Best Family Friendly Castle Stays - 2019

Most Famous Residents/Guests:  Charles I & Zita, Last Emperors of Austria. The family friendly & pet friendly, Schloss Wartegg/Wartegg Castle Hotel has comfortable accommodation in a lovely setting by the shores of Lake Constance in North Eastern Switzerland. The castle dates back to 1558 and was the birthplace of Zita, the last Empress of Austria & Queen of Hungary, in Read more...

A Victorian era Scottish Castle with fabulous views over the Isle of Mull, the Atlantic Ocean and the Hebridean islands of Coll, Barra and the Uists, Glengorm Castle Hotel is a friendly, homely place with an atmosphere that is part boutique hotel, part cosy family home. THE ACCOMMODATION: There is a choice of just 5 B&B rooms and one self Read more...

Just outside the town of Tralee, County Kerry’s only castle hotel is the 4-star Ballyseede Castle which has a history dating back to the 16th century and pleasingly blends its many modern comforts with historical grandeur and elegance. It has award winning food, beautiful grounds, and a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere throughout. THE ACCOMMODATION: It has a choice of rooms and Read more...

The 5 Star Villa Crespi Hotel, on the shore of Lake Orta, near Milan, Italy, is a unique and spectacular sight. Built in 1879 as a residence for a local wealthy cotton merchant, its eye-catching Arabesque architecture and minaret were inspired by its founder’s many business trips to the Baghdad of the 19th century. THE ACCOMMODATION: They have a range Read more...

The Lanesborough, on Hyde Park Corner, has perhaps London’s most prestigious address and consistently appears near the top of any sensible list of that city’s finest luxury hotels, with its double Michelin Starred Céleste Restaurant being an added bonus. A Grade II listed, Neoclassical building, it was built in 1827 during the reign of George IV to replace the previous Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Meghan Markle, Mahatma Gandhi, John Profumo, Christine Keeler. Meghan Markle left Cliveden House, near Windsor, on the morning of Saturday 19th May, for her wedding to Prince Harry having spend her last night as a single woman there. We can’t be sure how much time she spent considering her accommodation options in the area but whichever way Read more...

Château de Bagnols, near Lyon, France, is a really quite magnificent 800 year old Beaujolais château now serving as a 5 Star luxury hotel. It has some terrifically opulent rooms and suites, beautiful gardens, top of the range spa facilities and a terrific fine dining, Michelin Star awarded, restaurant. Those factors alone would make it a wonderful place to stay Read more...

Most Famous Residents: Ferdinand II of Aragon, Isabella I of Castile. Castillo del Buen Amor/Buen Amor Castle near Salamanca, Spain, and less than two hours from Madrid, is a splendidly atmospheric place with a history going all the way back to 1227, and the reign of King Alfonso IX. The property is huge, with a great amount of common space; Read more...

Most Famous Guest: Czar Peter the Great of Russia. Schlosshotel Münchhausen is a classically beautiful 5 Star Castle Hotel near Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany, with extremely high levels of comfort and service. It comes with top of the range facilities too; a spa & beauty treatment centre, a swimming pool, a Michelin Star winning restaurant, and its own park which has Read more...

This elegant 19th century neo-Baroque castle, in Pontresina near St. Moritz, Swiss Alps, has long been considered a very special property but never more so than now, in its current form as one of Switzerland’s finest luxury 5 star hotels. It has panoramic views of some of the country’s most wonderful scenery; the Bernina glaciers and the Engadine Mountains, an award Read more...

Most Famous Guest: Cosimo de’ Medici. Castello di Montegufoni near Monttagnana Val di Pesa, Chianti, is just 20 km south west of Florence and boasts an extremely illustrious history going all the way back to the 12th century (though the present castle structure mainly dates to the mid 17th). It has connections to Dante’s Divine Comedy and the infamous Medici dynasty Read more...

The 15th century era Château de la Motte is an authentic and charming French castle B&B near Châtellerault where Poitou-Charentes meets the southern Loire Valley. It is a special property, with a rich local history and a carefully maintained old world atmosphere. At first glance the interior design barely seems to touch the 21st century, such is the authenticity of Read more...

The very grand, 5 Star Bovey Castle is a Dartmoor and South Devon institution. It  has served as a luxury hotel for nearly 90 years now and still has oodles of old fashioned British elegance and class. It has a gorgeous setting too, by the River Bovey and Dartmoor National Park, and a vast country estate surrounding it that includes Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Grace Kelly, Jacques Chirac, Queen Elizabeth II. The magnificent walled city of Carcassonne, France, is certainly a wondrous sight. The words ‘walled city’ can be used to refer to a huge number of cities around the world but in Carcassonne’s case the ‘walls’ are more castle ramparts than walls and so, rather excitingly, it could be said Read more...

Château de Fonscolombe is a magnificent 18th-century château built in the Italianite Quattrocento style, now a 5 Star boutique hotel in Provence, France. It has wonderfully elegant accommodation, beautiful botanic gardens, a vineyard and winery, spa facilities and an excellent restaurant. THE ACCOMMODATION: They have a 50 B&B rooms and suites at the château, from doubles to quadruples, with the rooms Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Victor Hugo, Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel. The 5 star Beau Rivage Palace sits in 10 acres of its own private gardens on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lausanne, and has stunning views across the lake and of the French Alps beyond. The hotel itself, including its spacious and elegant rooms and suites, is equally stunning and the Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Laurel & Hardy, J.K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey, The Queen Mother, Elizabeth Taylor. For over a hundred years the imposing 5 star Balmoral Hotel has sat at Edinburgh, Scotland’s most prestigious address; No. 1 Princes Street. The historic building and its grand clock tower are city landmarks and the hotel’s reputation here, as the ultimate in old fashioned Read more...

Most famous former guest: Orson Welles. Parador de Cardona is a towering, 9th century era, hilltop fortress near Barcelona now converted into a beautifully atmospheric, modern luxury hotel. It is seen as the most important medieval fortress in Catalonia and one of the most important in Spain, the strategic setting allowing jaw dropping views and the castle itself still retaining Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Richard Wagner, Jean Cocteau, Marlene Dietrich, The Dalai Llama, Though the name Beau Rivage Hotel tends, these days, to be more associated with Lausanne than Geneva, Switzerland, and indeed though the name has spread its special concept of luxury all around the world, those in the know are fully aware that the very first Beau Rivage was, and Read more...

Castillo de Arteaga is a fabulous Neo-Gothic castle hotel near Guernica in the rolling hills of the Basque Country. The present day structure was built in honour of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Imperial of France, in the mid 19th century, on the site of a ruined castle dating from the mid 15th century. Its four grand towers now make a very Read more...

Most famous former guests: King Henry VIII, King Charles II, Queen Elizabeth II. The 12th century era Amberley Castle is a unique luxury hotel just south of London, in West Sussex, England with an impeccable historical pedigree. Some of England’s most famous historical figures have passed through its doors and it still retains a huge amount of historical features, including Read more...

Most Famous Guest: Sir Winston Churchill. Glenapp is an extremely charming luxury castle hotel hidden away in the forests of South Ayrshire, near Glasgow, Scotland. It has, since its inception in the year 2000, offered the best in five star luxury with consistently high levels of hospitality and friendly service. Designed by renowned architect David Bryce in the 1860’s, it is to Read more...

Most Famous Guest: U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. In the lovely old spa town of Kronberg, and conveniently near Frankfurt Airport, Germany, Castle Hotel Kronberg is a beautifully romantic building, both inside and out. Though only dating back about 130 years it has plenty of 19th & 20th century historical intrigue and big connections to both the Prussian and British Royal Read more...

The 4 Star Château de la Caze is a very romantic, Renaissance era chateau hotel with a fairy tale like setting in the Gorges du Tarn near Rodez, a canyon gorge that is one of this area of France’s most well known natural wonders. The chateau has an intimate, boutique hotel feel and a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere. It also some Read more...

This Tuscan Castle for rent is a stunning old building with a wonderfully preserved old world atmosphere. It has ten bedrooms, to sleep up to twenty people in perfect comfort, and there is so much to admire at every turn; antique furniture, hand decorated ceilings, frescoes and numerous art works. The castle structure is impressively grand and imposing too, and Read more...

The four star 19th century Château Hotel Grand Barrail lies among some beautiful countryside near to Bordeaux and nearer still to Saint-Emilion in the heart of South West France‘s Aquitaine Dordogne. The estate is surrounded by beautifully tended gardens and acres of vineyards, and is particularly known for two things, its food; the kitchen, run by Chef Romain Gondras serves up Read more...

Most famous former guest: King Henri IV of France, aka ‘Good King Henry’. Château de Chanzé is a beautifully authentic old château for rent near Angers in the heart of the Garden of France; the Loire Valley. It has history going all the way back to the 11th Century and still retains a huge amount of medieval ambience. There are Read more...

The Manor House in Castle Combe is a quintessentially English, luxury castle hotel next to what is undoubtedly Wiltshire’s, and the Cotswold’s, loveliest village. The Manor dates all the way back to the 14th century but the present building and the general ambience lie firmly in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The hotel has extremely high levels of service and Read more...

The 5 Star Schloss Bensberg Hotel, near Cologne & Düsseldorf, Germany, is a quite majestic, and quite enormous, 300 year old Baroque Palace with gorgeous gardens, a host of superb facilities and what many consider to be Germany’s very best restaurant; the 3 Michelin Star winning, Vendôme. Everything about Schloss Bensberg is of the highest quality, it is an extremely Read more...

Most Famous Former Guests: Prince Imperial Napoléon, Lilly Langtry, Christopher Lee. Perhaps Windsor’s most famous hotel, the luxury Oakley Court is a fabulous Neo-Gothic castle hotel on the banks of the River Thames. It has a quite palpable, brooding Gothic atmosphere, something that lead to it being the set of many movies and TV series; The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Read more...

The Alchymist, Prague Castle is a quite splendid boutique hotel set in a restored 15th century mansion house just below the castle and it offers a sense of history, culture and romance that few other hotels can match. Having just seven rooms and one suite to choose from the place also feels very exclusive and you will have more the Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Manuel Teixeira Gomes, François Mitterand, Rudolf Nureyev. The 5 Star Avenida Palace is regarded as Lisbon, Portugal’s very first, and still grandest, luxury hotel. It was built in 1892, at the height of the Belle Epoque era, and its lavish art nouveau interiors have been wonderfully preserved. It stands at the corner of Lisbon’s main avenue, Avenida Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Emperor Franz Joseph I, Charlie Chaplin. “Stay at the Imperial and feel like an Emperor,” said Charlie Chaplin during his visit, and that just about sums Hotel Imperial up. Completed in 1866 as a residence for Duke Philipp of Württemberg the neo-classical Palais Württemberg, as it was known, was within 10 years transformed into Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev.  The very exclusive Dolder Grand, long regarded as one of Europe’s best hotels, sits on hill overlooking Zurich, Switzerland, a city in which it is very much an iconic building. It first served as a Curhaus or health spa in the late 19th century and still does today though with much more modern Read more...

Staying within the walls of one of Europe’s most iconic historical sites, Granada’s Alhambra fortress, and being able to stroll around the grounds after the tourist hordes have left feels like an exclusive experience and that it certainly is. The only way to do this is to stay in the luxury Parador de Granada, something which makes it one of Read more...

A very grand 4 star Castle Hotel near Dublin Airport, Ireland, Cabra Castle is a beautiful sight both inside and out, and a place where luxury and old world elegance is complimented by friendly, hospitable staff, good food and drink and the acres of ancient woodland of the surrounding Dun A Ri Forest Park. THE ACCOMMODATION: In the castle itself Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Oliver Cromwell, George Frideric Handel. The only castle hotel in Ireland’s capital, Dublin, the 4 star Clontarf Castle has luxury accommodation in what is now a blend of 12th-century castle site, 18th-century manor house and 21st century hotel. It takes a lot of good design to get the balance right and Clontarf Castle manages it, with the Read more...

Most Famous Former Guests: King Edward I (Longshanks), Oliver Cromwell, Queen Victoria. Dalhousie Castle Hotel in Bonnyrigg, near Edinburgh, has the distinction of being Scotland’s oldest continually inhabited castle, and one which, in recent years, has been transformed into a tremendous luxury castle hotel & spa. With 29 plush B&B rooms, a top class restaurant, excellent spa facilities and a Read more...

NOTE: ACKERGILL TOWER HOTEL IS, AS OF 2019, PERMANENTLY CLOSED. You can view other nearby castle hotels by clicking here   Standing sturdy and tall near John O’Groats on the most northern part of the Scottish and British mainland, the 600 year old Ackergill Tower Hotel offers splendid isolation but with five star luxury, award winning levels of service, and Read more...

Château de Sédaiges near Aurillac, Auvergne, France is a gorgeously rustic property with an interesting mix of medieval and neo-gothic architecture, and a history going all the way back to the 12th century. It is situated in 17 acres of parkland with its own pond and woods and, in the neat gardens, a swimming pool. The hotel is family run, Read more...

Château Monteil is a beautiful private chateau for rent, with an outdoor heated swimming pool, in the Dordogne-Perigord region of Aquitaine, France. It is just over two hours from Bordeaux, in the eastern Dordogne, and close to both the beautiful medieval town of Sarlat-la-Canéda and the Lascaux Caves. THE ACCOMMODATION: The château is very spacious and can sleep up to Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1873 curiosity led Queen Victoria to forgo her usual holiday home at Balmoral, Scotland and instead spend a week at Inverlochy Castle near Fort William. “I never saw a lovelier or more romantic spot” she noted in her diary and this is as true today as Read more...

Schloss Weitenburg Castle Hotel near Stuttgart, and the lovely old university city of Tübingen, Germany, has a history going back nearly a thousand years, a Michelin Star awarded restaurant and a stunning setting overlooking the Neckar Valley between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps. THE ACCOMMODATION: They have a selection thirty single and double rooms with a mixture of Read more...

Most Famous Former Guest: Louis XIII of France. Château de Brissac, near Saumur and Angers, is one of the Loire Valley’s, and indeed France’s, best known chateaux and sees many day visitors both French and international. With seven floors it is the country’s tallest, and its sheer scale alone makes it quite a jaw dropping sight. It is also though Read more...

Most famous former guests: Emperor Napoleon III. Of all Manor Castle’s historic hotel suites the Napoleone Suite at the 16th century Residenza Napoleone III in central Rome, Italy, is possibly the most lavishly beautiful. The interior design is an incredible feast for the eyes and, apart from the obligatory electric lights, as you scan the rooms almost nothing from the Read more...

Schloss Schönburg is a luxury castle hotel on the Rhine River by the medieval town of Oberwesel, near Frankfurt, Germany, and is a quite stunning sight from near or far. There are also gorgeous views from the castle itself, of the famous river and of the surrounding rich, green, Rhineland countryside. You can expect consistently high levels of service and Read more...

Most Famous Former Guests: Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Anne of Cleves. Hever Castle Hotel near London in the Garden County of Kent, was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife and the mother of Elizabeth I, putting it right in the top league of England‘s historically meaningful properties, and perhaps at the very top of historically meaningful properties Read more...

The 17th century era Château de Tourreau is without doubt one of the finest châteaux for rent in Provence, and indeed one of Provence’s finest properties in general,  It has been beautifully renovated, in keeping with its historical spirit but with 21st century conveniences and facilities, and the interior design is immaculate at every turn. It also has 17 acres Read more...

Brynkir Tower is a quite stunning, early 19th century tower folly hidden away in the woods of Snowdonia National Park, Wales. This lovely building has been extensively renovated internally and now offers romantic and stylish accommodation. Linked by a classic old stone staircase are two bedrooms; one double and one twin, a living room, kitchen, and a very spacious bathroom. Read more...

Most Famous Residents & Guests: Grace O’Malley (Grainneuaile), Daniel O’Connell, U.S. President Gerald Ford. Consistently rated as one of Ireland’s best luxury hotels, the first thing to recommend about the four star Ballynahich Castle in Galway is the superb location: It has 350 acres of peaceful, mature woodland that sit below the Twelve Bens Mountains like a green oasis in what is very Read more...

Known as one of the most beautiful chateaux in Deux-Sevres, Aquitaine, the majestic Château de Saint Loup, which was commissioned in 1609 to honour Good King Henry; Henri IV of France, is now an intimate boutique hotel. It is a majestic sight, it still has a wonderfully medieval atmosphere and, though you may be paying for the pleasure, feels quite Read more...

Near to St Tropez and the French Riviera, this 5 Star château hotel is a slice of heaven in rural Provence and a place guaranteed to greatly please lovers of nature, wine and food. The vast majority of the 1,235 acres estate is left to the supervision of Mother Nature and is a classic Provençal mix of garrigue and centuries Read more...

Killahara Castle is a fine example of a restored 16th century Gaelic tower castle, one whose fascinating history of ownership (see below) mirrors greatly the great power struggles of Ireland’s most politically turbulent centuries. The accommodation is self catering, and the entire castle is for rent, for weekends and full weeks only. You may have to forgo some modern comforts Read more...

Ireland’s oldest inhabited castle, the very imposing, 12th century Kilkea Castle, in Kildare, near Dublin is now one of Ireland’s very finest luxury hotels. It has an abundance of historical character and is surrounded by a 180 acre estate which includes some beautifully tended gardens, much wild parkland and woodland, and even its own 18 hole golf course. THE ACCOMMODATION: Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Oscar Wilde, Ronald Reagan, John Lennon. The most renowned of all Ireland’s Castle Hotels, 5 star Ashford Castle in Co. Galway, is an extremely impressive property, with an extravagant setting, an imposing exterior and very lavish interiors. Those factors combined with a great range of modern facilities, fantastic food and extremely high levels of service, make Ashford Read more...

Most Famous Guests: Marlene Dietrich, Alfred Hitchcock, Audrey Hepburn. Long a St Moritz, and Swiss Alps, landmark, the 5 star luxury Badrutt’s Palace Hotel is a splendid building and a legendary hotel. Built in the grand, Neo-Gothic style popular in the late 19th century its historical elegance is still very much intact, and has now been wedded with modern facilities Read more...

A strong candidate for Florence’s best hotel, the 5 star Four Seasons Gherardesca Palace Hotel is a veritable oasis in the heart of one of the world’s most visited cities. It has 11 acres of peaceful walled gardens to separate you from the tourist masses and, though the exteriors are relatively unassuming, the lavish interiors are an incredible, Renaissance era, Read more...

Château de Mathod, near Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, is a very charming and beautiful place. A recognized historical monument, it was once the home of the Swiss artist Louis Rivier and has been in the same family for seven generations now. They have a luxury B&B guest suite at the chateau which is beautifully renovated and decorated, and though having all modern Read more...

Aficionados of Italian wine, particularly Brunello, will be well aware of Castello Banfi near Montalcino, Tuscany. The 7,100 acre estate has been producing quality wines since 1978, offers a full compliment of eno-tourism activities and a range of elegant, 5 star boutique accommodation. The centre piece of the estate are the enchanting 12th century era castle and 17th century era Read more...

The enchanting Augill Castle Hotel has stood proud in Cumbria, England’s Upper Eden Valley for nearly two hundred years now and has some of the country’s loveliest rural regions at its doorstep: The North Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lakeland Fells. Built in 1841, in the very popular at the time, Neo-Gothic style, it started life as a grand Read more...