Ashford Castle, Ireland
We have become adults and can afford to live a royal life not only in fantasy. So stop thinking that life in the palace is not available to you, and the games of princesses and princes remained in childhood. Choose which castle to spend your next vacation in.
Expensively rich – about this Irish castle hotel. You will feel the smell of royal life as soon as the gates open in front of 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 great too!
And there is also a huge territory with a forest, river, meadows. Here 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 can find entertainment to your liking. If you just want to relax without unnecessary movements, a spa and a cinema are at your service.
Cost: 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 a story about this hotel in a large Italian castle. Here you can really feel like in a fairy tale: the castle has been preserved in its original form, inside a window with stained-glass windows, there is antique furniture, there are paintings, tapestries, some rooms have fireplaces. The restaurants are decorated in the style of small Italian courtyards, and some of the rooms are even like museums.
The area is decorated with statues, outside there are tables and chairs for a romantic dinner at sunset. There is an outdoor pool with sun loungers and a jacuzzi with panoramic views. A couple of days will be enough to awaken a person of royal blood in yourself.
And just 40 kilometers – and you’re in Rome, drinking cold prosecco.
Cost: from 4382 rubles for a double room with breakfast.
Burghotel auf Schönburg, Oberwesel, Germany
The Germans were notable 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, it has a rich history, which included intrigues and serious battles. There is a museum in the tower where you can learn more about everything.
You can spend half a day walking around the garden on the territory: outlandish plants, gazebos, fountains and bridges. The view opens onto the valley of the Middle Rhine River, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. So it’s worth grabbing a bike and taking a ride around the area.
The furnishings are reminiscent of the Germanic Middle Ages: matching style with decor, furniture, carpets, curtains, casement windows, canopies and antique dressers. Even the staff looks like the lovely Brünnhilds and the brave Hans.
Cost: 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, strolling through the former fort of the 9th century with a church in the Gothic-Catalan style. Everything according to medieval feng shui: towers, tunnels with stone walls, moats, decor.
Opening the curtains in your room, you will observe the measured life of the city and the splendor of the Cardona River. There is a rooftop terrace ideal for watching sunsets and sunrises. Climb the tower and shout: “I am the king of the world!”. Great, there’s more echo here.
You can walk to the salt mills, ride a bike around the area, or run up and down the valley to the hill to your hotel a couple of times to shake up your breakfast. And then read the legends about the castle, for so many years there have been a lot of them.
Cost: from 6826 rubles for a double room without breakfast.
Zamek Czocha , Lesna, Poland
There is no doubt that the hotel is a medieval castle at first glance. Still, the building of the 13th century cannot be hidden. There is even a stone bridge, although there is not enough ditch.
To be honest, the furnishings in the rooms are very modest, if we take standard rooms. Apparently, only family members lived among the lush decoration.
Entertainment for guests is also medieval: watching knightly battles, a concert of chamber music. You will go to the right – you will find a lake, to the left – a panorama with rocks. The restaurant serves Polish cuisine. There is a library and a conference room that asks for knightly gatherings.
By the way, excursions are conducted within the walls of the hotel, as there are many legends about the castle. And there are nightly ones for thrill-seekers. Join.
Cost: from 3300 rubles for a double economy room with breakfast, from 5000 rubles for a superior room.
Hotel Castel Dracula, Piatra Fantanele, Romania
Option for daredevils and fans of legends, because this name is not without reason. This is the only castle hotel in Romania, so its owners decided to associate it with the legend (or the truth?) About 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 fancy.
As for the interior decoration, it is rather modest: stained glass windows, antique furniture, red carpets, curtains, upholstery, candles. Dracula is unpretentious. Each room has a view of the mountains, which, by the way, offer a walk.
Cost: from 3242 rubles for a standard double room with breakfast.