With towering turrets, storybook symmetry and the allure of five-star service wrapped in opulent settings, it’s easy to live out your own fairytale
Words: Emma Blackmore
Highclere Castle, England
While some castles bear the scars of siege and duty, others show lives lived in languid elegance. Stepping into one feels enchanting – a time capsule of a bygone era. With this September seeing the final chapter of Downton Abbey (sadly, the real-life Highclere Castle remains a family home and is open for visits only), we share six castles where you can soak up the history overnight. You’ll be channelling the Dowager Countess of Grantham and asking “What is a weekend?” in no time…
Bovey Castle, Dartmoor National Park, England
Built in 1907 from Dartmoor granite, this neo-Elizabethan country estate feels like stepping into a Victorian Gothic painting, complete with wisteria-clad columns, crenelated towers and arched windows. Inside there’s yet more grandeur – follow the oak-panelled walls to the hotel’s carved alabaster fireplace opposite the Minstrel’s gallery – which is the place to sip a ‘Devon and Stormy’ cocktail. Up the Jacobean staircase, rich-tartan bedrooms have views of meandering pathways leading to an 18-hole golf course, a croquet lawn and tennis courts. Feeling peckish? There’s Mediterranean Smith’s Brasserie (the saffron and fennel fish stew is divine) or the Great Western for British fine dining, complete with a Champagne Bar. Both have separate vegan and vegetarian menus.
Domaine des Etangs, Auberge Resorts Collection, Massignac, France
Tucked into Charente countryside, the 13th-century Domaine des Etangs, Auberge was once a fiefdom of the knights of Chasteigner de la Roche-Posay. Lucky knights. The château is set within 2,500 acres of wildflower meadows, glassy lakes (hence the name étangs) and grazing pastures for the estate’s Limousin cattle. Four perfectly round stone towers stand sentry like something from a fairytale, while inside Isabelle Stanislas (designer to Emmanuel Macron) has preserved the original stone walls and timber beams, while introducing Hermès chairs, photographic compositions by Dieter Appelt, and whimsical lighting. Elsewhere there’s a tennis court ‘floating’ on the pond, an exhibition gallery, Michelin-starred Dyades restaurant and Le Moulin spa housed in an old stone-flagged mill.
Castello di Casole, a Belmond Hotel, Tuscany
This 10th-century Tuscan castle, set within 4,200 acres of rolling vineyards and olive groves, possesses a mise-en-scène lifted straight from the silver screen – it was, after all, owned by the brother of legendary film director Luchino Visconti. Inside, bespoke bluette and terracotta fiammato fabrics (woven by family-run fabric house Dedar) complement the antique furniture, beamed ceilings and traditional Volterra alabaster stone. Unwind where history lingers in the Essere spa – the original barrel-vaulted wine cellar is now home to Roman-inspired plunge pools. Fine-dining Tosca promises a seven-course journey from the coast to the hills of Casole or dine alfresco in the castle’s ancient courtyard with a Tuscan sagra-style dinner at Emporio del Castello.
Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae, Scotland
An hour from Glasgow on the Ayrshire coast lies Glenapp Castle, an 1870 Scottish baronial castle made of sandstone with grand towers, turrets and crenelations, flanked by 110 acres of dense woodland and an Italian garden. Forming a wing of the castle with two towers, the Earl of Inchcape suite exudes regal living. Wake up in a four-poster bed draped in crimson and gold damask fabric and admire the grand ceiling friezes framing the chandelier. Opulent window curtains with matching swag and tails cover eight sash windows. Cosy up by the cast-iron fireplace and watch the drama of the Scottish coastline unfold while the smell of fresh pink lilies lingers. An award-winning tasting menu can be enjoyed in the castle dining room, or try the less formal The Azalea, by Glenapp Castle tucked away in the walled gardens.
Zinar Castle, Kraków, Poland
Looking for historic charm, affordable luxury and a city break? A 15-minute drive from Kraków’s central market square, Zinar Castle’s red-gabled flanked roof, limestone ashlar exterior and pointed turrets dramatically emerges from the wooded folds of the Wolski forest. Its baszta, the historic 1929 tower built by renowned architect Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, is connected to the main castle through a rock-hewn tunnel and is the location of the new spa. The castle itself, built in 1941, is now home to 34 rooms of crisp white linen, dark oak and calming olive fabrics, while the two-level Ziyad restaurant (celebrating Kurdish cuisine with the best of Polish meat and fish) unfolds across arched arcades and open-air terraces.
Soak up the scenery from your freestanding bathtub (Champagne optional) in the two-room panorama apartment view suite – the large arched windows wrapped in original stone promise a view from every direction.
Amberley Castle, West Sussex, England
At the end of Amberley’s grand gravelled driveway, a royal welcome awaits: delicately manicured gardens, imposing turrets topped with flapping Union Jacks, a charming 15th-century portcullis and a croquet pitch in what was previously a moat (of course!). Once a royalist stronghold, this beautiful 12th-century manor house works as a luxurious time capsule where deceptively large, Wi-Fi-enabled, Tudor-beamed rooms sporting generous baths abound, while cosy corridors, creaky stairs and prominent displays of intimidating weaponry keep the historical authenticity intact. Enjoy a five-course tasting menu in the Queen’s Room, a tapestry-clad space with a roaring open fire.