The Ryebeck Hotel

The Ryebeck is a country-house hotel on Lyth Valley Road, set above Bowness-on-Windermere with long views down the lake from the bar, the lounge, the gardens and several of the bedrooms, and it is one of the most dog-welcoming places to stay on this side of Windermere. Dogs are part of the day here rather than a tolerated extra: they settle by the log fire in the lounge, run on the lawns at the back, and in the morning the kitchen often produces a sausage for them alongside breakfast.

Dogs are welcome on request only, because the hotel keeps a limited number of dog-friendly rooms, and they are not allowed in the Grand rooms or the Superb Room with Lake View, so mention the dog when you book rather than on arrival. The charge is £25 per night. What comes with it varies: some rooms have had two dog beds waiting, others no bed or bowls at all, so ask what is provided if you are not packing your own.

What dog owners return to most is the staff and the garden. The front-of-house team is consistently described as warm and accommodating, sausages at breakfast and chicken at dinner are offered to dogs. The lawns behind the hotel are big enough for proper off-lead time with lake views, the marina is a short stroll downhill, and Bowness is about five minutes by car or a 20 to 30-minute walk, partly beside a busy road.

The caveats are about upkeep and noise rather than welcome. For a hotel billed at four stars, comfort does not always match: guests mention tired rooms, dirty windows, an untidy garden with bonfire remains, breakfast fruit past its best and cleaning that could be sharper. With dogs staying throughout, barking can carry late into the evening, and guests who came without one have noticed a doggy smell in the public areas. Rooms above the bar, and ground-floor rooms beside the kitchen corridor, pick up a lot of noise, which has left some dogs unable to settle. Occasional music and tribute nights can fill the afternoon or push dinner early, and restaurant service has been slow on those evenings.

Best suited to dog owners who want a relaxed country-house base above Windermere with real lake views, a garden the dog can use and staff who make a fuss of it, and who will ask for a quiet room away from the bar.