Stylish Hot Tub House

The clue is in the name. This three-bedroom house on the outskirts of York has been done up with a genuinely sharp eye, all bright modern decor and clean lines throughout. It's the kind of place that looks good in the photos and actually matches when you walk through the front door.

The ground floor is split across three rooms rather than one big open-plan space, which gives it more of a proper-house feel. A living room with sofas and a Freeview Smart TV is the place to collapse once you're back from town, while a separate dining room keeps mealtimes away from the sofa cushions. The kitchen has an electric oven, gas hob, microwave, fridge-freezer, and a washing machine, properly equipped without being cramped.

Upstairs, two of the three bedrooms have super-king zip-and-link beds that split into singles if you need the flexibility, and the third has a standard double. One bathroom serves the whole house, with a bath, shower over, and a heated towel rail. Mornings take a bit of choreography with six people and one bathroom, but it works fine with a bit of planning. A travel cot and highchair are available, so younger members of the family are catered for.

The garden is fully enclosed, which matters when a small dog or young children are involved. Outdoor furniture gives you somewhere to sit out with a coffee in the morning or a glass of wine once the kids have gone to bed. The hot tub is covered, so you can use it whatever the Yorkshire sky decides to do. It seats four, making it more of an adults-after-bedtime situation than a whole-group affair, and it's completely private to the property.

Walking into York from here is the real pull. City walls are a ten-minute walk, and the centre is fifteen minutes on foot. The Shambles alone makes the trip worthwhile. It's one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in England, all overhanging timber frames and narrow passageways, and widely believed to have been the inspiration behind Diagon Alley. Dog-friendly pubs line the surrounding streets, so you can make a proper afternoon of it with the dog in tow. Buses stop nearby too, including the Coastliner that runs to the coast and into Leeds. A small supermarket covers the basics close by.

One small dog is welcome, with private parking for one car and WiFi throughout the house. A welcome pack greets you on arrival, a nice start to a place where the small things have clearly been thought about.