Awesome experience. Staying a real castle that's updated enough to be comfortable in the 21st century without losing authenticity. Food was befitting the aristocratic lineage. Superbly situated for the Lakes and North East. Highly recommend.

Booked as a birthday treat for my fella - thought it would be really cool to holiday for the weekend in a castle - we were not disappointed.|Wow factor kicked in just driving up the sweeping drive. This place is located on the edge of a beautiful little village (Appleby); with a picturesque square, river walk and garden borders.|This is a 'Historic Houses' house so expect other people mooching the grounds in the day - although light when we attended.|Reception is 'medieval' - wood panelling, suits of armour and 'rugs on walls' adorn the stone walls and floors. Met by some lovely man, who (turns out) literally does everything from take breakfast orders to serve drinks in the bar. Check in was quick, showed to our room (room 12 - Hothfield); was at the end of a corridor. Own en-suite, king brass bed, wood panelling and creaking floors. Tea, coffee & bottled water provided, so too is a hairdryer and wardrobe space with hangers. No tv though, so don't be expecting to watch 'your programmes'. But the room does have great WiFi if you're 'pining Emmerdale' and need to watch on your iPad etc.|Bathroom and bedroom immaculately clean; shower functional. Towels provided.|The breakfast room - just wow. 6 long tables with bench seats (medieval); wood panelling, suits of armour, shields and candlesticks with real candles. Breakfast is freshly cooked. Cranberry juice - to die for. |Evening meals in a different room - wow again. The room is authentic medieval again, with lots of wood panelling, the food is freshly cooked and exceptionally tasty. |Small bar, with authentic furniture and feel. |Parking is provided - under a beautiful tree. You can drop off outside reception but parking is by the tree.|The front door to the castle hotel is locked at all times - easy access, ring the doorbell. You might have to wait a few minutes but you'll be let in with a smile and a warm welcome. |Pay extra to see 'The Norman Keep' - PS10. Well worth it and beautiful views for the top.|The castle building has 2 flights of carpeted stone stairs to the first floor from reception (food & bar); and another 2 flights of carpeted stone stairs to the 2nd floor (bedrooms). There is a lot of wood panelling, authentic art & large mirrors - you truly feel like royalty walking down them. No suitable though if your mobility impaired - didn't see a lift or handrails.|There are cottages for rent though in a separate building annex across the courtyard. |Absolutely loved our stayed. Castle - fabulous. Food - fabulous. Staff - fabulous. Medieval feel - just wow throughout.

My partner and I booked into Appleby Castle whilst on the way back from Scotland...||We checked in at 8:30 (too late for dinner)||First impressions were amazing... Appleby Castle is a former Norman Keep that has been renovated into a quirky and beautiful hotel... Cannot fault the efforts that has gone into the aesthetics. ||After being shown around and after having taken some photographs of some of the quirky nature of the place we settled into our room around 9:15pm||We needed to go out and find food... So we ventured into the nearby vilage and ordered an Indian takeaway.... ||By the time we returned the man on the desk was locking up and the castle was seeming unmanned...||I suggested we eat our takeaway in the lounge area or one of dining room areas but my partner suggested hotels prefer people to eat in their rooms - Either way we couldn't ask anybody because the place was seemimgly unmanned... So we ate in room im the end. ||After eating, drinking coffee, relaxing for a bit etc I went to get our belongings from the car. By this time it had gone 11pm - My partner had fell asleep which meant I had to carry bags, belongings, suitcases 3 or 4 flights of stairs at a time on my own from the very dark car park...||Eventually at 11:45 some bloke came out of nowhere and started questioning who I was... Turns out he was the manager and he was not impressed by the time, the fact we were looking around the castle or the fact we ate in our room - Because they have a policy that involves no eating in bedrooms. Of course; by this time we had already eaten and it was too late.||Might I add at this point - Nowhere in the Castle, in any of the rooms, on the website or on Booking.com is this specified anywhere - Neither did any of staff mention this when we first arrived.||We went to bed by 12. In the morning we had breakfast and my partner tried to book another room so we had more time to enjoy the hotel only for the same manager to come up to our room and ask us to leave... We were basically thrown out for firstly eating in the room, then for apparently "snooping around" late at night - When really we were looking for a place to eat. Then apparently checking in too late...||The manager lied to the hotel owner saying we checked in at 11:45pm and not willing to listen to anything else... Well moron - I have photos on my phone that have a date and time on them - The time states 21:15.||By this time he had made my partner cry and I was not taking any more of his nonsense. So I made him back.||After a while he went and got the hotel owner - Describing me as aggressive at this point. It then turns out that they had all been lying to one another and their communications were shocking. ||The hotel owner then offered me and my partner her best room in the castle at a fraction of the original price... But to tell you the truth; the damage was already done and we left.||The feeling of being made to feel unwelcome is the worst feeling any hotel can ever offer... This place managed to ruin our stay completley... Best advice I can offer is to fire your manager and chef - Useless staff.

We had a very satisfactory stay in a spacious cottage. The restaurant meal we had was excellent. The grounds are good to walk around and the town centre is a short walk down the hill. The Norman Centre had some interesting history of the castle and had a fine view from the top. It was a good centre for walking with Dufton, and walks up Dufton Pike and High Cup Nick only a 10 minute drive.

Last minute booking to this castle and we were not disappointed. Booked it on the road and was in the room within an hour. A beautiful authentic building and we will be returning. Watching TV in our own lounge surrounded by wood paneling, i felt like a princess and didn't want to leave. Shame it was the gypsy fair build up so the town was shut up but didn't spoil anything for us. Most comfortable bed, our room was huge with enormous ensuite bathroom - didn't eat there but we intend too next time. Love it !!

Didn't stay at the hotel, just visited the Norman keep. Lovely old building has lots of information inside to tell it's tale. Can go all the way to the top of the keep, but beware of low ceilings and the spiral staircases. Moat walk is also lovely. Nice piece of history that is still accessible. No tearoom or toilets, but Appleby town centre is very close to the castle and there are plenty of amenities there. Just a quick note - to access the keep you need to go into the hotel reception and register your presence