What Dog Friendly Should Actually Mean: Sunnyside Cottage

Anyone who has travelled with a dog knows that the term dog friendly can be misleading. Plenty of cottages look perfect online, only for guests to arrive to a long list of rules that turn the trip into a balancing act. So what does genuine dog friendliness actually look like?

Rachel Spencer is a journalist, coach and the owner of Sunnyside Cottage in Robin Hood’s Bay on the Yorkshire Coast. She bought the cottage in June 2023 after falling for the village on a visit with her dog Patch in 2018. It was also the last place she stayed with her first dog Daisy.

Sunnyside Cottage, an award-winning traditional fisherman's cottage, is tucked away in the historic lower village, just a minute from the beach. It's small, cosy, and full of charm. What really sets it apart, though, is how dog-friendly it is. Rachel has designed the cottage with dogs in mind, providing the easy going, stress-free vibe that many pet owners have been looking for.

I wanted to understand how someone goes about creating a cottage that is genuinely dog friendly rather than simply allowing dogs. So I asked Rachel what motivated her to make Sunnyside Cottage as welcoming as it is.

“I'd been on lots of holidays with my dog and arrived at a ‘dog friendly’ place and been met with a set of shouty rules telling me what my dog couldn’t do, for example, no dogs on the sofa, in the bed, upstairs, and even some places where I might be fined. This made the stay stressful because Patch and Daisy the dog I had before him were allowed everywhere at home, and there was no way I would make them sit in a cold miserable kitchen when they were on holiday."

Rachel explained that she used to pack throws and her own bedding when travelling, simply to make sure her dogs were comfortable and to ease the worry of navigating strict house rules. When she bought Sunnyside, she wanted to create the complete opposite experience, a place where people would arrive and instantly feel that the holiday centred around their dog, rather than their dog feeling like an afterthought.

When we moved on to what makes a place truly dog friendly rather than simply dogs allowed, Rachel’s emphasis was on comfort, familiarity and reducing stress for both dog and owner.

“Thinking about what a dog might need, so bowls, beds, toys, treats, a nice welcome pack with something to make them feel special. The most important is for them to be able to behave on their holidays as they would at home. This means they can relax, and so can their owner. For the dog, going to a new place can be unsettling. To then be not allowed to do what they do at home, like cuddle on the sofa, adds more confusion and just isn’t fair. Ideally, it’s great to have a garden, we don’t have one because the cottage is tiny, but we try to make up for it with all the other dog treats!”

At Sunnyside, every detail is thoughtfully considered, which is evident, particularly when Rachel shared the aspects that both guests and their dogs appreciate the most.

“Being able to let their dog go anywhere! I love seeing photos and videos of dogs on the bed and snuggling up on the sofa. Also, the welcome goodies and that they are so close to the beach. The beach is just a minute walk away.”

For anyone hoping to make their own cottage or business more dog friendly, Rachel recommends starting with the simple, practical things.

She suggests thinking about what you value when you go away, the items you might forget and the comforts you rely on at home. Because Sunnyside is close to the beach, she keeps Dogrobes on hand to dry Patch after walks, and encourages others to take a similar approach.

Her guiding principle is to create the kind of space you would be happy for your own dog to walk into, and you can’t go far wrong.

Finally, I asked Rachel what she loves most about hosting dogs and their owners.

“Seeing photos and videos of dogs having the best time! It is so so heartwarming. And when people come back time and time again, it’s really nice. I’m friends with lots of my guests on social media and I love doing the welcome packs for them, writing the thank you cards and putting extra things in I know they will like. And also going crazy for Christmas and putting in festive goodies which I know people will love. It really does not feel like a job.”

It’s clear that a truly dog friendly cottage is built on understanding, thoughtful choices and a genuine love for dogs, not a checklist of rules. Sunnyside Cottage embodies that spirit effortlessly. It may be small in size, but it has a big, generous heart, setting a standard for what dog friendly should really mean.

If you would like to explore or book Sunnyside Cottage, you can find it here: https://baytownholidaycottages.co.uk/our-cottages/property?s=sunnyside-cottage-robin-hoods-bay