Booking a Castle Escape in the UK (2026)

Sleeping in a 700-year-old castle is one of the most distinctive things you can do on a UK trip. The British Isles have more castles per square mile than almost anywhere else in Europe, and dozens of them have been carefully converted into hotels — keeping the moats, the great halls, and the four-poster beds while quietly upgrading the plumbing.

In this guide our team picks the ten best castle hotels across England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland for 2026, with what makes each one worth the trip and what it costs to stay.

The pull of a castle hotel is the sense of being inside a piece of working history. You sleep in a room where Henry VIII may have stood, eat dinner in a vaulted hall where medieval banquets were held, and walk grounds that have been continuously inhabited for the better part of a millennium. The trade-off is that some castle hotels feel slightly worn around the edges — that's the cost of preserving original features rather than gutting the place.

In our experience, the best castle hotels are the ones that have invested heavily in the bedrooms and bathrooms while leaving the public spaces deliberately atmospheric. Expect to pay around 500 a night, with the very top properties (Ashford, Inverlochy, Dromoland) climbing into 700+ territory in peak season.

England has the largest concentration of castle conversions, mostly across the South West, the Cotswolds belt, and the Welsh borders.

• Thornbury Castle, Gloucestershire — A genuine Tudor royal castle where Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed in 1535. Twenty-six bedrooms inside the original castle walls. around 320 a night.
• Amberley Castle, West Sussex — A 900-year-old fortified manor with a working portcullis still raised every morning. Adults-only. Around 550.
• Lumley Castle, County Durham — A 14th-century stronghold famous for its medieval banquet evenings — costumed servers, mead, and roast meats. More accessible pricing from 550 per night.
• Hever Castle, Kent — Childhood home of Anne Boleyn. The hotel rooms sit in the Tudor Wing rather than the castle itself, but you get private after-hours access to the gardens.
• Bovey Castle, Dartmoor — A 1907 Edwardian baronial estate with a championship golf course, a falconry school, and serious country pursuits.

Scotland punches well above its weight on castles, and the standard at the top end is among the highest in Europe.

• Inverlochy Castle, Fort William — Often described as Scotland's grandest hotel. Seventeen bedrooms, Michelin-starred restaurant, views of Ben Nevis. Around 160.
• Glenapp Castle, Ayrshire — A 19th-century baronial castle on the Ayrshire coast with a Michelin star and a spectacular position. Around 80.
• Borthwick Castle, near Edinburgh — A 15th-century tower house where Mary Queen of Scots reputedly hid. Exclusive-use only — book the whole place for a private party.
• Ackergill Tower, Caithness — Remote, dramatic, and sometimes available exclusively for private hire.
• Crossbasket Castle, near Glasgow — A boutique 17th-century castle with a Michelin-starred restaurant and only ten bedrooms.

Ireland's castle hotels are among the most famous in the world, partly because the Irish embraced the format earlier than most countries.

• Ashford Castle, County Mayo — Probably the most famous castle hotel in the world. An 800-year-old estate on the shores of Lough Corrib, with falconry, archery, and a five-star spa. around 400 a night, climbing to 620+ for suites.
• Dromoland Castle, County Clare — A 16th-century castle with golf, a spa, and a long history of hosting US presidents. Around 380.
• Adare Manor, County Limerick — Not strictly a castle but a Gothic Revival manor with the same atmosphere; host of the 2027 Ryder Cup. Around 300.
• Ballynahinch Castle, Connemara — A more relaxed 18th-century country castle with brilliant fishing and walks. Around 480.

Wales is full of castles, but only a handful operate as proper hotels.

• Ruthin Castle, Denbighshire — A 13th-century castle with a hotel built around the original ruin. Reasonable rates around 260
• Bodysgallen Hall, near Conwy — A National Trust-owned house with castle-like atmosphere on the doorstep of Snowdonia.
• Roch Castle, Pembrokeshire — A boutique six-bedroom castle conversion on Pembrokeshire's Atlantic coast.

Castle hotels run differently from chain hotels. Don't expect 24-hour room service or a slick check-in app. Do expect a real fire in the lobby, a butler-style welcome, and staff who know the building's history. Wi-Fi can be patchy in stone-walled rooms (a few hotels offer signal boosters on request), and lift access is rare in older castles — ask about ground-floor rooms if mobility matters.

Dinner is usually a serious affair. Many castle hotels have AA Rosette or Michelin-starred kitchens — book the dining room when you book the room. Breakfast is full English with kippers, kedgeree, and proper smoked salmon at the better properties. Children are welcome at most but not all — Amberley is adults-only, and a handful of others restrict under-12s.

There is no bad season for a castle hotel, but each has a personality.

• Winter (Nov-Feb): log fires, candlelight dinners, the most atmospheric stays. Cheaper midweek rates.
• Spring (Mar-May): gardens at their best, shoulder rates, fewer tourists.
• Summer (Jun-Aug): peak prices but long daylight, perfect for grounds and gardens.
• Autumn (Sep-Oct): golden colour, harvest menus, our team's favourite season for a Scottish castle.

A castle hotel stay is the kind of gift people remember for years — the kind you give for a 50th birthday, a milestone anniversary, or simply to mark a year that mattered. With a Getaway Gift Card the recipient picks the castle, the dates, and the room category that suits them. It works across our hotel partners in 100+ countries — meaning whoever you give it to can choose between a Cotswolds Tudor castle, a Scottish Highland fortress, or an Irish manor on a lough. A genuinely memorable gift for anyone who's ever wanted to feel like minor royalty for a weekend.