Castle hotels in Scotland

Stay in a Scottish castle from $28

You can stay in a castle in Sctoland often for far less than a hotel.

Favorite Scottish castle-hotels
Want a shortcut to top Scottish castle hotels and manor house hotels? Here are links to some of the best from our partner Booking.com:

• Dalhousie Castle & Spa (from $187)
• Sherbrooke Castle Hotel (from $140)
• Dreadnought Hotel (from $55)
• Inverlochy Castle Hotel (from $500)
• Carberry Tower (from $85)
• De Vere Barony Castle (from $148)
• Stonefield Castle Hotel (from $78)
• Airth Castle Hotel (from $101)
• Knock Castle Hotel & Spa (from $139)
• Dornoch Castle Hotel (from $117)
• Mansfield Castle Hotel (from $125)
• Broomhall Castle (from $101)
• Tulloch Castle Hotel (from $125)
• Friars Carse Country House (from $78)

Scottish mansion & manor hotels
• Salisbury Green Hotel (from $101)
• Birnam Hotel (from $76)
• Ardanaiseig Hotel (from $176)
• Ballathie House Hotel (from $123)
• Bunchrew House Hotel (from $185)
• The Atholl Palace (from $180)
• Mar Hall Hotel & Spa (from $170)
• Ardoe House Hotel and Spa (from $125)
• Cambo House (from $172)
• Macdonald Pittodrie House (from $125)
• Fairfield House Hotel (from $123)
• Cringletie House (from $154)
• Roxburghe Hotel (from $164)
• The Glenfarg Hotel (from $78)
• Royal Marine Hotel (from $76)
It's true. It can cost less to shack up in your very own medieval Fortress of Solitude than it would to rent a bed in a flea-bitten backpacker hotel for the night.

I've stayed in European castles for as little as $30 for a double—though $80 to $130 is more common.

Even full-bore luxury suites in seriously upscale, five-star castles, where the daily activities run toward quail hunting and falconry, tend to ring in around $170 to $500—which ain't bad, for a fairy tale night spent as the prince and princess, and these days is on a par with the price of a typical three– or four-star hotel.

Why is it so many castles—and country manor houses, which are prety much just castles dating to the Georgian, Victorian, or other post-medeival eras—are open to the public?

Truth is, there are few enough Lords of the Manor around these days to pay for the upkeep of these massive piles and keep them lived-in (old homes deteriorate rapidly when vacant). So, tatterdemalion barons, and preservation organizations such as Britain's Landmark Trust, have hit upon the perfect solution: preserve the buildings by renting them out.

So say cheerio to modern America—even if only for a week or two—and bring your squires and ladies in waiting along to your very own Scottish castle.

How to find castle-hotels in Scotland

Resources specific to Scotland

Scottish Castles (www.visitscotland.com)

The Web site of Scotland's tourist board lists castles that have been turned into hotels, self-catering flats, B&Bs, and even a hostel—fancy staying in a real medieval castle for just £15/$28 (www.carbisdale.org)?

British Landmark Trust (www.landmarktrust.co.uk)

Seriously historic buildings across the UK; primo stuff here.

Celtic Castles (www.celticcastles.com)

Castles in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland (plus a few in France).

Castles of Britain (www.castles-of-britain.com)

Click on "Travel & Castle Venues" and you'll get a page that includes, among other things, a link to a handful of ones that offer B&B accommodation as well as self-catering castles. This site is devoted to British castles in a general sense, so not all of them are places you can stay, but many are.

Dream Sleeps (www.dreamsleeps.com)

Primo lodgings across the British Isles—about two dozen each in England, Scotland, and Ireland—most of them castles, the others manor houses or other palatial homes that are darn close enough to a castle to make no odds.

General castle-hotel resources

Castle and Palace Hotels (www.CastleandPalaceHotels.com)

Not the most complete, but by far the most user-friendly site, maintained by professional travel writer and guidebook author Pamela Barrus (always gotta give props to my colleagues). A half-dozen hand-selected castles in Scotland.

Castles on the Web (www.castlesontheweb.com)

Bukoos links on the "Accommodations" page. Could do with some organization though: some are booking engines, some direct links, some hotel reservations services. Still, most seem to at least hook you up with bona fide fortresses. Happy hunting.