My husband booked a suprise trip for me at Thornbury Castle for 2 nights in February. The trip was to mark my 40th Birthday, and he chose this place specifically because of its relevance to Tudor history. It is said that in the 1530's, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed in the castle, and specifically they stayed in the 'Dukes Bedchamber'. Knowing that I would be really excited about this as I love Tudor history, he thoughtfully booked the Dukes Bedchamber which is classed as a Deluxe room.

Upon arrival at the castle, it was so magnificent I promptly burst into tears!. We then went inside and checked in. The receptionist advised us that due to a problem with the gas fire we may not be able to stay in the Dukes Bedchamber after all - myself and my husband exchange panicked looks - this was the whole purpose of our trip!. Luckily disaster is averted when we discover the fire is working ok. As we check in, I witter on to the receptionist about Henry and Ann, did they really stay here?, she smiles and nods, but doesn't enthuse with me or say much else, so I look for some information to read. Apart from a typed up A4 sheet, it doesn't really go into a lot of detail. Disappointing for us Tudor buffs... I venture into the library and scour the shelves for anything relating to Thornbury Castle history... but fare no better there.

The room itself is great, accessible at the end of a long corrider next to the fantastic stone spiral staircase. It has a fabulous wooden door 'very tudory' with an equally fabulous huge old fashioned key. The room I think from comparing to other rooms on the website, is not as well furnished ie, it is slightly 'tired' and worn. The rug is a bit tatty, some bits of fringing missing, the lampshades have the backs cut out of them - very weird not sure why, maybe the bulb is too big? - there are a few damp marks on the wallpaper, damp spots, ? but hey it's a castle. All in all it is still a great room. The bed is a four poster with a great canopy on top, there are 3 windows with great views and amazing wooden shutters. It is worth noting that the 'open fires' are huge open fireplaces, with gas real flame fires in them and not coal/log burning fires - cue slightly disappointed husband. A decanter of sherry is provided which is a nice touch. To sum the room up, I would say if you were not 'that bothered' about staying 'in the very same room' as Henry and Anne, there are better rooms, but for us staying in this room was the whole purpose of our visit. Which leads me nicely onto the next point.. Now, given that this MUST be the hotels' USP (unique selling point for those who don't watch the Apprentice), you would have thought there would be some reference to Henry and Anne in this room?. Well no actually..... no pictures of Henry or Anne, no handy pamphlet explaining how they came to be staying here, where the evidence came from, blah blah, The pictures on the wall were not Tudor pictures, but looked like Georgian men fencing, not really in keeping with the Tudor period. So this room although it was marketed as the royals staying here, did absolutely nothing to enhance this experience for the guests. This I felt was a real shortcoming as I am sure a lot of guests like me, would just visit to stay in this particular room. They could have really gone to town in here with this theme.

We had a wander around the castles lounge and library and had a peek in the restaurant rooms. All fabulous, dark panelling with wonderful tapestries and pictures. My husband had booked us in for dinner the first night and we were not at all disappointed. It was amazing. After champagne and canopies in the lounge, we were escorted into the dining room. We were the only guests there that evening. The waiter explained that there were other guests in the hotel, but they must be having room service or dining elsewhere. The menu wasn't huge, but that usually points to excellent quality produce. The beef fillet was stunning and the dessert lovely. Fantastic food matched by the equally fantastic staff who wished me Happy Birthday and were so professional and attentive, but not in your face. At £50 per head for 3 courses this was not cheap, but definately worth it. The cheapest bottle of wine we could find was £29. We are not mean with money, just 'normal people' so couldn't really justify spending much more.

Breakfast was delicious, full English by the dining room fire. We didn't need to eat again until evening. The second evening we chose not to dine in the hotel, but went to an Italian restaurant in Thornbury village which was nice, but we both admitted we'd wished we'd pushed the boat out and forked out another £100 or so quid for the castle restaurant!.

When we checked out our bill for a 2 night stay was just over £700. This included 2 nights in the Dukes Bedchamber, breakfast both days, dinner the first night, our £29 bottle of wine, 2 glasses of champagne to toast my birthday at £18 (eek) and a couple of drinks in the library. I must admit I was slightly disappointed to see they had charged us £2 for 2 Daily Mail newspapers which yes, we had received, but when the receptionist asked if we wanted a newspaper, I assumed it was complimentary. Plus what irked me somewhat was the fact that the Daily mail is only 55p, so they are making a mark up of 45p on my newspaper, whilst I am paying a room rate of £270 per night. Didn't like that. Same with the £3 mineral water at dinner, again I assumed it was complimentary (niaive I know), so I was irritated, but it didn't spoil my stay.

To summarise.... would we go back?. Yes probably, for a special occassion. Staying in a castle is a really unique experience. We would choose another room though, and I think it is really important to make your room choice carefully as the standards seem to vary. The restaurant is of a really high standard - but perhaps if the menu was a little more reasonable, it might bring in diners from the village or surrounding areas as it is open to non residents. Also they should perhaps consider a reduction in the menu rate for guests who dine more than one night.

They ought to make the most of the Henry and Anne theme and to offer a tour of the castle would be a nice touch, or even just to provide some better quality reading material would be helpful.

Wow, what a lovely place. Steeped in History and great food.

My husband and I stayed at Thornbury Castle for two days & one night. When I saw our room (Bedford) I was lost for words..and the bed..OMG am I going to sleep in it?? big fireplace in the room what you really need in cold winter days. Everything was perfect. We were both so happy!! We couldn't believe we were in a real Tudor castle. You wouldn't think its a hotel.
The food was very delicious and the service was great. We stayed a little bit longer next day to have some afternoon cream tea. We are planning to come back to the castle in the spring or summer, but because of the big open fireplaces in the castle & some rooms, winter is the best time to visit.

My wife booked us in for a long weekend birthday treat for me in December. We had a lovely large room in one of the towers at the front of the hotel with a huge 4 poster and a gas fire. The kids had comfortable z beds. Sure it was expensive but we had a great time exploring the castle and village. Service was excellent and the food was good. I remember the hotel from before it was owned by the now insolvent Von Essen group and it was very up scale (and a little up itself) and was certainly not a place where kids were welcome. It is now owned by the Luxury Family Hotels group ( who bought back their old hotels from Von Essen's receivers) so I suspect will become more family friendly - although we found it pretty good as it is. We found the rate for the room and dinner expensive but value for money. I suspect this may have been because we booked after Von Essen's insolvency and before the hotel was sold on. The new owners need to make sure they do not go back to the eye watering prices of the middle of the last decade - none of us can afford to pay that much for the foreseeable future. So new owners, think of a new business plan that isn't based on absurdly high prices - or else you'll end up going the same way as Von Essen!