To say we love it here is a humongous understatement! 
We first found the extremely dog friendly Trigony House Hotel, Dumfriesshire when searching online for a doggy-friendly place to stay on our way to the ferry across to Northern Ireland last year. We loved it then and so the moment I realised we were coming this way again I booked to stay for a night.
Many hotels will allow dogs but his one welcomes them with open arms. A doggy welcome box awaits your four-legged friend on your big comfy double bed complete with a Bonio, Lily’s Kitchen dog treats, a guide of walks in the local area and some emergency poo bags.
Dinner and breakfast is served to you in the bar rather than the restaurant…but actually the bar feels like a private little restaurant just for special guests. It’s lovely. We have dined with a German Shepherd (Koko) and a pair of Whippets (their parents brought their beds down as the wood floor was a tad hard for their bony little elbows), and breakfasted with a Bernese Mountain Dog and a black Lab. The food is as good as any London restaurant I have been in and I can’t resist stuffing myself silly, much to Hoover’s obvious disgust as he sits there hopefully watching every mouthful disappear. I need to mention the G&T menu too….the temptation is to try them all and the Blackdown gin with Fevertee Mediterranean tonic, a slice of orange and a spring of rosemary is a joy…only 
enhanced by the waiter’s words: “I’ll just pop into the garden and cut the rosemary…” Love it! At breakfast the staff bring each doggy guest a freshly cooked sausage (with your permission) on a porcelain plate. This is probably the reason why Roxy, the resident Golden Retriever, visits guests at breakfast time. As for the full Scottish breakfast…well they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and ‘they’ (whoever ‘they’ are) are absolutely right…
As far as us humans are concerned the rooms I have stayed in have been comfy and warm, and beautifully appointed with all the usual things such as crisp bed linen, soft, fluffy towels, hairdryers, tea & coffee etc, but with the added loveliness of the chef’s homemade lemon shortbread. YUM! These usually disappear before I have so much as kicked my shoes off!
The grounds are also lovely: pretty gardens surround the hotel and there are country walks that go further afield. Snowdrops are in abundance in March appearing in clumps along the driveway and under the trees.
I chatted to the chef a little this visit and he and his wife own the hotel together. He rather humbly said that the bank owns the hotel, his wife is the boss, and he does the cooking, or words to that effect. I always take it as a good sign when the person who owns a hotel or restaurant I am visiting is also the chef…You get the feeling that this is a very personal venture and that they care very much about your stay. The staff welcome you and your pooch warmly and provide great service, and the entire experience feels nicely luxurious without being pompous or pretentious. We love it here and we will take every opportunity to re-visit.
More details about the hotel can be found at http://www.trigonyhotel.co.uk/ (or click here)
