Best Dog/Pet Friendly Castle Stays - 2019

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The fairy tale like 14th century, Franconian era, Colmberg Castle sits on a hill above the pretty town of the same name in northern Bavaria. It forms a picturesque part of two of the most scenic, and romantic routes in Bavaria, and in Germany; the Castle Road and the Romantic Road, as well as being near the beautifully preserved medieval Read more...

The 400 year old Château de la Pommeraye is a wonderfully atmospheric boutique hotel near Caen, and the D-Day landing beaches, in Normandy, France, with an intimate, friendly atmosphere and a gorgeously peaceful rural setting. It is a relatively informal place and in common with many great boutique hotels, a stay at the chateau feels more like being in the 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...

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...

Most Famous Guests: Princess Diana, Prince Rainer, Grace Kelly, Michael Jackson. The 5 Star luxury Gstaad Palace Hotel is another Swiss Alps institution smoothly fulfilling the desires of discerning international guests with great style and class. It has stood on a hill over the lovely Alpine resort of Gstaad for over a hundred years and is very much a hotel 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...

Most Famous Guests: King Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn. Thornbury Castle Hotel is a true luxury B&B retreat at the edge of the South Gloucestershire Cotswolds, and one of the finest examples in England of a genuine, immaculately preserved, Tudor castle. You can soak up history with a stroll through the castle itself and its beautifully tended grounds which include, 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...

The spectacular Château Gütsch is a Lucerne, Switzerland, landmark; a fairytale like, 19th century folly castle, it sits high on a hilltop with stunning views over the city and Lake Lucerne. The setting is peaceful and isolated but the hotel has its own historical funicular which runs from 4.30am until 1.15am and so guests can come and go to the Read more...

Château de Sadillac is an exclusive, 11th century era, château for rent near Bergerac in The Dordogne department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It has 6 bedrooms 3 of which are en-suite, a spacious kitchen, living & dining room, bar and a large outdoor terrace area. It also has nicely tended gardens, barbecue facilities, a huge chess board, a kid’s play area, a 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...

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...

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...

Swinton Park Castle is a luxury castle hotel in the Yorkshire Dales, and a Grade II listed building with a history going back over 300 years. It is a fabulous building full of historical intrigue and ambience, and the huge estate is extremely picturesque with a mixture of gardens, parkland, woodland and no less than five lakes. The service and 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...

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...

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...

Nestling in Germany’s Black Forest and near to both Baden-Baden and Karlsruhe, Schloss Eberstein is a medieval era stately home & castle surrounded by acres of its own vineyards. It is a a place to relax and be pampered and its Michelin Star winning food has gained a terrific reputation within Germany. It also offers cooking classes, and so is 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...

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 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 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...

Schloss Kapfenstein is a charming, family owned boutique hotel with a thousand years of history, an excellent gourmet restaurant and a gorgeous hilltop setting over-looking the vineyards of Volkanland in Austria’s green and picturesque eastern Styria region. The castle estate also produces its own wine, wine which many consider to be among the best in the region, and a full 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...

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...

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...

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...

The Napoleon III era Château de Sacy is now a sophisticated boutique hotel near Reim in the very heart of France’s Champagne region. With just 12 rooms and suites it is a homely, intimate place, which has friendly, helpful staff, an excellent restaurant and sweeping views over the surrounding vineyards. THE ACCOMMODATION: Your choices are between classic, superior and deluxe Read more...

Chateau De Piedouault is a wonderfully authentic old chateau for rent near the Loire Valley and the cities of Nantes and Angers. It has 700 m² of internal space, can accommodate up to 15 guests, and has all the ingredients in place for a relaxed, leisurely stay. The location is ideal too for exploring the very iconic, and very beautiful, Read more...

Tiara Château Hôtel Mont Royal Chantilly, to give it its full title, is a lavishly beautiful, 5 Star chateau hotel near Paris, France with a sublime hilltop setting overlooking the ancient royal hunting grounds of Chantilly Forest. The chateau is quite a sight from the outside and was certainly built to impress. It is towering and commanding and yet elegant 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

One of the most unique and special of our castle hotels, and proudly ‘in the middle of nowhere’, 13th century Mingary Castle has a huge history but had been lying in ruins for 150 years before some very delicate renovation work was undertaken in 2014. Two years of great craft and care was needed to preserve the integrity of the 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...