The Bay Apart-Hotel, Southwold

The Bay Apart-Hotel sits in the middle of Southwold, a few minutes' walk from the pier and the sandy beach, and it is set up for the kind of stay where a dog is part of the plan rather than an afterthought. Rooms work as small apartments with their own well-equipped kitchens, so there is no need to leave a dog alone while you go out for dinner, and the beach and harbour walks start almost at the door.

Dogs are welcomed here rather than tolerated. Guests travelling with them describe an easy, low-friction arrival, with door-code check-in, a friendly reception when it is staffed, and small touches like a whisky at the desk and a shared basket of tea, coffee and supplies to raid. Parking behind the hotel is free but tight, which matters when you are unloading a car with a dog in it.

There is a cost to plan for. Dogs are charged at £20 per dog, per night on top of the room rate, and the dog has to be booked in and paid for before you arrive rather than declared at the desk, so a second dog doubles the supplement. Beds and bowls are not provided in the room, so pack your own. Dogs are the only animals accepted, but every bedroom in the hotel is dog friendly, so you are not competing for one or two designated rooms.

The honest caveat is noise. Because the hotel genuinely is popular with dog owners, several guests without dogs have been woken by barking from neighbouring rooms, in a few cases early in the morning or through the night. Sound carries between the apartments, there is no lift, and rooms are spread over narrow stairs, so a ground-floor room is worth requesting if your dog is elderly or heavy to carry. The light hallway carpet also shows muddy paws quickly after a beach walk.

It suits dog owners who want a self-catering base in the centre of a genuinely dog-friendly seaside town, and who would rather be a short walk from the beach than tucked away somewhere quieter. Its 4.5/5 paw rating reflects a warm welcome for dogs balanced against the noise that comes with it.