A Fairy Tale Come True
Many people dream of sleeping like royalty in a castle, but few ever get the opportunity. If it’s one of your fantasies, you can make it happen in Scotland — and you don’t have to be able to afford to buy your own to do it. There are many castles to stay in Scotland, and they are usually located in spectacular settings and available at a wide range of price points.
Whether you’re looking to splurge for your honeymoon or simply want a night of splendor while on your vacation, there’s sure to be an ideal pick among these castles to stay in Scotland that will make for an especially magical experience.
Culzean Castle, Ayrshire Coast
This breathtaking seaside castle looks as if it came from the pages of a fairy tale, clinging to the cliffs in the Scottish countryside that overlook the sea and the mountainous Isle of Arran. Culzean Castle dates back to the 16th century when the Kennedy family erected a central tower, and was then expanded in the late 1700s to the current structure that stands today.
In 1945, the Kennedys donated it to the Scottish Land Trust, gifting the entire top floor to General Eisenhower to thank him for America’s efforts in the Second World War. After being elected president, he frequently used the castle as a retreat. Today, guests can rent one of the top floor apartments that were converted into luxurious accommodations.
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Aldourie Castle, Inverness
The only habitable castle along the shores of legendary Loch Ness, Aldourie Castle provides an ideal spot for keeping a watch for the infamous “monster.” Just a short drive from the city of Inverness, it was once a mansion house, built in the classic Scottish baronial architectural style.
You’ll feel like royalty as you take advantage of the especially regal grounds that the royal family and their court used during the Victorian era. There are 15 luxurious rooms that can be rented, ranging from opulent four-poster options draped in velvet to cozy single rooms. Guests are practically guaranteed a peaceful night’s stay, sleeping beneath fine linens in a place that feels like it’s worlds away from the city.
During the day there are lovely gardens to stroll through or forest paths to tread on, one which leads to a marina where drinks on the terrace can be enjoyed.
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Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae
One of Scotland’s most well-preserved castles — albeit one of its youngest, as it was built in 1870 — Glenapp Castle beautifully retains its original Victorian character with antiques from the period in every one of the guest rooms along with impressive original artwork.
Set amid picturesque woodland and gardens on the scenic Ayrshire coast, it enjoys fabulous views overlooking the Irish Sea out to the Isle of Arran and the huge Ailsa Craig granite rock.
Its crow-stepped gables, sprawling baronial pile of turrets, seven staircases and 17 lavish rooms serve as both a family home and a hotel. In addition to strolling the gorgeous grounds, guests can look forward to sipping afternoon tea along with gourmet lunches and dinners.
Kinnettles Castle, Dundee
Kinnettles Castle sits on a 44-acre estate among spectacularly landscaped grounds and gardens in the Scottish countryside. Looking as if it belongs in a medieval romance film, the baronial castle was built in the mid-19th century, and serves as a boutique castle hotel today.
It features a bit of the old and new, including ornate plasterwork and grand fireplaces along with a unique contemporary design and furnishings. There’s a sophisticated bar lounge, billiard room, two game rooms, a dining room and drawing room to be enjoyed inside. Meanwhile, outdoor activities include horseback riding, fly fishing, clay pigeon shooting and walks through the woodland.
Dornoch Castle, Sutherland
Dating back to the 15th century, Dornoch Castle was once the residence of the Bishop of Caithness and the Earl of Sutherland. It has an especially colorful history having been set afire during a clan feud, though it’s been impeccably restored since then. It’s also served as a jail, courthouse, school and hunting lodge before eventually becoming the grand castle hotel it is today.
It makes an ideal base for exploring the Sutherland area making this one of the best castles to stay in Scotland. By staying in one of the deluxe rooms, either the Tower Room or Old Courtroom, you’ll sleep in the oldest part of the castle while enjoying upscale perks like a spa bath. Book the Old Courtroom and you’ll also get a log fireplace and a hand-carved four-poster bed.
Especially romantic, the Garden Restaurant that overlooks the formal walled garden serves candlelit dinners. Alternatively, guests can enjoy more casual meals in front of a crackling fire burning in the 11-foot-high fireplace that was once part of the Bishop’s kitchen, centuries ago.
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Ackergill Tower, Caithness
Ackergill Tower is nestled in the Scottish Highlands and is considered to be one of the world’s most exclusive castle hotels. It overlooks the sea, providing an especially breathtaking setting, and has been home to royalty and a number of celebrities over the years too.
Some are said to still linger, perhaps finding it too comfortable to ever want to leave. As the story goes, the Keith family lived here in the 1400s. They were in a bloody feud with the Gunn family, with multiple murders occurring on both sides.
Helen Gunn, one of the Gunn daughters, was abducted by one of the Keith family members and in the process she either fell or jumped from the castle tower during an escape attempt and consequently died. Since then, she’s occasionally been seen wandering the corridors and grounds donning a long red ball gown. Guests, who have the option to stay in one of 35 luxurious rooms that include tower rooms or one of the five B&B-style cottages, might even catch a glimpse of her spirit themselves.
Tulloch Castle Hotel, Dingwall
Tulloch Castle has been around so long no one can say for sure just when it was built, but it’s believed to be over 800 years old. It’s tucked on a forested hillside and has many original period features like its ornate ceilings, a 250-year-old paneled Great Hall and restored fireplaces.
The Turrets restaurant, where top chefs prepare meals using local Highlands’ produce, offers an exquisite dining experience. The traditional rooms overlook the Black Isle and Cromarty Firth. They’re all uniquely decorated with tartan fabrics and antiques, and some have four-poster beds.
Of course, with such a long history, this castle hotel has a ghost story of its own too. A “friendly” ghost, as they say, the Green Lady is spotted so often that the castle bar is called the Green Lady Bar. A portrait hanging in the Great Hall of Elizabeth Davidson displays the woman who is believed to be the Green Lady.
Kincraig Castle, Invergordon
Kincraig Castle is the former family home of the Mackenzie clan. It was transformed into a Scottish baronial home in the early 1900s and continues to offer a peaceful, romantic stay close to the city of Inverness, but far enough away for a secluded feel that makes it seem as if it’s worlds away.
A hidden treasure, it overlooks Cromarty Firth providing especially picturesque views. Guests are welcomed to their rooms, which contain four-poster beds, with a complimentary dram of single malt whisky. The castle has its own restaurant for candlelight dining that’s considered to be one of the top eateries in the area. The menu changes daily, featuring items like pan roasted wild seabass, hand-dived Isle of Skye scallops, Dalmore cured Shetland salmon and loin of Dornoch lamb.
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Inverlochy Castle Hotel, Fort William
One could easily be disappointed driving up to the wrong Inverlochy Castle — that’s because there’s two of them, and one is in ruin. While Old Inverlochy Castle is well worth a visit, you wouldn’t want to stay.
The other is a spectacular hotel housed in a former baronial mansion, located a couple miles away just outside the town of Fort William in the Highlands. It was built seven centuries after the crumbling original, but Queen Victoria herself gave it quite the passionate endorsement after her week’s stay in 1873. She claimed to have never seen “a lovelier or more romantic spot,” and today guests often echo similar sentiments.
The hotel hosts 17 rooms, and all boast beautiful views of the grounds and surrounding mountains. While they each have a distinct traditional design, there are high-tech modern amenities like laptops, DVD players and even PlayStations. Guests also enjoy active pursuits nearby, like golfing at Fort William Golf Course, fishing and other water sports on Loch Oich and clay pigeon shooting on the castle grounds.
Glengorm Castle, Isle of Mull
Glengorm Castle, a Brontë-esque structure of towers and turrets, sits at the northern tip of the Isle of Mull in the scenic Inner Hebrides, providing an outstanding base for exploring the island, enjoying picturesque walks and taking in spectacular views of the Sound of Mull.
When it’s chilly out, guests can enjoy cozying up to the roaring fire in the main hall on the comfy overstuffed sofas or sipping a complimentary whisky in the library while taking advantage of the vast amount of reading material.
Room options include B&B-style rooms, flats and guest cottages that are spread across the 5,000-acre estate. The grounds are home to blackface sheep and highland cattle, all surrounded by pristine beaches, dramatic cliffs and moorland where rare orchids grow while eagles soar overhead.
Dalhousie Castle Hotel, Edinburgh
Located 8 miles from Edinburgh’s city center, Dalhousie Castle Hotel has an especially rich and fascinating history. The stunning 13th-century fortress is considered to be the country’s oldest inhabited castle and has even served as the temporary home for Sir Walter Scott and Queen Victoria.
It sits within wooded parkland along the River Esk and contains 29 guest rooms, all individually designed. Many are themed around historic figures and include Scottish fabrics like tweed, twill and tartan. The onsite Dungeon Restaurant offers an unforgettable dining experience within ancient stone walls.
Guests can also enjoy decadent spa treatments. The onsite spa has a Rasul, a chamber in which mud is applied to cleanse the body and revitalize the mind, as well as a hydro pool and an incredible Tropical Rain & Cold Fog Shower.
There’s also a falconry that offers tailor-made birds-of-prey experiences, including opportunities to handle falcons, owls, hawks, eagles and buzzards.
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Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, Isle of Harris
Guests’ reactions to this unique castle hotel have often included the term “heaven on earth,” making this a must when it comes to castles in Scotland to stay in. Overlooking Loch Tarbert on the Isle of Harris, Amhuinnsuidhe boasts a jaw-dropping seafront location along with especially lavish accommodation.
The traditional rooms ooze elegance, most showcase beautiful views of the lake and some come with four-poster beds. Rates include breakfast and dinner, which often features seafood that is harvested right at the doorstep of the castle in waters that are famous for some of the world’s finest shellfish.
Meals are served in the regal dining room with an open fire and lots of antiques. The hotel can organize a hunting or fishing excursion and also hosts an honest bar for sipping some of Scotland’s tasty whisky or other drinks.
Castle Levan, Inverclyde
Castle Levan hotel is a family-run bed and breakfast located in an enviable setting with panoramic vistas overlooking the Firth of Clyde to multiple lakes, the Trossach Mountains and Ben Lomond.
It sits on a site that’s been inhabited since the 14th century, though the current building was expanded substantially after the mid-16th century. About 300 years later, a vast mansion was built near the ruins and given the same name. It was renovated and converted into a B&B in the 1980s.
Today, the three-story castle, complete with a garret, has a turnpike staircase that leads to the Great Hall, while the pine ceiling was reclaimed from a 17th-century thread mill. The guest rooms can be found on the second floor — the former guard room is especially romantic with its vaulted ceilings and key-hole window.
Comlongon Castle, Dumfries
The 14th-century Comlongon Castle, located in Dumfries along the border with England, still has its original tower which was extended by adding the 19th-century baronial-style mansion. Today it serves as an elegant hotel with 15 guest rooms, all individually themed, and most with four-poster beds. Honeymooners can opt for the honeymoon suites that include whirlpool baths and canopy beds.
There are two award-winning restaurants on site, with chefs preparing dishes featuring local produce, along with a private residents’ bar.
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Torrisdale Castle, Kintyre
Torrisdale Castle is located on the Kintyre peninsula overlooking the Isle of Arran. It hosts self-catering accommodation which includes The Servants’ Quarters on the castle’s ground floor. It was once used as the communal rooms, stores and kitchens, but today guests enjoy a luxury stay with incredible views looking out to the lawn and the sea.
Spread across 1,800 square feet, it has a master bedroom, two twin rooms, a living room, dining room, a roll-top bath and shower room as well as a “secret” room — you’ll have to look for that. It also includes exclusive access to a riverside hot tub and sauna.
There are several cottages available too, like the Garden Cottage with a wood-fueled hot tub that overlooks the former walled garden. Guests can also enjoy a variety of activities, including wildlife watching or paddling out from the castle’s private beach.
Fernie Castle, Fife
Fernie Castle is located just east of the village of Letham in northeast Fife, set across 17 acres of woodland. The nearly 500-year-old castle has 20 “bed chambers” — referred to as king, monarch, queen, lady and squire — all of which provide picture windows with views of the countryside, and some containing four-poster beds.
They may come with an unexpected surprise too — as with many historic Scottish castles, this one also has a haunted tale. An apparition known as the “Green Lady,” a girl who was said to have fallen three floors from the west tower to her death, is occasionally spotted in some of the castle bedrooms.
Guests can enjoy a unique non-ghostly stay by booking the treehouse suite that sits among six huge sycamore trees and features stained-glass windows, a big elm bed, a freestanding tub and fantastical woodland murals.
Additionally, there’s a fine dining restaurant serving lunch and dinner in a Georgian chandelier-lit atmosphere, as well as a casual bistro with a relaxed atmosphere.
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Duchray Castle, Aberfoyle
Tucked deep within the woods in the heart of Queen Elizabeth Forest, the 500-year-old Duchray Castle offers an especially romantic, secluded stay. You’ll enjoy the Victorian-Gothic style of the castle that’ll make you feel as though you’ve gone back in time, alongside plenty of modern comforts making this one of the best castles you can stay in Scotland.
It’s ideal for honeymooners, families or groups of friends who want to have an entire castle all to themselves as it’s available on a self-catering basis, with four bedrooms, three doubles and one twin. Each one is uniquely decorated and showcases beautiful views of the countryside, along with either an antique sleigh or four-poster bed and flat-screen television.
The castle is set upon 90 acres of private grounds, complete with a hidden rose garden and a pond. You’ll have the entire property to enjoy, including forest tracks, like the 4.5-mile walk that leads to the Wee Blether tea room which sits along the banks of Loch Ard. There’s magnificent scenery in every direction, and a river at the bottom of the lush garden.
When the weather doesn’t allow for a comfortable stroll, up the stone turnpike stairs is a sitting room with comfy sofas and leather chairs where you can get lost in a book next to the warmth of a fire.
The castle also happens to have a rich and fascinating history linked to Rob Roy, who is said to have been a guest at one time.