As one would expect, Grazia’s travel editor Nicholas Kynaston has experienced some seriously fabulous places during his career as a travel journalist. He’s flown all over the world, but he’s never happier than when travelling with his Labradoodle baby, Barney and his partner Ben. And the results of his travels with his canine kiddie are the subject of his fantastic blog, Novarover.com. He chats to kodomo.com about the beauty of the Cotswolds, his travel essentials for Barney and exactly what to ask when looking for a luxury, dog-friendly hotel.

Being a travel editor means I need to travel a lot – both at home and abroad. The downside of foreign trips is leaving my partner Ben, and after we got him nine years ago, Barney, our wonderful Labradoodle. When travelling in the UK, I obviously want to be with them both. It’s never a problem taking a partner on a review trip, but dog-friendliness is so random (as I think child-friendliness is, too); it really just depends on the individual attitude of the owner or manager. I’m very lucky that most hotels I review are at the higher end because of the publications I write for. Asking if a place is dog-friendly is a great way to edit down invitations – if they d0n’t allow dogs, another member of the team will go. If they do then Ben, Barney and I will visit.

After a while I thought that it would be quite useful to collect these reviews together as there wasn’t another blog around about luxury travel with your dog. I wanted the site to be a source of information for people who were planning a special weekend away and wanted to take their pet with them. I think nowadays we see pets as part of the family and people don’t want to check them into kennels when they go for a weekend away.

I can remember as a very young child going abroad with my parents and brother for the first time. We hired a villa in Spain but my Mum was scared of flying so my Dad drove us all the way down from the north west of England in a couple of days. We got lost in the Pyrenees and ended up in a remote Spanish village at two in the morning trying to find the way. Everyone tried to help us, in spite of us not speaking Spanish and them not speaking English. I can just remember thinking how friendly everyone was. Afterwards, when we got on to the motorway, I can remember my mum saying there must be a very big town called Salida because there were a lot of signs for it, but she couldn’t find it on the map – it was only later we realized it was the Spanish word for ‘Exit’!

We’ve had some amazing holidays with Barney, but I think my favourite was when we stayed in a property managed by the Vivat Trust. They save historic buildings that would otherwise go to rack and ruin and turn them into holiday lets. The particular place we stayed in was an old 18^th century folly built in the style of a Greek temple in Shropshire (it’s called ‘the temple’ on their website). That would be amazing enough, but what was even more incredible was that it was, in effect, in its very own private river valley. Barney absolutely loved it and it felt as if we’d stumbled upon something totally unspoiled and special.

It has to be when we went to Brighton for the weekend. Nothing wrong with that, but the weather was awful – howling wind and rain. The British seaside is very depressing when it’s like that. Barney didn’t care though and he still wanted walking  – even in the driving rain, thunder and lightning – not pleasant!

Favourite hotel has to be Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quatr’Saisons in the Cotswolds. We went before it was dog-friendly and again recently now that they have dog-friendly rooms. It is an incredible place and clearly a labour of love for Raymond Blanc, who owns it, and has a hand in every detail – from the variety of tomatoes used in the kitchen to the works of art on the walls. Then there is the food. They don’t get two Michelin stars for nothing. The dinner I had there is simply the best I’ve ever tasted. Add to that staff who are kind and attentive, plus the glorious Cotswolds location, which is one of my favourite parts of England, if not the world.

It has to be Buenos Aires in Argentina. Imagine a mixture of Paris and Milan, then add a bit of crumbling Havana, plus that unique Argentine character. They say an Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish and thinks he’s English, which all made sense once I was in the country! Walk around the La Boca district near the banks of the River Plate and you will see the most incredible tango shows happening on street corners that make the professionals from Strictly Come Dancing look like they have two left feet.

As I said before, I love the Cotswolds, but if we have a little more time I like to get the ferry down to the Isle of Wight. There’s something about that little stretch of sea that makes travelling to the island seem as if you’ve travelled back in time just a little, to when the pace of life was gentler and people friendlier. It has great beaches too – the one at Ventnor is my favourite.

We are very lucky that we have a lovely bistro just up the road from us in Clapham called Gastro. Being totally French-owned and operated there’s never been any question that Barney is allowed in the restaurant. France is generally is a lot more dog-friendly than the UK. We love the oysters and steak tartar there and Barney is often given a bone to take home with him!

When we bought our car one of the considerations was whether it would be suitable for Barney. As it is a ‘cross-over’ type Qashqai he goes happily in the boot and we can keep an eye on him. When travelling, we break every three hours so he can stretch his legs. Being part Labrador, he’s very adept at dealing with new situations and takes most things in his stride. However, when we are in a new place we put him in a special harness which stops him pulling on the lead as this is something he does when he is excited. This saves his neck being strained and our shoulders from dislocating!

We’d never want to upset people who had a genuine fear of dogs. If they do, the easiest thing to do is reassure them that he is friendly and keep out of their way.

Always ask initially if the place you want to go to is dog-friendly and which areas dogs are allowed in. Some places bill themselves as welcoming dogs but then you find out dogs are limited to very few parts of the hotel. Keep a couple of old towels in the car just in case that lovely walk in the woods becomes a mud bath. Don’t forget to take things your dog is familiar with like his bed and a couple of toys as these will comfort him in an unfamiliar environment.

Barney is a ball obsessive so we always take a ball thrower with us. This is a device that helps you throw the ball further (a tired dog is a happy dog) and means you don’t have to bend down to pick a slobbery ball up as the ball can be picked up with the thrower. I always have to have a roll of poo-bags in my pocket, too; I think picking up after your dog is an absolute must. I also carry a bottle full of water in case he is thirsty on those long walks and there is no water nearby.

I think the “stay cation” will continue to be popular as people are still cautious about spending vast amounts on holidays.

More and more people are using sites like HomeAway and Airbnb to rent private flats and houses, both in the UK and abroad, as they provide better value for money and people enjoy the feeling of experiencing what it’s like to be a local rather than being on the tourist trail.

I think we are going to start seeing a lot more of Eastern Europe coming into fashion, too. Albania has a very similar coastline to Greece and the Italian Adriatic, but at the moment is as undeveloped as Spain was in the 1950’s. Transylvania in Romania is known as the home of Dracula, but it has so much more – some of the best preserved Medieval towns and villages in Europe are here and the last genuine European wilderness – the Carpathian Mountains – where it is possible to spot bear, wolves and lynx.