Kings and queens have stayed here. Courtiers have flirted with ladies-in-waiting in the ancient yew-hedged gardens. Serving girls have chattered in the stone-flagged courtyard. Today, Thornbury Castle still resonates with history and is the only Tudor castle in England to be open as a hotel�and it's only 15 minutes from the M5.

However, step behind the heavy oak doors and you'll find a magnificent hotel with roaring fires, delicious modern cuisine and sumptuous bedchambers - a truly special setting for an overnight stay, a weekend away or for more formal occasions.

Enjoy a regal night's sleep in the Duke's Bedchamber where King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn slept or favour the Gloucester Bedchamber and wake up to a view of the oldest Tudor gardens in England - the Privy Garden and Goodly Garden. There are 26 bedchambers and all are fabulously atmospheric, most with four-poster or coronet beds, stone walls, tapestries, roaring fires, ornate carved ceilings and views to historic parkland and the River Severn beyond. The Tudor Bedchamber even has arrow-slit windows.

Total number of bedrooms 25
Single
2
Classic Double
6
Classic Twin
2
Deluxe Double
9
Deluxe Twin
2
Deluxe Suite (including 2 bedrooms in the Gatehouse)
4

Each bedchamber is an experience. The Duke's Bedchamber is located in the tower, has a unique octagonal shape and has had some very impressive previous guests. The Howard Bedchamber has a magnificent, hand carved four-poster bed, a fabulously ornate ceiling and two real fires.

All rooms are luxuriously warm - most have real fires. They're also extremely comfortable with opulent, well-appointed bathrooms, colour TVs (carefully screened, of course) and welcoming touches such as the decanter of sherry you'll find on your arrival.

However, if you're looking for complete privacy, the Thornbury Castle Gatehouse, sitting prettily in its own garden, could be exactly what you're looking for.