Malt Barn, Carterton

Malt Barn is a large holiday house at Brize Norton, on the Burford road in West Oxfordshire, and it is built for the kind of trip where several households travel together with their dogs. Large groups have stayed comfortably here, a dozen or more people across four generations with two dogs among them, and the combination of the main house, a separate annex, a walled courtyard and a good-sized garden is what makes that work. Dogs get room to run without leaving the property.

The pet terms are stated up front: the property charges £25 per dog, payable on arrival. That is a disclosed fee rather than a surprise. What is worth reading carefully is what it does not cover. Guests travelling with dogs have been billed separately, and for considerably more than the pet fee itself, for replacing bed linen a dog had muddied, with the fee already paid not offset against it. If your dog sleeps on beds or comes back wet from a Cotswold walk, agree the ground rules with the owners before you check in and bring your own throws.

The garden is the other thing to plan for. It is generous and dogs enjoy it, but guests have found it is not dog-proof: gaps in the boundary have had to be blocked with whatever came to hand before dogs could safely be left out. Treat it as a garden to supervise in rather than a secure run, at least until you have walked the boundary yourself. Arrivals have also occasionally found dog mess left in the garden by the previous party, so a quick check before your own dog goes out is sensible.

Beyond that it is a comfortable, well-equipped and reliably clean house with a hot tub, covered table tennis and plenty of off-road parking, set back from the road. Burford, the Cotswold Wildlife Park and a wide choice of walks are all a short drive away.

Best suited to a large group travelling with dogs who want space, a hot tub and a Cotswold base, and who will read the damage terms before they arrive.