Pelham House, Keswick

Pelham House is a spacious four-star holiday home in a quiet residential street in Keswick, and it makes an easy, comfortable base for a family holidaying with a dog in the northern Lakes. Its biggest draw for dog owners is the location: it sits directly across from Fitz Park and is a short, flat walk from the town centre, Derwentwater and the fells beyond.

Guests travelling with dogs consistently describe feeling genuinely welcome, with the whole house open to pets rather than dogs being confined to one room. Two dogs are allowed, and the house is big enough that a larger family group plus a couple of dogs never feels squeezed. There is a good porch for drying boots, towels and wet dogs, comfortable living space to come back to, and having Fitz Park on the doorstep means the first and last walks of the day need no car at all.

The caveats are worth taking seriously. The soft furnishings in the lounge hold a doggy smell that guests notice on arrival - the large rug is the usual culprit, with an armchair and, on one stay, a bathroom towel also mentioned - and it is comfortably the most repeated complaint about the house. Alongside it sit grumbles about the kitchen needing a deeper clean and the interior generally feeling dated, so this is a well-located and well-loved house rather than a pristine one. Guests have also reported a note in the welcome book warning that an additional charge may apply if dog hair is left behind, which lands as unwelcoming after a relaxed week, so allow time for a proper tidy before you hand back the keys.

One structural point: there is no enclosed garden. A small walled seating area at the front gives dogs somewhere to sit and watch the street, but everything else happens on the lead, in the park or on the fells.

Overall, Pelham House suits dog-owning families who want space, a genuinely dog-welcoming whole-house setup and a brilliant park-and-town location in Keswick, and who care more about walking out of the door than about spotless soft furnishings.