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We purposely haven’t included prices in this report. If you want to know basic costs look the hotel up in the AA Hotel Guide. It is always worth phoning the hotel and asking if they have special breaks. City hotels at weekends, and country hotels during the week, will often have very inexpensive deals – sometimes even half price. The trick is to be flexible, and ask. All top hotels have times when they are empty for various reasons, so look for special offers in the press; if they belong to a hotel chain, phone their booking office (you can negotiate much more easily with a third party); or if you have a really good travel agent ask if they have any special deals. Sometimes an hotel will negotiate with a booking agency and give them so many rooms at an inexpensive rate, knowing these will be sold without any effort on their part.
As for me, I like an hotel that is welcoming, has a proper bed (not those wooden bed bases that save hotel accountants a fortune – surgeons will tell you a bed with no ‘give’ is bad for your back), and proper bedside lights. If the hotel puts 40 watt bulbs in bedside lights I just ask Reception to provide a stronger one. Ask – don’t be British and let hotels get away with their nasty economies! If hotels are charging the prices they do, they should all give better service.
When I last stayed in the hotels, they welcomed my dogs and me and gave excellent service. However management changes, so please check first when booking, and let us know if hotel standards have fallen .
Hotels in England
Pennyhill Park
Bagshot, Surrey - 01276 471774
Has a wonderful collection of Rhododendrons; of course the dogs love getting lost under the leaves. This is a favourite place with our family to spend the first night of their Honeymoon before flying off from Heathrow near-by. Now the dogs will be able to come too!
The Thistle Audleys Wood
Basingstoke, Hampshire - 01256 817555
Was where we had a delicious dinner in the Conservatory Restaurant, and found the Manager going round talking to all his guests. Wish a few more hotels would do this.
Plough and Harrow
Birmingham - 0121 4544111
This is my favourite place to stay if I have to go to Crufts. It is in the middle of THE residential area, so relatively quiet. As you arrive, there are dogs being exercised outside, and the Hotel Receptionist is very helpful arranging taxi-sharing to get to the NEC. Although I arrived after the restaurant had closed for the night, I was told there would be ‘no problem’ if I didn’t mind a restricted menu. Why can’t other hotels copy?
Villiers
Buckingham - 01280 822444
Is what one imagines an old Inn to be – welcoming fires and lots of nooks and crannies to have a quiet drink and look at the menu.
Swallow George Hotel
Chollerford, Northumberland - 01434 681611
The Dining Room has a fantastic view of the River Tyne and the old bridge. The area has been hosting guests since the time of the Romans, and I am glad to say that although the hotel is much more modern, it has central heating that would have passed strict Roman standards (they didn’t like them any more than I do). There are rabbits on the lawn which adds to the picturesque feel.
Blackwell Grange
Darlington, Co. Durham - 01325 509955
The old rooms in the main hotel are very elegant; in the modern wing at the back they are – well, modern and comfortable.
Holcombe Hotel
Deddington, near Oxford - 01869 338274
Is one of those inns where locals are to be seen in the bar. You can eat here, or in the more formal restaurant – again popular with locals.
George
Dorchester (the one near Oxford) - 01865 340404
Dating from around the early 1400’s, this must be one of the oldest coaching Inns still operating. Some bedrooms lead off a genuine Gallery, but don’t think you have had one too many when you go to bed; the floors really do slope as they are made of six hundred year old timbers. The bar has some of the best bar snacks in Britian – but they do cost a bit more than the usual ploughman’s. My brother is often to be seen here, as Hallidays, his antique showrooms, are opposite. They have 28 showrooms and wandering round is a delight.
George and Pilgrims
Glastonbury, Somerset - 01458 831146
Whenever I read about the Festival, I think anyone able to book in to this 15 th century Inn is spoilt. It creaks and the flag-stone floors date from its founding – but bedrooms are cosy, windows are mullioned and there is a snug little lounge.
The Majestic
Harrogate, Yorkshire - 01423 568972
The swimming pool and Beauty Centre are a magnet when you come in after a cold tramp across the moors. It was an hotel a hundred years ago, and has marvellous wooden panelling and chandeliers in the public rooms.
Old Swan
Harrogate, Yorkshire - 01423 500055
When Agatha Christie ‘disappeared’ in 1926, she came here. If the hotel looks familiar, it is because it was used for filming ‘Agatha’, and is now very popular with visitors form overseas. It is a lovely elegant building, with beautifully kept gardens. Do go out the back and have a look around.
Red Lion
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire - 01491 572161
Reputed to have been used by Henry VIII when hunting, this red brick 16 th century building is right by the finishing line of Henley Royal Regatta, with swans swimming in the river outside some of the bedroom windows.
Slaley Hall
Hexham, Northumberland - 01434 673350
The dogs loved this hotel, and sank gratefully onto the marble floors during a heatwave. The hotel is air-conditioned, which is wanted by the international clientele who come here for excellent golf. There is also an impressive leisure club, but do watch out for golfers. Taking a very early morning walk with the dogs, locals working at the Japanese Nissan factory were already out playing.
The Old Bridge Hotel
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire - 01480 452681 - oldbridge@huntsbridge.co.uk
Huntingdon is where Oliver Cromwell lived, but that is the only thing this hotel has in common, except the fact that Oliver’s wife was a good cook as is Martin Lee, the chef-patron. Sitting in the garden you look over the old bridge and river, and the hotel has a relaxed attitude about eating – generally where you want when you want – there is always something delicious.
The Swan
Lavenham, Suffolk - 01787 247477
Lovely bar snacks and willing staff. There is a minstrel’s gallery and the lounge looks out onto a delightful garden, where you can sit and drink in the summer.
Basil Street Hotel
Knightsbridge, London - 020 75813311
Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary and his wife stay here, plus ‘old’ aristocracy. The AA only awards it three stars, but this is probably because it doesn’t pander to modern requirements; its clientele expect staff who do an excellent job, parquet floors with antique rugs rather than fitted carpet, and comfortable armchairs rather than ‘designer sofas that make a statement’. Do book at lunchtime, as local firms in the know come here for excellent food. Hyde Park is a two minute walk away.
The Inn at Whitewell
near Clitheroe, Lancashire - 01200 448222
The dogs love it here, as do humans. Patron Richard Bowman is descended from one of the archers who beat the French at the battle of Agincourt; their bows were made from trees in the forest around Whitewell (probably why the ‘forest’ here doesn’t have so many trees) and there has been an Inn here for years on the banks of the River Hodder. There is a famous tale of the time when the kitchen fell into the water; ask Richard for the authentic tale. The dogs and I have been coming here for years, long before Richard ‘tarted’ the place up, but luckily it is just as much fun and still a marvellous place to stay.
This hotel and the Old Bridge at Huntingdon are members of The Great Inns of Britain, written about in a charmingly eccentric brochure that will make you laugh out loud. Phone their PR, Pat Edgar (01494 7649332) if you want to book into somewhere with character.
Rothay Garden Hotel
Grasmere, Cumbria - 015394 35335
The gardens surrounding this hotel keep out the hordes of tourists, and five minutes out the back door you are on the Fells. The dogs loved the way they were given a lovely bedroom with French windows leading out the back way for their walks - I loved lying in the whirl-pool bath. Some of the rooms have a four-poster or tester beds, and do book for dinner in the Conservatory Restaurant; Andrew Burton’s food is well worth it. The dogs were offered Doggie Dinners compiled by Andrew: Chopped Steak with Gravy, Chopped Sausage with Gravy, Diced Lamb with Crushed Savoury Biscuits, and they stayed free (food extra) but must bring their own beds.
Hoseasons - 01502 502601
If you want to go on the water with your dogs, Hoseasons offer hassle-free holidays for pets. Their research has shown that one in ten holidaymakers take their pets away with them, so Hoseasons’ holiday boatyards welcome pets, as do their parks and cottages. Do be warned though – if you think your dog will run along the towpath getting exercise whilst you laze on the deck – forget it. Mine wanted to be where the action (or food) was, and were convinced that if I left them on dry land they would never get a meal again. So it ended up with me running the towpath, just to get them exercise. In the past, Hoseasons have taken bookings for such pets as ducks, ferrets, chipmunks and lovebirds, and last year more than 20,000 pets holidayed with Hoseasons.
Hotels in Scotland
Willowburn Hotel
Seil by Oban - 01852-300276
www.willowburn.co.uk
This must be paradise for water-loving dogs, as the garden leads down to the Atlantic Ocean. You even cross over a ‘bridge over the ocean’ to get onto Seil Island. Pets are welcome, and there are no extra charges. Rooms en-suite, mostly with showers, and lots of spoiling touches like sweeties and shortbread in your room. Food is delicious; do try the warm Kilbrandon oysters. Dinner, bed and breakfast £58 per person per night.
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