Durley Dean

Durley Dean is a four-star hotel on Durley Chine Road in the West Cliff area of Bournemouth, a short walk from the chine that drops down to the beach. It is a large, traditional seaside property with a pool, gym and spa, a restaurant and a proper reception, which for a dog owner means the usual hotel trade-offs: shared corridors, other guests on the same floor and a lift rather than your own front door.

The dog welcome itself gets a consistently warm write-up. Owners describe staff who are relaxed and friendly about dogs rather than merely permitting them, and rooms roomy enough to put a dog bed down without losing the floor. The hotel is visibly used to it, with guests mentioning plenty of dogs about the place, which is usually a better sign than a written policy.

That listing flags a pet charge but does not publish the figure, so it is worth pinning down when you book, along with how many dogs the room will take.

Two things to weigh. Parking is limited and it comes up repeatedly: the overflow is public car parks nearby, which are paid and can be a walk uphill, so budget for it if you are driving down with the dog. And the building is showing its age in places. Alongside the praise for space and value sit complaints about dated decor and bathrooms, and about housekeeping that is not always up to the four stars; the overall guest score reflects that. Some rooms also charge separately for air conditioning, which matters in a hot spell.

It suits owners who want a full-service seaside hotel at a sensible price and are relaxed about a bit of wear, with a dog that is comfortable walking past strangers in a corridor. Owners who want everything freshly refurbished, or somewhere with a parking space of its own, will do better elsewhere.