Are castles over-rated?
 

While the thought certainly seems romantic, while touring Scotland and England for the first time, are we better off staying in B&B's and hotels rather than castles?
We plan to stay in the following cities:
Edinburgh, Inverness, Chester and finally, Bath. Also, would there be private bathrooms when staying in castles?

On behalf of Her Majesty, Elizabeth II, regina, By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, I am authorized to state that Her Majesty finds Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House pleasant places to sojourn.

Yes, there are private bathrooms.

A lot depends on which castles you choose. Some have more modernized bathrooms than others, but in general staying in a castle is an interesting experience.

I think a lot of this may be a budget issue. Generally castles (or chateaux or manor houses) are somewhat (or a lot) more upscale than B&Bs and rates are charged accordingly. given that, there are some that are more modest and quaint - and even in some ways strange. I have never heard of one without private baths (but you never know) but the plumbing and shower arrangements are often different from what you would find in a modern hotel (given that they've been retrofitted into a centuries old building).

We've stayed in a couple in France, Belgium and Germany and loved them - but never in England so I can;t make any recommendations.

IMHO, whether you would be "better off" in a hotel or b&b is a personal question only you could answer. As another poster said, you do need to consider economics, as castle accomodations are not inexpensive. In 2000, at the end of a 2 week trip to England and Wales, my family stayed ovenight at Thornbury Castle (just outside of Bristol) and it was a marvelous experience. The accomodations, including a sumptuous private bath, were truly first class, as was the dining room. We had champagne in the library, played croquet and archery on the front lawn, had white glove service high tea in the garden, and took long walks within the grounds. I cannot recommend it highly enough. www.thornburycastle.com

Something in between hotels and castles would be manor-house hotels, which we found both interesting and comfortable. Another category is country-house hotels, such as the excellent Ston Easton Park near Bath. That one is like living in the days of Upstairs, Downstairs--you of course would be Upstairs! The rooms and furniture are quite lovely.

We've only stayed in one castle in Ireland. For me it was important to do. These castles will never be built again so it's a part of our human history that will never be duplicated.

IMHO they are hugely overrated. But it's all a matter of taste.

A castle is not only a place to stay a night. It is an experience. If you can afford it, a night or 2 would give you a life's worth of memory and plenty to talk about. ((C))

One more possibility: rentals through the National Trust. There are some amazing places to stay.

One place where we've stayed twice is Traquair House, probably the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. Its in the Borders and would work nicely if you're driving south from Edimburgh. The house once sheltered Mary Queen of Scots and is full of history--not to mention pretty bedrooms and excellent food. The owners, the Maxwell-Stuarts, brew their own beer, too. Here's the web site:

http://www.aboutscotland.com/traquair/accom.html

This is an exceptional place to stay. And the bathrooms are very nice!

A couple years ago we stayed a few nights at the Kildrummy Castle Hotel and loved it! It was a wonderful place to relax. The staff were very accommodating and helpful. We were there in February with lots of snow and it seemed like a fairy tale. I believe the website www.celticcastles. is where you can see it and others. Like I said, we enjoyed it and are glad we stayed there.