March 2024 by Ian Martin
Visited the castle. Lots of historical information. Great views from the top of the
February 2024 by Robert O'Brien
Lovely looking place but abit run down in certain aspects though ie loose taps, dodgy wiring, dodgy room locks.People are friendly enough ? dogs not so much especially if you have kids.
February 2024 by Nick Higgett
Beautiful castle in a beautiful
January 2024 by Markos
It really feels like travelling back to time. Amazing experience and especially having dinner with candles.
January 2024 by Stephanie Haworth
So, we booked a room at Appleby Castle Hotel, only to arrive and all the gates, doors, and reception locked. Abandoned. We arrived an hour before check in, as everybody does, expecting to be greeted with a warm welcome, and possibly waiting in the bar area with a coffee or beverage. Instead we had to ring a telephone number which was on a gate, to be told by the "manager" Peter was in Penrith and "maybe back around 3pm" and told us to come back then. The place was abandoned. We decided to go home as there was absolutely nobody there. We rang the "manager" again and he laughed. Passed the phone to the "lady owner" who was ranting in the background to tell us there is no refund and if we want, we can come back to the hotel to spend the night as it is non refundable. How she knew we had booked a non refundable room without our name or any information about our booking leads us to believe we were the only people to be booked in to this absolutely disgrace of a "hotel"This is how they make money, by coning people with non refundable rooms.Disgusting way to treat customers that paid hundreds of pounds to stay the night. AVOID AT ALL COST. No refund. Absolutely disgusting. Do not believe the description on their website. Manager and owner both laughed at us. They do have some good reviews on their website which we were fooled by. PLEASE take our advice, and listen to the poor reviews as these are the truth, as we found out today at our expense. If we could score a minus, we would. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COST.
January 2024 by R Tatlow
Decided to book a room at this so called "Castle Hotel" after travelling around Scotland staying in various castle hotels over Christmas. Thought this would be a final treat on our way home. THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WE EVER MADE. We got there just over an hour early thinking we could relax in the bar until check in as we did at the other hotels and greeted with a warm welcome.HOW WRONG COULD WE BE!!!!The place was completely closed, with no signs for instructions of what to do, had to open gates ourselves and search for reception which was obviously closed too.Found a telephone number on a gate so called it to see what's going on. Peter the manager answered saying he was in Penrith and "might" be back around 3pm so we will have to wait. WE HAVE JUST PAID £240 TO STAY HERE AND NOW BEING TOLD WE HAVE TO WAIT NEEDING THE TOILET AS YOU DO WHEN TRAVELLING.We decided to carry on the journey home as it was quicker than waiting.When home called the manager again to complain he couldn't care less. There was a lady in the background ranting and demanding to speak, this we found to be the owner who cared even less than the manager. She said "what's your problem we can let you in now if you come back but your not getting a refund. She arrogantly then said "you can leave a bad review if you want but we have plenty of good ones so it won't matter" IF THIS IS THE OWNERS ATTITUDE NO WONDER THE MANAGER HAS NO HOSPITALITY SKILLS EITHER.PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE AND AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS READ THE BAD REVIEWS AND BELIEVE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE TRUE. THE GOOD REVIEWS ARE LEFT BY FRIENDS OF THE OWNER OR HAVE BEEN PAID FOR. Be aware - this is not a hotel.
December 2023 by Lisa Bowyer-Jones
Everything in this place is absolutely spot on, wouldn?t say the food was fine dining, however great food. Love this place ?? was one of the best weekend of my life, great experience ??Rooms: Rooms are fabulous, just the head board could have done with a hoover. Other than that absolutely brilliant and lovely bathroom, absolutely spotless.Food & drinks: Wouldn?t say the tasting menu was fine dining. The deep friend Brie was a bit random and cold. The veg with the lamb was bland. The cake was burnt at the bottom. However the Ham Hock Terrine was lovely, the Salmon & Prawn Chowder, was absolutely to die for and the lamb was spot on.
November 2023 by Victoria Barnfield
Perfect evening spent in the castle. From a desperate phone call we arrived 30 minutes later to a room ready for us.Peter, the manager, was very accommodating he even helped us download the app for the castles tour guide, which was an audio guide.It's an old charming building steeped in years upon years of history in every corner nook and cranny.The waiting staff were super friendly and always greeted with a smile, which goes a long way for us.Our room was huge, with a four-poster bed and tapestries hanging on the walls. We had a comfortable sleep in the huge soft bed, and the room was warm even though they were of the highest ceilings I've ever seen. Fresh towels and toiletries were provided in the shower rooms, which were always huge. Showers were very hot too.Breakfast was served prompt on arrival with the option of fruits cereals and cooked. We were given a massive coffee canister each, too, which was definitely needed.There is a games room where we played pool (all games are free) whilst drinking wine from the intimate bar area.Short walk out of the grounds is appleby center with afew pubs restaurants etc so plenty to do in the area.We would 100% return in the future .
November 2023 by Thomas
A lovely castle, but incredibly poorly run. It took 1.5 YEARS to successfully book our stay here, despite repeated phone calls and emails. I don't know whether it was because we were using a voucher that they felt it was ok to ignore a booking. In the end we accepted the only date we were offered. The room itself was lovely, but actually getting to that point was a sisyphean struggle.
October 2023 by Dan Bradley
The Norman keep is worth a visit and the grounds are nice
October 2023 by G
Interesting place but expected more for the fee
October 2023 by Spirit Storm
Well worth the visit as it is an excellent historical place with fantastic management via Peter and with a fabulous owner in Mrs Nightingale you honestly couldn't ask for any more and you will most certainly revisit once you have discovered this True historical gem of Northern England situated in Appleby a credit to the Cumbrian Lake District . My wife and I are so glad we found this place for its solitude and sophistication in its ownership and management.Rooms: Spacious and well equipped along with being immaculately clean with fantastic bed giving a great night's sleepSafety: Felt very safe here in these surroundings and well looked after, walking routes were clearly signposted and safe to use with designated areas and rest stops aplenty.Walkability: The area is what I would call a true area of natural beauty with the castle grounds well managed and safe walks around the castle with moat walks, Eden River walks and spectacular walks all around this historical placeFood & drinks: The food and service was nothing short of Fabulous and so tasty too, exceptionally presented in a 12th Century dining room with a roaring log fire keeping us cozy whilst being serenaded with some live piano classics in the background, this totally provided the most romantic setting for my beautiful wife and I. Thanks to the owners and management for our wonderful evening meals.
October 2023 by Hiske de Boer
Beautiful location and a wonderful experience. Very welcoming staff. Don?t expect a modern century setting, but the rooms are clean and the food is fine. Even with 2 young children it?s a great place to stay.A real blast from the past.
October 2023 by Dotsimpel Marketing
beautiful historic location, fantastic rooms, friendly service for both dinner and
October 2023 by David
Fabulous location overlooking the wonderful Appleby in Westmorland! So much interesting history here and the staff impart some of that on arrival. The rooms are spacious and quirky and clean. Due to its age you can forgive the lack of modern touches but why would you come to stay at a castle if you wanted modern! (Some would). We had an evening meal here which was beautiful! Fresh Lamb with seasonal veg and it was cooked very well. Breakfast was also very good, cooked breakfast option with local ingredients and plenty on the continental to accompany! And really good coffee from a self confessed coffee snob! I would stay here again, it?s interesting and has so much character, you are allowed to explore within the castle too!
