A hot tub is one of the easiest things to filter for and one of the harder things to get right when a dog is coming too. Plenty of places advertise both and then bury the detail: the tub sits in a shared courtyard, the garden turns out to be open at one end, or the dog allowance stops at one animal when there are two in the back of the car.
Every stay below is drawn from our own dog friendly accommodation listings, and each one clears the same three bars. The garden is enclosed and the owners say so in their own words. The number of dogs is stated rather than implied. And there is a walk or a beach close enough to have done something with the day before anyone gets in the water. They run from a one bedroom lodge above Woolacombe to a nine bedroom house on the edge of Alnwick, across twelve counties, so the choice is about the trip rather than the postcode.
Ravenslaw House, Northumberland
Ravenslaw House is an 1892 country house on the edge of Alnwick that sleeps eighteen across nine bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. You go through a gate into the enclosed garden, which the owners describe as somewhere children can run about and find the other seating areas, and the hot tub sits within it. Alnmouth Beach is three and a half miles off and the Alnwick Pastures and River Aln walk starts less than a mile from the door.
It is the most obvious choice here for a large group travelling with dogs, because four are welcome rather than the usual one or two. The trade is scale: eighteen people and four dogs in one house is a particular kind of weekend, and if you are two people looking for quiet this is the wrong end of the list.
- Sleeps: 18 across 9 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 4
- Hot tub: Yes, in the enclosed garden
- Enclosed garden: Yes, through a gate
- Nearest dog beach: Alnmouth Beach, 3.4 miles
- Best for: Big groups and multiple dogs in one house
Riber House, Derbyshire
Riber House stands above Matlock at Starkholmes, seven bedrooms sleeping fourteen, with an enclosed garden holding the hot tub, a patio with seating and a lawn. The Matlock Bath and High Tor circular begins six tenths of a mile away, which is close enough to walk to rather than drive, and there is a pub within a mile.
For a house of this size the dog allowance is the thing to check before booking: two dogs, not four, despite fourteen beds. If you are the kind of group where every couple brings a dog, this is not the house for it. For one or two dogs and a large party of people, the position above the Derwent valley is hard to beat.
- Sleeps: 14 across 7 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes, in the enclosed garden
- Enclosed garden: Yes, with patio and lawn
- Nearest walk: Matlock Bath and High Tor Circular, 0.6 miles
- Best for: Large groups with one or two dogs, walking from the door
Hartnolls Lodge Woolacombe, Devon
A single storey lodge for two above Woolacombe, with an enclosed rear garden, a decked area and a lawn with a charcoal barbecue. The hot tub is reached on the level, which matters more than it sounds if you are carrying a towel and steering a wet dog at the same time. Woolacombe Beach is a mile and a half away and Morte Point is under two.
Three dogs are welcome here, which is unusual for a property sleeping two, and it makes this one of the better options for a couple with a full pack. The owners empty, clean and refill the tub between every stay, so if you arrive early it may not be ready the moment you walk in.
- Sleeps: 2 in 1 bedroom
- Dogs welcome: 3
- Hot tub: Yes, level access from the garden
- Enclosed garden: Yes, decked with a lawn
- Nearest dog beach: Woolacombe Beach, 1.6 miles
- Best for: Two people and several dogs, within walking distance of the sea
Pennant View, Flintshire
Pennant View sleeps eight at Whitford in Flintshire, and it is the most practical house on this list for dogs that get filthy. There is a drying room, a large enclosed garden with the hot tub, a built in outdoor kitchen and a gas barbecue, a bike store and parking for four cars. The snug has a wood burner for the evening after.
Gronant Beach is under six miles and the shop and pub are two, so this is a car-based stay rather than a walk-out-the-door one. Three dogs are welcome. The nearest of our walks, Moel Famau from Loggerheads, is nearly ten miles off, which is the longest drive to a trail of anything here.
- Sleeps: 8 across 4 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 3
- Hot tub: Yes, in a large enclosed garden
- Dog facilities: Drying room
- Nearest dog beach: Gronant Beach, 5.7 miles
- Best for: Muddy dogs and families who want the kit to cope with them
Earth Ship, Perthshire
Earth Ship is a single storey five star home for seven on a working farm by Loch Leven, and the hot tub sits in the enclosed garden with a seating area looking out across the water. It is the most distinctive building in this guide by some margin, and it is filed under quirky, rustic and luxury at the same time, which is about right.
Two things to know. It is a working farm, so dogs need to be under proper control around stock and the farm's own routine carries on around you. And there is no pub within a mile, so evenings are self contained, which for a lot of people is the reason to come.
- Sleeps: 7 across 3 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes, private, in the enclosed garden
- Setting: Working farm beside Loch Leven
- Nearest walk: Dollar Glen and Castle Campbell Circular, 7.3 miles
- Best for: A quiet, self contained few days somewhere genuinely unusual
Fairview By The Wrekin, Shropshire
Fairview sleeps ten at New Works, under the Wrekin in Shropshire. The garden is fully enclosed and holds the hot tub, a built in charcoal barbecue and patio furniture, and indoors there is a steam room as well, which makes this the closest thing here to a spa weekend that also takes three dogs.
Ironbridge Gorge is three and a half miles away and there is a pub within a mile. The caveat is the one that comes with every large house: ten people, three dogs and one enclosed garden is a busy arrangement, and the garden is the only secure outdoor space on the plot.
- Sleeps: 10 across 5 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 3
- Hot tub: Yes, in a fully enclosed garden
- Also: Steam room, built in charcoal barbecue
- Nearest walk: Ironbridge Gorge, 3.4 miles
- Best for: A group weekend with a spa feel and several dogs
Bryn Celyn Cottage, Denbighshire
A five star conversion for six near Ruthin, with underfloor heating, a hot tub, and a landscaped enclosed garden that the living room opens straight into. That last detail is the one worth paying for: the door from the sitting room goes into secure ground, so letting a dog out last thing does not involve a lead or a gate.
Moel Famau from Loggerheads Country Park is four and a half miles away and there is a pub within a mile. Two dogs are welcome. The nearest dog friendly beach, Gronant, is fourteen miles off, so this is an inland stay rather than a coastal one.
- Sleeps: 6 across 3 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes
- Enclosed garden: Yes, landscaped, opening off the living room
- Nearest walk: Moel Famau Circular from Loggerheads, 4.5 miles
- Best for: Hill walking in the Clwydian Range with the door opening onto secure ground
The Green Oaks, Norfolk
The Green Oaks sleeps ten across six bedrooms at Clenchwarton in west Norfolk, and alongside the hot tub there is an outdoor heated pool and a pool house in the grounds. The enclosed garden and patio are separate from that, with enough furniture for the whole party.
Snettisham Beach is eight and a half miles away and the Roydon Common and Dersingham Bog walk is under seven. Two dogs are welcome, which is the constraint to weigh against ten beds. A heated outdoor pool also needs thinking about with dogs on site, since it is not part of the enclosed garden.
- Sleeps: 10 across 6 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes
- Also: Outdoor heated pool and pool house in the grounds
- Nearest dog beach: Snettisham Beach, 8.5 miles
- Best for: A big family summer week within reach of the north Norfolk coast
The Cottage, Staffordshire
A three bedroom cottage for six at Longnor, between Buxton and the Staffordshire moorlands, with an enclosed lawned garden looking back at the village. The garden has furniture, a fire pit and the hot tub, and The Roaches and Lud's Church are under four miles away, which is the best walking within reach of anything on this list.
Two dogs are welcome. Two practical notes: you need to bring your own towels for outdoor use, and there is no pub within a mile, so Longnor's own village pubs are the walk rather than a doorstep option.
- Sleeps: 6 across 3 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes, with a fire pit in the enclosed garden
- Enclosed garden: Yes, lawned, facing the village
- Nearest walk: The Roaches and Lud's Church, 3.7 miles
- Best for: Walkers heading for the Peak District edges
The Orchid, North Yorkshire
The Orchid is a three bedroom ground floor apartment for six in Harrogate, with a garden room specifically for drying dogs off and a hot tub in an enclosed garden. The Valley Gardens loop starts six tenths of a mile away and there is a pub within a mile, so this is the one stay here that works as a town break rather than a country one.
Two things to weigh. Only one dog is welcome. And the enclosed garden is reached up stone steps, which is worth knowing if your dog is old, short legged or recovering from anything.
- Sleeps: 6 across 3 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 1
- Hot tub: Yes, in the enclosed garden
- Dog facilities: Garden room for drying off
- Nearest walk: Harrogate and the Valley Gardens Loop, 0.6 miles
- Best for: One dog and a town based break with walking from the door
Strawberry Farm Cottage, Hampshire
Dog towels are left out at Strawberry Farm Cottage, which tells you most of what you need to know about how the place is run. It is a five star one bedroom cottage for two at Blissford in the New Forest, with an enclosed rear garden reached through French doors from the lounge, from the bedroom, or through a gated entrance to one side.
Two dogs are welcome for two people, and Fritham and Eyeworth Pond is three and a half miles away. It is small by design, so a couple will find it generous and anybody else will find it tight. The New Forest also means livestock on the open ground, so recall matters more here than in a fenced country park.
- Sleeps: 2 in 1 bedroom
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes
- Dog facilities: Dog towels provided
- Nearest walk: Fritham and Eyeworth Pond, 3.6 miles
- Best for: A couple with two dogs who want the Forest on the doorstep
Burgate's Old Rectory Cottage, Suffolk
A two bedroom cottage for four at Burgate near Eye, five star, with a fully enclosed side garden, a hot tub, underfloor heating and a log burner. It is the quietest entry here and the most straightforwardly comfortable, in a part of Suffolk that does not get walked over in August.
One dog only, which is the single biggest limit on this list, so it rules itself out for most multi dog households. The nearest of our walks, the Knettishall Heath Breckland circuit, is six miles away, so you will drive to the better ground.
- Sleeps: 4 across 2 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 1
- Hot tub: Yes
- Enclosed garden: Yes, fully enclosed side garden
- Nearest walk: Knettishall Heath Breckland Circuit, 6.1 miles
- Best for: One dog, two couples, and a quiet week in north Suffolk
Practical Advice for Booking a Hot Tub Stay with a Dog
The tub is rarely the thing that goes wrong. These are:
- Check the dog number, not the bed number. Four of the houses here sleep eight or more and still cap dogs at two. The two properties that take three or more dogs sleep two and eight respectively.
- Ask what "enclosed" means. Every stay above has the owners' own description of the boundary on its listing page. Read that rather than the filter.
- Look at how you reach the garden. Level access, French doors from the lounge and a flight of stone steps are three very different propositions at eleven at night in the rain.
- Expect the tub to be emptied between stays. Several owners refill between guests, so it may not be hot the moment you arrive.
- Dogs and hot tubs do not mix. Chemically treated water is not good for them, and claws and liners are a bad combination. The enclosed garden is the point, not the tub itself.
Map of Dog Friendly Cottages with Hot Tubs
Twelve properties, running from a farm beside Loch Leven down to a one bedroom cottage in the New Forest. Open it up to see which ones sit closest to the coast, and which have a trail inside walking distance of the front door.
12 stays on this pageMap these stays, and thousands more
The Wildpack Map plots every dog friendly walk, beach, stay and attraction we have listed across the UK. Open it to see what else is within reach in the UK, filter by what your dog needs, and get directions to the car park.
What's Nearby?
If one of these has caught your eye, these guides cover the walking and the coast around it:
- Dog friendly walks in Derbyshire: The reservoir and dale routes within reach of Riber House and, over the county line, The Cottage at Longnor.
- Dog friendly beaches in Northumberland: Alnmouth and the long empty sands north of it, three miles from Ravenslaw House.
- Dog friendly beaches in Devon: Woolacombe and the north Devon coast on the doorstep of Hartnolls Lodge.
- Dog friendly walks in the New Forest: Heath, woodland and pond routes around Strawberry Farm Cottage, including Fritham.
- Dog friendly walks in North Wales: The Clwydian hills behind Bryn Celyn Cottage and Pennant View.
You can also browse every bookable property county by county, including dog friendly stays in Northumberland and dog friendly stays in Devon.
Final Thoughts
A hot tub suits a particular kind of trip: short, cold, and built around one long walk a day rather than several. That is why the walking distances matter more than the star gradings here, and why the houses that read best on paper are not always the ones that work with a dog in tow.
If you are travelling with more than two dogs the list narrows fast, to Hartnolls Lodge, Pennant View, Fairview and Ravenslaw House. If you are two people, Strawberry Farm Cottage and Hartnolls Lodge are the ones built for that rather than scaled down to it. And if the dogs come back muddy every single day, Pennant View has the drying room and The Orchid has the garden room, which is worth more in February than any amount of hot water.