11/09/2026
We love dog-friendly hotels… BUT these 10 things? Not so much! 😂🐾
I’m genuinely grateful that so many hotels in the UK now welcome dogs - it makes travelling with Ted so much easier. But after staying in quite a few over the years, here are the top 10 things that make me question quite how ‘dog friendly’ some of them actually are… 🙄
1. Hotels that don’t allow dogs in the restaurant and expect you to leave them alone in the room… but then also say they’re not allowed on the bed or furniture. They clearly haven’t met Ted. He can’t read, and I’m fairly sure a freshly laundered bed would prove far more tempting than the floor 😂
2. Not telling you the dog policy on their website and arriving to find a huge long list of places your dog isn’t actually allowed to go. Reception? No. Bar? No. Restaurant? No. Lounge? No. At this point I’m starting to wonder if Ted is actually staying at the hotel or just visiting his bedroom!
3. Nowhere to eat breakfast. Somewhere, anywhere will do! I’m not expecting a Michelin-starred restaurant with a special dog menu - just SOMEWHERE I can eat breakfast without leaving Ted behind.
4. Paying the same B&B rate for 2 people but only getting one breakfast because I’m travelling solo with a dog. I feel like Ted should at least be entitled to a sausage. Or perhaps I should get the second breakfast. Either way, someone’s missing out 🤣
5. The exorbitant ‘dog fee’. I love Ted dearly, but I’m not sure what exactly he’s doing to justify a £25+ nightly surcharge. He certainly isn’t using the spa. If you saw our recent post, there was one hotel in Cornwall charging £924 for 2 dogs to stay 🙄
6. Paying a nightly dog charge AND being given an expensive doggy gift. Lovely gesture… but if I’m paying the same dog fee for every night, surely Ted gets a gift for every night too? He’s very good at keeping track of these things… 👀
7. 1 person + 1 dog costing MORE than a family (e.g. 2 adults + 1 child) sharing the same room. I’m pretty sure Ted isn’t secretly occupying a second bed or using the shower while I’m asleep so I really can’t fathom this one out.
8. Dogs being allowed ONLY in the outdoor dining area… BUT you can’t reserve a table. ‘First come, first served’ sounds great until you arrive with a hungry dog and discover every dog-friendly table has already gone… usually taken by folks without dogs! 🙄
9. A tiny patch of grass being described as a ‘dog exercise area’… if Ted can take three steps before reaching the boundary, I’m not sure we can really call it an exercise area! 🐾
10. Charging extra for a dog but not providing even the basics… a bowl, somewhere to dry muddy paws, a bin for poo bags… anything! If you’re charging a dog fee, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a little something in return.
And before anyone thinks I’m having a moan… I’m absolutely not! 😂 I LOVE that dog-friendly accommodation is becoming so much more common. But there’s a huge difference between hotels where dogs are permitted and being genuinely dog friendly!
How many of these can you relate to… or what would you add to the list?! What’s your biggest dog-friendly hotel annoyance? 👇
