid in the lounge next to the dining room, by the open fires, so you can eat with the dog beside you, and owners say this works well. There is even an optional afternoon tea for dogs.

The setting is the other big draw. The South West Coast Path runs past the garden, so you can walk straight out along the lagoon, and the stretch from Abbotsbury makes a good half-day outing. Some rooms have a door straight onto the garden, which is handy for early and late trips out.

There are caveats. The lane to the hotel is narrow and badly potholed, the wifi drops out, and dinner draws mixed comments: limited choice that repeats over a longer stay, and prices on the high side. The leisure buildings feel tired next to the main house, and the pool has been closed at times for maintenance. Guests who don't share a love of dogs have found the number in residence off-putting, and there has been a complaint of a dog ball and dirt left behind a bedroom curtain, so housekeeping between canine stays has not always been perfect.

Moonfleet earns a 4.4/5 paw rating. It suits families who want children and dog catered for in one place, and couples happy to trade a bumpy approach road for coast path walks from the garden.