Lamb Hotel, Ely

The Lamb is an old coaching inn in the middle of Ely, a couple of minutes from the cathedral, and it takes a properly relaxed line on dogs. They are welcome in the bedrooms, in the bar and in the restaurant, which is the detail that matters most: you can eat where everyone else is eating rather than carrying meals back to the room or leaving the dog behind.

Staff attitude is the other thing dog owners keep returning to. When a dog has been unwell or had an accident in the public areas, the response has been kind and unfussy rather than grudging, and that tone is hard to fake. Rooms are described as comfortable and clean with enough floor space for a dog bed, and the kitchen has a good local reputation, with the food and the breakfast both coming in for praise.

The position is genuinely useful. Ely is compact and walkable, the cathedral and shops are on the doorstep, and there is parking on site. The surrounding fen country gives you flat, open walking, and the city works well as a base for exploring the fens.

Some caveats. The building is old and the bedrooms and bathrooms are dated, clean but showing their age. The stairs are steep and there is no lift, which is worth thinking about if you have an older dog or one you may need to carry. Rooms facing the street can catch some noise, and the car park is small enough that arriving late may mean parking elsewhere.

It suits owners who want a traditional inn in a cathedral city where the dog can settle under the table at dinner, rather than a modern hotel with a pet policy bolted on. On that basis it earns a 4.3/5 paw rating.