This was a very odd experience. The male receptionist was also the person who showed you to your room. He was also the barman, restaurant waiter and pianist in the dining room. He was wearing what I can only describe as the most creased shirt I have ever seen. The food is very overpriced and you don’t necessarily get what you think you’ve ordered. The dauphinois potatoes were made with blue Stilton and whilst I quite enjoyed them, my husband hates cheese, especially blue cheese. The menu stated that the Lemon Blush dessert was served with a sorbet, but when I asked what Lemon Blush was I was told that it’s a lemon dessert served with ice cream. I asked, “not sorbet?” and pointed to the menu, to be told, no, that’s wrong. We and the other guests (total of 8 people) were asked to leave the dining room and go into the lounge shortly after finishing our meal, but there weren’t enough chairs in there so they had to bring extra ones in. At 9:50pm we were told the bar was closing.There was no coffee machine in the bedroom. The shampoo and shower gel dispensers in the shower were empty. No hot tub, no spa or massages available and the tower housing the Norman museum was closed. The river walk and moat walk were both inaccessible from part way round. Most of these observations contradict what the hotel description says. It’s sad to see such a lovely old building looking so run down and I feel the running of it as a hotel needs an awful lot of improvement. We won’t be returning.

We had a pleasant stay the place was a little run down however the staff were great as was the food, it advertised a candle lit dinner but it was not, there was a pianist playing nice music though, we were a little disappointed at the end of our stay when they didnt tell us about the £35 service charge for the 4 drinks they served thought this was a bit naughty,

Cobwebs are visible throughout multiple common rooms. The building is unstaffed for at least 8 hours a day — there's no night porter, the phone frequently goes unanswered, and no emergency contact beyond calling the front desk and hoping someone picks up. On arrival, we found a large number of bees on the 2nd floor landing. Our room and bathroom had dust and grime on the windows, and the ceiling paint was peeling and cracked. When we found bees in the bathroom as well — my fiancé has a bee allergy — we immediately alerted the owner and manager. They attempted to vacuum the bees, told us it's illegal to use store-bought pesticide on bees so we'd have to "deal with it," and then both left the hotel for the night. For a hotel marketing itself as 4-star and luxury, it's worth knowing what you're actually getting: Toiletries: No shampoo or body wash in the shower dispensers. Below expectations for the price point we paid, denied a refund by the hotel manager for my expectations being too high for a historic building - even though it’s marketed as a luxury four star hotel and unrelated to the building's historic character as we have stayed in historic castle hotels previously. My main issue is no one being available to contact for escalations or emergencies, very disappointing in both customer service and maintenance of the property.

Didn’t stay no one in reception property looked in disrepair and no where to park my car

We had a magical stay at this castle! The owner and staff were exceptional, and we enjoyed the tour, the meal and everything about this grand old property. One of the highlights of our trip to England!

The building is old. Its was clean and comfy for what it is. We knew that and accepted that at the time of booking, its was authentic. The food was amazing !!! The drinks ovepriced so the bill was a shocker if honest, the games ropm little run down and darts broken but a nice stay overall.

An historical experience

Appleby Castle is a special destination, steeped in history that you can experience first hand. Staff care deeply about the castle and we thoroughly enjoyed the piano playing during the meal and the history talk after. Having read some of the other reviews, we can’t say we experienced any of the negatives and thought Peter, Sally (and chef!) did a great job it being just them running the castle.

We had a wonderful stay at Appleby Castle. We were made so welcome by hosts Sally and Peter. The room was adequate for a castle. Dinner was superb, a of mix of prawn and salmon starter followed by main course of garlic chicken. The setting was the in the beautiful dining room. We were the only ones dining, and had the chef cooking solely for ourselves !! Peter played the piano as we dined. Sally could not have been nicer as we chatted. We went to the TV lounge after dinner for drinks. A thoroughly lovely stay.

Whilst I am sure this kind of property appeals to many, it wasn't what we were expecting. We appreciate it is a castle first, then hotel, but we have stayed in plenty of castles that still offered a very good hotel experience. Our room, apparently an upgraded one [we booked a superior kind] was small and very cold. The host promised us a heater, but it never materialised. The rooms have no TV ["because it is a castle"], but still have TV points in the room. Despite the hotels.com description, there is no spa and there is no hot tub, not that that aided our choice in the first place, but putting it out there for others; they don't exist.

Novelty of stating in a real castle

We travel to appleby castle as often as possibly we luv the company of sally and her staff. It will be a shame for the castle to be sold its so relaxing and the staff are down to earth which is what we like as a group.

Yes excellent

This is beautiful castle, worth staying just as an experience. Food is not the best, I would expect but more, but exceptional.

This was an amazing place to stay, very authentic and beautiful. Our room had an updated bathroom, but even though the floor was slanted it was beautiful and comfortable. Craig is not only polite and courteous, but is an excellent cook. Peter played Piano through dinner after taking our dinner order. They both were accommodating worked to make our stay comfortable

We arrived late in the evening, not ideal but thought it was a hotel. The building was blacked out with no signage, so definitely arrive in the day time for ease if you can. The guy did upgrade us to a cottage and reminded us its a castle first (i.e. not a hotel) so keep that in mind. There are mouse traps etc in the cottage (which in the country/old houses is the norm)

Not really the "castle" experience we thought this would be. Given the cost, the castle is not welcoming, whilst I appreciate this is an old building etc. but the overall ambience is poor. No information given at check-in, long process and poor explanation as to why C/Card details need to be taken/stored (stay was already pre-paid). Room OK but not worth in excess of £200 (without breakfast, no TV etc. (again appreciate it is an old building). Told the manager we would be heading out and whether the key opened the front door, response was no but just buzz and he would let us in. Came back at 8:30pm to find the door locked and no-one around. Buzzed and called the phone number for 15 minutes without any response - was just about to give up when another guest let us in! Not a great experience and general feeling is they don't particularly cater for guests once they have your payment. Location is good though and plenty of bars/restaurants within 10 minute walk - about the only good this to say really.

Very dirty, pool condition, bad service, expensive price. no tv, no kettle, no chair. Smelly, wet, and cold. the worst experience ever.

This stay is hard to evaluate, because it was uneven. It is an experience staying in a medieval castle. We wandered around the interior to see the rooms, with old paintings, suits of armour, etc., which was interesting. The staff upgraded us from servants quarters to a cottage. The cottage was modernized with a living room and wide screen tv, a bedroom, and bathroom with a tub and walk-in shower. This was all good except for the mouse we saw in the bedroom. We had dinner in the dining room, which was kind of worn down, definitely in need of an upgrade. The food was good but not great, and it was expensive. Service was passable, but simple things like providing a bread plate and a functional candelabra were not done. The meal was fair but this was not as good as it could have been. The staff did upgrade us and helped with the internet and tv, but he was not to be found after our check-in. We never got a tour or got to climb to the top of the tower. I made a mistake in booking by one day, but I recognized and corrected that error on the internet. I asked more than once if they would waive the penalty fee for having to cancel the original registration date and rebook the correct dates, and staff replied to my emails but never responded to my request to waive the fee. In the end we were charged a fairly hefty cancellation fee, which is pretty shabby treatment. It was interesting staying in a castle and the upgrade was great, but the place was just a bit “off.”

We had a great time at Appleby Castle it was everything we expected until we arrived home when the hotel decided to charge me and my husband our check out bill twice on 2 different cards! We tried to contact the hotel several ways with no response even now after several weeks of returning I still haven't had a response from the hotel. I can say that hotels.com have been extremely helpfull in trying to get the overcharged money back for me and must say a huge thank you for that. So after having a great time in this lovely castle I will definately not be staying there again. :(