Castle hotels for families in England

Level 5 True Castle

Thornbury Castle

Thornbury, South Gloucestershire

A Tudor castle begun around 1511 for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham. Guests sleep in the historic inner court, including tower suites reached by the original spiral stair.

Sleep inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Restaurant

5-star · Guests 9.5/10

Level 5 True Castle

Langley Castle

Hexham, Northumberland

A mid-14th-century tower house, Grade I listed. Nine bedrooms are inside the castle itself; other rooms are in separate estate buildings.

Some rooms inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• EV charging

4-star · Guests 9.0/10

Level 5 True Castle

Star Castle Hotel

Hugh Town, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly

An Elizabethan star-shaped fort built from 1593 under Francis Godolphin. Some bedrooms are inside the historic fort, others are in later garden buildings.

Some rooms inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Pool

4-star · Guests 8.8/10

Level 5 True Castle

Hazlewood Castle & Spa

Tadcaster, North Yorkshire

A castle built after a 1286 licence to crenellate. Nine of the 32 rooms are inside the historic castle, the rest in later courtyard buildings.

Some rooms inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Spa

4-star · Guests 7.9/10

Level 4 Castle-Style Mansion

Augill Castle

Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria

A Grade II listed house in castellated Gothick style, started in 1841. It was built as a grand house, not a defensive castle, and guests sleep inside it.

Some rooms inside the walls

• Family rooms
• EV charging
• Restaurant

4-star · Guests 9.2/10

Level 4 Castle-Style Mansion

Swinton Park Hotel

Masham, North Yorkshire

A house begun in 1695 and remodelled in the 1820s with turrets, castellations and a round tower, without a real defensive history. Guests sleep in the main house and a separate Coach House.

Some rooms inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Spa

4-star · Guests 8.8/10

Level 4 Castle-Style Mansion

Tregenna Castle Resort

St Ives, Cornwall

A Grade II listed granite house built in 1774 with four castellated turrets, not a defensive castle. Some rooms sit in the original building, others in later wings and lodges.

Some rooms inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Spa
• Pool

3-star · Guests 8.3/10

Level 4 Castle-Style Mansion

Otterburn Castle

Otterburn, Northumberland

A Grade II listed castellated country house rebuilt after 1830, incorporating an 18th-century house, with a 1904 tower added. No defensive history survives in the current fabric.

Sleep inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• EV charging

4-star · Guests 8.2/10

Level 4 Castle-Style Mansion

Cave Castle Hotel

South Cave, Yorkshire

A Gothick Revival house built in 1804 for a local family, with no defensive history, later remodelled around 1872. Guests sleep in this 19th-century mansion.

Sleep inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Spa
• Pool

3-star · Guests 7.9/10

Level 4 Castle-Style Mansion

Camelot Castle Hotel

Tintagel, Cornwall

A Victorian hotel built in 1894 to 1899 with three castle-style towers, not a medieval fortification. Guests sleep within this single purpose-built building.

Sleep inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Restaurant

Guests 7.8/10

Castle hotel

Rowton Castle

Shrewsbury, Heart of England

Family rooms are listed on Booking.com. Ask which part of the building they are in.

• Family rooms
• Restaurant

Guests 9.1/10

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Parr Cottage at Snape Castle Mews

Bedale, Yorkshire

Listed as a stay on or beside a castle estate. Check whether your rooms are in the castle itself before you book.

• Family rooms

Guests 10.0/10

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Closest Home to Windsor Castle

Windsor, Oxfordshire & Thames Valley

Listed as a stay on or beside a castle estate. Check whether your rooms are in the castle itself before you book.

• Family rooms

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Homely 6 bed Cottage 30 mins to Heathrow

Little Missenden, Oxfordshire & Thames Valley

Listed as a stay on or beside a castle estate. Check whether your rooms are in the castle itself before you book.

• Family rooms

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Hever Castle Luxury Bed and Breakfast

Edenbridge, Kent

Bedrooms sit in the Astor Wing and Anne Boleyn Wing, Edwardian additions from 1903, not inside the medieval castle itself.

Rooms outside the historic walls

• Family rooms
• EV charging

5-star · Guests 9.6/10

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

East Lodge - Chillingham Castle

Alnwick, Northumberland & the North East

Listed as a stay on or beside a castle estate. Check whether your rooms are in the castle itself before you book.

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Restaurant

Guests 9.5/10

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Sissinghurst Castle Farmhouse

Sissinghurst, Kent

Listed as a stay on or beside a castle estate. Check whether your rooms are in the castle itself before you book.

• Family rooms

Guests 9.3/10

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Tregenna Castle Self Catering

St Ives, Cornwall

Listed as a stay on or beside a castle estate. Check whether your rooms are in the castle itself before you book.

• Family rooms
• Pool
• Restaurant

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Muncaster Castle Coachman's Quarters

Ravenglass, Cumbria

The Coachman's Quarters occupy the old stable yard buildings on the Muncaster Castle estate. You sleep on the grounds, not inside the historic castle.

Rooms outside the historic walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• EV charging

4-star · Guests 8.9/10

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Warwick Castle Hotel & Knight's Village

Warwick, Heart of England

Listed as a stay on or beside a castle estate. Check whether your rooms are in the castle itself before you book.

• Family rooms
• EV charging
• Restaurant

Guests 8.8/10

Level 2 Castle Estate Stay

Bickleigh Castle

Bickleigh, Tiverton, Devon

A medieval fortified manor site with a moat and a Saxon chapel, according to the hotel. Overnight guests stay in three Grade II listed cottages on the estate, not inside the main historic building.

Rooms outside the historic walls

• Family rooms
• Hot tub

2-star · Guests 7.0/10

Level 1 Historic House

Bovey Castle

Moretonhampstead, Devon

A Grade II* listed Edwardian mansion, not a historic castle. The castle name was adopted after it became a hotel.

Some rooms inside the walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Spa

5-star · Guests 8.6/10

Level 1 Historic House

Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel

Castle Bromwich, Solihull, West Midlands

A Jacobean manor house built around 1599. Despite the name, it is a hall, not a castle, though it is a genuine historic building.

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Restaurant

4-star · Guests 8.0/10

Level 0 Castle in Name Only

Colcombe Castle Hotel

Colyton, Devon

Castle in name only: a Georgian building in the centre of Colyton. The historic Colcombe Castle stood at Colcombe Abbey Farm outside town and was largely destroyed in 1644.

Rooms outside the historic walls

• Family rooms

3-star · Guests 9.4/10

Level 0 Castle in Name Only

Castle Hotel Windsor

Windsor, Berkshire

Castle in name only: a coaching inn first recorded in 1528. The building was never a fortified castle.

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Restaurant

4-star · Guests 8.3/10

Level 0 Castle in Name Only

Sherwood Castle

Rufford, Nottinghamshire

Castle in name only: a modern lodge holiday park named after Sherwood Forest and the Robin Hood legend, with no historic castle building on site.

Rooms outside the historic walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Pool

Guests 7.6/10

Level 0 Castle in Name Only

Norbreck Castle Hotel Blackpool

Blackpool, Lancashire, North West England

Castle in name only: a seafront house built in 1869 and expanded into a hotel from 1912, with a castellated look said to come from a garden gazebo rather than any fortification.

Rooms outside the historic walls

• Family rooms
• Dogs allowed
• Pool

Guests 5.7/10