Warwick Castle

A night spent in the Rose Suite in Warwick Castle, England

Into the second half of 2020, Covid-19 had prevented us from travelling and not wanting to be part of the post-lockdown throng at UK tourist destinations, we had barely left our small town all year.

So, as everyone began to return to work and children returned to school, we started looking at short break options. We’re not really sure how we ended up looking at Warwick castle. Perhaps someone mentioned it once. Anyway, we checked out their website, initially looking at the knights village lodges, but then discovered the two suites situated within the castle itself. The Rose suite and the Peacock suite. Both suites are situated within Caesars tower, one above the other.

The Peacock suite is described as being for couples only, having one large four poster bed. The Rose suite however, is described as suitable for a family as, even though on the surface it looks similar to the other suite, it has the option of a hidden pull-out bed. That being the case we opted to look at availability of the Peacock suite, but it was taken on the day we wanted, so we looked at the Rose suite for the same date and thankfully it was available, so we booked it.

The suites are very similarly priced. Not cheap (the rate fluctuates depending on the time of year) at around the £500 per night mark. However for that you not only get to stay in a lovely suite in an actual castle, but also:

A two day castle entry ticket for each guest
A reserved parking space right next to the entrance
Concierge service
Complimentary Champagne and bottled water
Breakfast served in a private state room
Free food & drink at all of the castle catering venues for your entire stay (not including alcohol or evening meal)
Tickets to the castle dungeon attraction
A personal guided tour of the castle by a resident historian

So all of the above taken into account, a pretty reasonable price we’d say.

We live on the border between Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, so Warwick castle is only a 40 minute drive. On Monday 5th October, after dropping the dogs off at the kennels, we made our way there, planning to arrive at around 10am. We had already been given the concierge mobile phone number and were asked to call when we were 10 minutes out in order that the concierge could meet us in the car park.

We drove into the small car park (separate from the main visitors car park) where we quickly spotted the smartly dressed concierge who directed us into our reserved parking spot. He gave us our VIP card (just like a cruise card) and guided us straight through the ticket office and into the castle grounds. It was then a short walk to Caesars tower. We climbed the tight, stone spiral staircase of the 14th century tower (once the castle dungeon) and were let into our suite. The concierge then left holding our car keys so that he could retrieve our luggage, still in the boot of the car, whilst we explored our room.

Once the concierge returned with our luggage (I felt bad for him having to lug our suitcase and camera bag up the steep, spiral staircase), we went for an explore around the grounds with the primary goal of finding coffee. We quickly found a small kiosk in the courtyard and, with hardly anyone around, were able to grab a quick coffee (free with a flash of our VIP card) and sit on a bench where we admired our new surroundings.

So, a brief history of Warwick castle. The castle is situated in the town of Warwick at a bend of the river Avon. It is a medieval castle developed from the original wooden fort built by William the Conqueror in 1068 and was rebuilt in stone during the 12th century. It remained a stronghold until early in the 17th century when Sir Fulke Greville was granted the castle by James I in 1604. Greville converted the castle into a country house and it remained in the Greville family (who became Earls of Warwick) until 1978, when it was bought by the Tussauds group. Since 2007 it has been operated by the Merlin group, a British based company responsible for many theme parks and attractions, such as Legoland and Alton towers. Warwick castle is now popular with theme park fans as they can visit the castle and attractions at a reduced cost with a ‘Merlin pass’.

This does not really do justice to the rich history of Warwick castle which, as you can imagine, is extensive but I won’t go into it further here.

After a quick sit down and coffee we continued our stroll through the castle grounds. Wandering out of the courtyard and further into the estate we came across ‘The Falconer’s Quest’, a twice-daily show starring the resident birds of prey and set on the banks of the river. Its central stage is the boathouse, a replica rebuilt especially for the show, the original boathouse being destroyed by fire in 2015 (caused by a flaming trebuchet ball!). The boathouse sits on the far side of the river, with the audience sat on the opposite bank. The numerous birds of prey fly backwards and forwards between falconers, buzzing the heads of the audience to music. It’s a twice daily show at no additional cost. The replica trebuchet (a type of large medieval catapult used before the advent of gunpowder) sits behind and to one side of the boathouse, unfortunately not currently in use, as it’s large throwing arm has suffered damage and now needs replacing before it can be put back into operation.

We watched a bit of The Falconers Quest show from the side-lines, deciding to sit and watch it properly the following day, as it was a bit wet and rainy and we wanted to head somewhere for food. We made our way through the lovely peacock garden, with its well-manicured topiary and complete with resident peacocks, with the conservatory as its backdrop. The conservatory appeared as if it had been built in similar stone to much of the castle itself. Rectangular in shape it had huge arched windows spanning the entire façade, top to bottom.

The conservatory is one of the main dining venues within the castle grounds. We had heard they serve a nice afternoon tea, so decided to give it a try. It wasn’t too busy when we went in and even with social distancing protocols in place, the friendly staff were able to quickly clear a table for us and we settled into a lovely little spot amongst the giant Yucca plants (at least we think that’s what they were).

Our cream tea duly arrived, the tiers of sandwiches, scones and cakes looking delicious. Kirstie had her tea, served in a Moroccan style tea set (sold separately in the conservatory) and Andy his Costa coffee. The afternoon tea would have cost £19.99 each. Upon leaving the conservatory, we again flashed our VIP card and left.

We walked around the outer perimeter of the castle wall (still within the enclosed grounds) and in through what would have once been a drawbridge over the moat, now a stone bridge walkway. This led back through the large entrance, under the open portcullis and the ‘murder holes’ (Google it) and back into the courtyard. We made our way to a small entrance (clearly signposted) in the castle wall, which was the beginning of our climb up onto the ramparts. We are told that the ramparts walk from start to finish climbs 500 steps. It was a fair climb just to the highest point of the wall, but as we climbed, the views became better and better. We first conquered Clarence tower and Bear tower (neither remarkably high) before arriving at the foot of Guys tower and the start of the significant climb to the top. You can only go one way up and one way down, not (as you may think) due to social distancing, but because the spiral stone staircases are so tight there is absolutely no chance of passing someone travelling in the opposite direction. Not a chance.

The views from the top of Guys tower were stunning, with views over Warwick one way and a classic English countryside view the other way. Looking down into the courtyard it was a long drop, making us wonder in amazement what a challenge it must have been to build such a thing in medieval times. Down another claustrophobic staircase in Guys tower and then further along the ramparts, we came to the gatehouse and climbed up and over that. A little further and we arrived at Caesars tower and to what we later confirmed was the back door to our suite. We climbed to the top of Caesars tower and made our way around to the ‘down’ staircase and part way down found the door to our suite for which we had a key to let ourselves in.

The Rose suite is lovely. The incredibly high ceiling arches over the grand four poster bed with its deep red and gold furnishings. This is no mock-up. This is a genuine medieval room in a genuine medieval tower. Ok, things like the posh bathroom fixtures and fittings may have arrived a little later, but the room is essentially how it was when people were imprisoned there, hundreds of years ago. But it’s not cold. It’s not draughty. The separate toilet and shower room both have under floor heating and, as you’d expect, the main bedroom has central heating. There were Elemis products in the shower room. Our complimentary Taittinger Champagne sat on the table along with two champagne flutes. Also, on the table were two bottles of water, one still, one sparkling and a complimentary castle guidebook (we later discovered for sale in the gift shop for £5).

The wardrobe hid a clothes iron and ironing board and in the bottom was a mini fridge. All the lights were controlled from multiple switches in the room, including each side of the bed and each bedside also had a power point. Tea and coffee facilities were there should we want them. This was a well-appointed room. Small windows let in a surprising amount of natural light. One with a view over the river Avon and opposite a view across the courtyard. Our towel swans sat on a large wooden cabinet at the foot of the bed from where, at the flick of a bedside switch, the large screen TV appears, raising slowly though the hinged door on top of the cabinet.

We then discovered the one main reason we would recommend the Rose suite over the similarly priced Peacock suite. Opening the ‘back door’ led us directly out onto the castle ramparts. Something the Peacock suite doesn’t have as it’s much lower in the tower.

We filmed a little room tour for our YouTube channel and by this time it was starting to get dark and all the visitors had gone home. So, we decided to have a wander around the grounds as the sun was setting and before it got too dark to see anything. It was amazing walking around the castle grounds alone. Ok we did see the occasional staff member walking from one place to another, but we were essentially on our own. On our way back to our tower we bumped into our evening shift concierge. He was a very nice chap and very chatty. He asked what we had planned for dinner and told us that the couple staying in the Peacock suite had ordered in pizza and he was on his way to collect it from the delivery person at the entrance. We hadn’t even considered that as an option, so, long story short, takeaway burger and fries in the comfort of our room it was!

Whilst we waited for our food, our concierge brought ice for our ice bucket and we enjoyed a few glasses. It was very nice. After food we settled down in our four-poster bed and neither of us remember anything until the following morning, we had a great sleep!

Andy was up, showered and out early the following morning in order to get a few shots of the castle at sunrise. At 8am we met a staff member at the foot of our tower who took us to our state room where we were served breakfast. We had breakfast in the ‘blue boudoir’, once a dressing room for Daisy Greville, 5th Countess of Warwick who had it decorated in the 1890’s. It was a stunning breakfast setting, with the blue silk from Lyon adorning the walls and Marie Antionette’s silver face clock on the wall surrounded by several original Royal portraits.

After breakfast we returned to our suite and packed up our bags. We had already booked our personal guided tour for 9-30am and we made our way out of the room for the final time carrying our luggage, which was handed to our concierge and locked safely away until we would be ready to leave later in the day. We were then introduced to Mark, our resident historian who took us on an hour-long tour of the castle and state rooms. It was amazing to hear some of the history of the castle and we were told some fantastic stories. A highlight of our stay.

We were both ready for coffee now and walked up to the conservatory where we had a Costa. After this we made our way across to The Falconers Quest, arriving twenty minutes early for the 11-30am show and were seated on one of the limited bench seats (more limited than usual due to social distancing measures). The show was really good. It was a shorter display than normal and some of the elements were missed out, as the river Avon, which hosts the show, had burst its banks after heavy rain which made it unsafe for the falconers to perform some of what they’d normally do. But it was a great show nonetheless and the birds were amazing to watch.

A short time later we went to the castle dungeon attraction, for which we had complimentary tickets (normally £10pp at the time of writing this). We had to choose a time slot prior to our visit (as we had done with the castle tour) as they have strict limitations on numbers to maintain social distancing. It transpired that we were walking through the attraction in groups of four, apparently significantly less than normal.

The dungeon was great! We were met first by the Jester who, as you can imagine, was mad and very funny. After his little bit he took us into the first of the rooms. It was pitch black and took ages for our eyes to adjust, as the Jester primed us with a bit of history and what was to come. We were pretty anxious by the time we started through the dungeon rooms, each with its own theme and characters, all out to scare you to death and make you laugh and all of them dark and disorienting. It was genuinely scary and funny at the same time. Great acting by all in the dungeon attraction and well recommended.

Entering the Castle Dungeon attraction (purchased photograph)

After the castle dungeon we went on the hunt for food and souvenirs and found ourselves in the undercroft. Here there is a restaurant selling hot food and sandwiches and next door was a gift shop (one of two, as there is also the courtyard gift shop). We had a Cornish pasty each and another drink before visiting the gift shop and buying a few bits and pieces.

It was nearly the end of the day now and we had one more thing we wanted to do and that was the Kingmakers attraction. This is a no additional cost walkthrough attraction of waxwork figures in different medieval roles, depicting preparations for the battle of Barnet in 1471. It was really interesting, with sound effects and music being played as you walked through, creating an ambience of what it would have been like to be there at the time.

This took us through to 3pm, just one hour before closing. We signed off our last bit for the vlog and, after meeting the concierge and collecting our suitcase, we made our way home.

It was an amazing experience and something we will remember forever, as staying in a real castle is so different. More memorable than staying in even the nicest of hotels.

Watch the vlog of our stay at Warwick castle on YouTube HERE.

A night spent in the Rose Suite in Warwick Castle, England

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