Trewena

Dog-free, pet-free cottages

Dog-free holiday cottages in Cornwall

Three pet-free cottages on the rural edge of Falmouth. No pet hair, no dander, no lingering odours, and a thorough clean between every stay. The calm, clean choice for couples and for guests who would rather book a cottage that dogs have not been staying in.

Check dates See the cottages
A calm, freshly made cottage bedroom at Trewena in soft morning light, with crisp white bedding, a wooden headboard and daylight coming through the window, the kind of clean pet-free space allergy sufferers look for.

Why pet-free

A cleaner, calmer break by design

Cleaner air inside

No dogs or cats stay in the cottages, so pet dander, hair and odour do not build up inside, one of the most common household allergy triggers taken off the table.

No holiday pets

No guest dogs stay in the cottages, so the guest spaces stay free of pet hair and dander, with no other people's pets coming and going next door.

Spotless between stays

Every cottage is thoroughly cleaned between guests and kept strictly non-smoking indoors, so you arrive to a fresh home with no residue from whoever came before.

Why we don't do dogs

The honest reason, from us

We are not anti-dog, not at all. We have one of our own and we love him, and Cornwall is full of wonderful dog-friendly places if you are travelling with yours. Trewena simply is not one of them, and that is a personal choice rather than any judgement. When Hellen and I go away ourselves, we do not book dog-friendly places either, and there is a reason for it.

Hellen has asthma, and dog hair sets it off. We also learned it the hard way: we used to allow dogs, asked people kindly to keep them off the beds and the furniture, and still found hair through the whole house every single time. Dog hair is genuinely hard to get out of a home, and for someone with asthma that is not a small thing.

So we made Trewena the kind of place we would book ourselves: pet-free, properly clean, and calm. If you react to pet dander, that is the difference between a cottage cleaned after the last dog and one that dogs have not been staying in. We cannot make any home completely allergen-free, but we can take the biggest pet trigger off the table. For the fuller couples picture, see cottages for couples near Falmouth.

And it turns out we are not alone. Plenty of people go looking for somewhere that does not take dogs, whether for allergies, for the cleanliness, or simply because it is what they prefer for their own break. It has quietly become one of the things guests tell us they were glad to find.

One honest thing. We live on site with our own dog. He is a hypoallergenic breed who barely sheds, which is the only reason he works for Hellen, and he stays in our home, away from the guest cottages and their private outdoor spaces. You are very welcome to meet him if you are a dog person. If you would rather not, you never have to: he does not roam the guest areas.

The cottages

Three pet-free cottages, each for two

All dog-free, all non-smoking, each with its own private outdoor space.

The Tractor Shed exterior. Slate stone wall, dark blue door, white render, garden in the foreground.

The Tractor Shed

Single-floor, indoor-outdoor luxe.

A 2024 barn conversion, single-floor throughout, with French doors onto a private patio.

From £80 / night More →
Little Avalon lounge. Sofa with cushions, wood burner in the original granite fireplace, exposed beams.

Little Avalon

Wood burner, exposed beams, classic Cornish.

An 1850s labourer's cottage with a wood burner, exposed beams, and a private Cornish garden.

From £75 / night More →
The Pigsty exterior. Whitewashed wall, blue door, picnic bench on a flagstone patio.

The Pigsty

Upside-down layout, super-king bed, full of character.

A converted pig house. Bedroom downstairs, living and kitchen upstairs, reading nook over the orchard.

From £75 / night More →

Common questions

Dog-free and allergy questions

Are the Trewena cottages dog-friendly?
No. All three Trewena cottages are dog-free and pet-free. We do not allow pets in them, so you are booking a cottage that dogs have not been staying in, with no dog hair, dander or lingering odours. It is a deliberate choice that suits allergy sufferers, light sleepers, and couples who want a genuinely calm and clean stay.
Are the cottages suitable for allergy sufferers?
They are a good choice if pet allergens are a trigger for you. Because we don't allow pets in the cottages, there is no dog or cat dander, hair or odour building up inside them, which removes one of the most common household allergy triggers, and we clean thoroughly between every stay. In fairness, you should know we live on site and have a dog of our own who is kept in our house, away from the cottages. If your allergy is severe, contact us before you book and we will be honest about the layout so you can decide.
Are the cottages good for asthma?
This one is personal for us: Hellen has asthma that dog hair sets off, which is a big part of why the cottages are pet-free. Many guests with asthma choose us for the same reason allergy sufferers do: no pet dander in the cottages and a thoroughly cleaned, non-smoking space. We do keep our own dog in our own house on the site, apart from the guest cottages. If you have specific sensitivities, contact us before booking and we will be honest about what we can and cannot control.
Do you allow any pets at all?
No pets are accepted in any of the cottages. This applies to dogs, cats and other animals. Keeping the cottages consistently pet-free is what lets us promise every guest the same clean, calm, allergen-reduced stay, so we do not make exceptions for pets.
What about registered assistance dogs?
Assistance dogs are treated differently from pets and we consider them separately. If you rely on a trained assistance dog, please get in touch before you book and we will talk it through with you directly, so we can make the right arrangements for your stay.
Why don't you accept dogs?
It is mostly personal. Hellen has asthma that dog hair sets off, and from our own past experience we found dog hair almost impossible to fully remove even with strict rules, so we keep Trewena pet-free the way we like it for our own trips. Cornwall has plenty of wonderful dog-friendly places if you are travelling with a dog. We have simply found there are also lots of people who would rather stay somewhere that does not take dogs, and that is who the cottages are for.
Are the cottages non-smoking too?
Yes. All three cottages are strictly non-smoking indoors, alongside being pet-free. Both policies exist for the same reason: a fresh, clean home for every guest, with no residue from previous stays. Each cottage has its own private outdoor space if you want fresh air.
Who are the dog-free cottages best suited to?
Couples and two-person breaks above all, since every Trewena cottage sleeps two. Within that, they particularly suit allergy sufferers who want a pet-free interior, and anyone who simply prefers a clean, pet-free cottage for their holiday. They are on the rural edge of Falmouth, ten minutes from the waterfront. If you are severely allergic to dogs or afraid of them, read our honest note about our own dog and get in touch first.
Where are the cottages?
Trewena is at Mabe Burnthouse, on the rural edge of Falmouth in Cornwall, near Penryn. The three cottages sit together on a quiet site, each with its own private outdoor space, and the Falmouth waterfront is about ten minutes away. See our location page for directions and travel times.

More on the full FAQs page.

Book your stay

A clean, calm cottage for two

Check dates and prices across all three pet-free cottages, or ask us anything before you book.

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