The Bruntsfield, Edinburgh

The Bruntsfield is a four-star townhouse hotel looking straight out over Bruntsfield Links, and that outlook is most of the reason to bring a dog here. The Links is a broad, tree-lined common that runs south into the Meadows, so you have one of the longest continuous stretches of grass in Edinburgh directly across the road, with the Old Town about twenty minutes' walk downhill.

Dogs stay for a flat fee of £25 per stay, non-refundable and settled on arrival. Rooms are set up for them, with a bed and bowls put out, and guests travelling with dogs have reported being allowed to bring them into the dining room, which very few Edinburgh hotels of this size will do. Assistance and service animals are welcomed separately from the pet policy.

The rooms get consistently good notices for size, with comfortable super-king beds and roomy bathrooms, and the reception and restaurant teams come across as pleased to see dogs rather than merely tolerating them. Breakfast is a buffet with cooked dishes to order, vegetarian options included. Bruntsfield is a village high street rather than a tourist strip, so there are independent shops, cafes and bus stops on the doorstep and a quieter evening than you would get nearer the Royal Mile.

It suits owners of active dogs who would rather have real green space outside the door than a central address, and anyone who wants their dog with them at dinner. The trade-off is the walk or bus ride into town, and because the fee is charged per stay rather than per night it works out better value on a long weekend than on a single night. On the pet-mention reviews recorded so far it earns a 4.5 out of 5 paw rating.