We have become adults and can afford to live a royal life not only in our fantasies. So stop thinking that life in a palace is beyond your reach, and that playing princesses and princes is a thing of childhood. Choose which castle to spend your next vacation in.
Ashford Castle, Ireland
Expensive and rich – about this Irish castle hotel. You will feel the smell of royal life as soon as the gates open before you. Antique chandeliers and lamps, paintings on the walls, figurines, gilded bathrooms, velvet and brocade upholstery – everything is like in a museum. The breakfast is also excellent!
There is also a huge territory with a forest, a river, and meadows. They know what to do with their guests: horse riding, falconry, archery competitions, and over time golf and tennis have been added. The hotel even has a manager who will find entertainment to suit your taste. If you just want to relax without unnecessary movements, a spa and a cinema are at your service.
Price: from 24,000 rubles for a double room with breakfast.
Castello Orsini, Nerola, Italy
Far, far away on a hill there lived a glorious king with his wise queen… So you can start the story about this hotel in a large Italian castle. Here you can really feel like you’re in a fairy tale: the castle has been preserved in its original form, there are stained glass windows inside, there is antique furniture, paintings and tapestries hanging, and some rooms have fireplaces. The restaurants are decorated in the style of small Italian courtyards, and some rooms even look like museums.
The grounds are decorated with statues and there are tables and chairs outside for a romantic dinner at sunset. There is an outdoor swimming pool with sun loungers and a Jacuzzi with panoramic views. A couple of days is enough to awaken the person of royal blood within you.
And just 40 kilometers more – and you’re in Rome, drinking cold prosecco.
Price: from 4382 rubles for a double room with breakfast.
Burghotel auf Schönburg, Oberwesel, Germany
The Germans were great castle builders. And this one is one of the most beautiful in all of Germany. It is more than a thousand years old, of course, there is a rich history here, which included intrigue and serious battles. There is a museum in the tower where you can learn more about everything.
You can spend half a day walking through the garden on the territory: strange plants, gazebos, fountains and bridges. The view overlooks the Middle Rhine River Valley, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So it’s worth taking a bike and riding around.
The interior furnishings are reminiscent of the German Middle Ages: appropriate style with decor, furniture, carpets, curtains, casement windows, canopies and antique chests of drawers. Even the staff looks like beautiful Brünnhildes and brave Hanses.
Price: from 12,415 rubles for a double room with breakfast.
Parador de Cardona, Cardona, Spain
Just some 60 kilometers from Barcelona – and you are in the very center of Catalonia, walking through a former 9th-century fort with a church in the Gothic-Catalan style. Everything according to medieval feng shui: towers, tunnels with stone walls, ditches, decor.
Opening the curtains in your room, you will observe the measured life of the city and the sparkle of the Cardona River. There is a terrace on the roof, which is ideal for watching sunsets and sunrises. Climb the tower and shout: “I am the king of the world!” Great, there’s still an echo.
You can walk to the salt mills, ride a bike around the area, or run up and down the valley a couple of times to the hill to the hotel to shake up breakfast. And then read the legends about the castle, there have been a lot of them over so many years.
Price: from 6826 rubles for a double room without breakfast.
Zamek Czocha, Lesna, Poland
There is no doubt at first glance that the hotel is a medieval castle. Still, the 13th-century building cannot be hidden. There is even a stone bridge, although there is not enough moat.
Frankly, the furnishings in the rooms are very modest, if you take standard rooms. Apparently, only family members lived among the magnificent decoration.
Entertainment for guests is also medieval: watching knightly battles, a chamber music concert. If you go to the right, you will find a lake; to the left, you will see a panorama with rocks. The restaurant serves Polish cuisine. There is a library and a conference room that begs for knightly gatherings.
By the way, excursions are held within the hotel’s walls, as there are many legends about the castle. And there are night ones, for thrill-seekers. Join us.
Rate: from 3300 rubles for a double economy room with breakfast, from 5000 rubles for a superior room.
Hotel Castel Dracula, Piatra Fantanele, Romania
An option for daredevils and lovers of legends, because this name is not without reason. This is the only castle hotel in Romania, so its owners decided to connect it with the legend (or truth?) of Count Dracula.
In front of the hotel there is even a monument to Bram Stoker, who wrote a novel about a bloodsucker. There is a bar in the bell tower, and a coffin with a vampire in the basement. Nothing unusual.
As for the interior decoration, it is quite modest: stained glass windows, antique furniture, red carpets, curtains, upholstery, candles. Dracula is unpretentious. Each room has a view of the mountains, to which, by the way, they offer a walk.
Price: from 3242 rubles for a standard double room with breakfast.
To compare hotel prices, use the travel planning service OneTwoTrip.
