Living in a Temporary Dream: Castle Vacation Rentals in the U.S. and Europe

Key Takeaways

• The average cost to rent an entire castle for one night is $1,201. 
• California, New York, and Texas have the most castle rental listings in the U.S. 
• The top occasions people want to rent a castle for are weddings (58%), vacations (29%) and family reunions (27%). 
• Americans are most interested in European castle rentals in England (44%), France (25%), and Italy (24%). 
• U.K. residents are most interested in U.S. castle rentals in California (32%), New York (27%), and Hawaii (21%). 

Vacationing Like Royalty

Have you ever wanted to live like royalty but never had the kingdom to make your dream come true? You can unlock the magic of castle living by renting one of many castles across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

To help you find your perfect castle, we researched 274 castle listings on Airbnb to learn which castles you can stay at, average costs, and available amenities. We also surveyed over 1,000 residents of the U.S. and the U.K. about their castle vacation dreams. Let’s open the gates and peek at the possibilities of castle living.

The Cost of Castle Living

Building a castle might take a kingdom, but you don’t have to break the bank to stay in one. Let’s look at the average cost of castle rentals and how it varies by location, views, and amenities.

As with many specialty accommodations, we found that various options impacted the price of a castle vacation. Renting an entire castle from turret to drawbridge costs an average of $1,201 per night—surprisingly affordable for a castle of your own. However, that cost varied widely depending on the country. Entire castle rentals averaged just $892 per night in the U.S. and went all the way up to an average of $3,133 per night in Italy.

A castle’s view and amenities also impacted the nightly cost. Renting an entire castle with a lake view costs an average of $811 per night, while a vineyard view ran upwards of $1,800 per night (but offers the potential for free wine). Interestingly, 71% of castles had central heating, and 24% had air conditioning, but neither significantly increased the cost of a castle rental. However, luxurious amenities like a hot tub or sauna cost a pretty penny more, with the latter available in just 3% of castle rentals at the premium rate of $2,585 per night.

If you’re on a tighter budget, there’s no need to despair; you can still make your castle dreams come true by renting out a private room within a castle. You may have to share the throne with another vacationer or two, but the romance of a private castle room costs, on average, anywhere from just $97 per night in Italy to $382 per night in Belgium. The average cost for a private castle room in the U.S. was $278 per night.

Speaking of American castles, let’s take a closer look at where they are and how much they cost. Use our interactive map below to view details about the castle offerings in each U.S. state.

Castles in the U.S. aren’t as numerous as in Europe, but there are many beautiful options, like Gregoire Castle in Vermont or Franklin Castle in Oklahoma. California and New York had the most castles available to rent (eight each), while Texas had the third most with five.

Reasons to Rent a Castle (In Case You Need One…)

Whether your dream castle is in Florida or France, we all have different reasons for choosing a castle vacation. To learn more about castle interests, we surveyed over 1,000 residents of the U.S. and the U.K. Let’s see what our subjects had to say. 

Whether to live out childhood dreams or experience a piece of history, people of all ages were interested in staying in a castle. Surprisingly, younger generations were more interested than others, as 90% of Gen Z and millennials wanted to rent a castle, compared to just 72% of baby boomers and 83% of Gen X.

A classic backdrop for fairy tales and epic sagas, castles can be incredibly romantic, which is likely why 58% of respondents would love to rent a castle for a wedding. Millennials (71%) were especially keen on castle ceremonies, and residents in the U.K. were 32% more likely than Americans to want to rent out a castle for a grand wedding.

But weddings aren’t the only occasion for a castle stay. Another 29% of respondents would like to vacation at a castle, 27% would host a family reunion (you could banish that sister-in-law to the dungeon), and 24% would celebrate an anniversary like royalty.

Dreaming of the Perfect Castle

With the perfect occasion in mind, castle renters also need to find the perfect castle. Let’s see what respondents had to say about their dream castle destinations and amenities. 

As for where travelers would most like to stay in a castle, respondents were most interested in castles in Europe (89%), followed by North America (9%) and Australia (3%). Americans looking to castle hop abroad were most interested in renting castles in England (44%), France (25%), and Italy (24%). U.K. residents heading to the States most wanted to stay in California (32%), New York (27%), and Hawaii (21%). That said, U.K. residents were surprisingly content to stay close to home for their castle rentals, with 37% most interested in castles in England and 28% in Scotland.

Castle renters also showed preferences for services, views, and amenities. About half of the respondents (51%) preferred self-catered accommodations, while the other half (49%) opted for a fully-staffed castle. Respondents were also divided on their preferences for space; 53% were happy to share a castle with other vacationers, while 47% wanted the castle to themselves. Despite their history of castle-owning nobility, residents of the U.K. were 12% more likely than Americans to be willing to share a castle.

Concerning views, mountains (37%) were the most preferred castle location, followed by waterside views (31%) and garden views (16%).

Hoping to stay connected to modern life while lost in history, 53% of respondents said Wi-Fi was the most important amenity when renting a castle. In fact, two-thirds of Gen Z identified Wi-Fi as the most crucial factor when choosing a castle rental. In contrast, millennials were more inclined toward luxury amenities and were 50% more likely than Gen Z to desire a castle hot tub.

For those unsatisfied with temporary castle life, 37% of respondents would be willing to make work-related sacrifices, and 36% would be willing to do something wild to live in a castle full-time. Almost half (47%) would work difficult hours, 34% would earn the same salary forever, and 20% would give up their dream job or 10 years of vacation time.

Even more crazy, 58% would sell their sperm or eggs, 39% would go to space, and 28% would run around naked during the day. Almost 1 in 5 would even let aliens abduct them.

Your Castle Awaits

Staying in a castle doesn’t need to remain a dream—countless options are available, and not all of them cost a fortune (or require alien abduction). Whether you’re looking for a location for a special event or want to take a break from everyday life, castle rentals are available across the globe to make all of your royal dreams come true.

Methodology 

To delve into the enchanting prospect of castle rentals, we gathered Airbnb castle listings in June 2023. We sourced 74 listings from the U.S., 100 from the U.K., and 100 from the rest of Europe. We also surveyed 508 U.S. and 504 U.K. residents about their views on renting castles.

About Highland Titles

Highland Titles lets you give the gift of Scottish land. Our gift packs are perfect for the Scottish person or lover of Scottish culture in your life. Our titles offer the chance to own a real plot of land that can be visited any time and officially dons the owner a Laird, Lord, or Lady of Glencoe. 

Fair Use Statement

Are you on the hunt for your perfect castle rental? Feel free to share this article with anyone you’d like for noncommercial purposes, but please provide a link to this page so readers can access our full findings and methodology.