A rare stay behind the castle walls in the heart of the South Downs.

There’s something quietly magical about arriving at Amberley Castle. Perhaps it’s the country roads that give way to high hedges and a tight turn that reveals an ancient English castle. Or perhaps it’s the moment you pass through the working portcullis to check in. Most likely, it’s the unmistakable feeling of leaving the modern world behind—as confirmed by the near-total absence of mobile signal.

We arrived for the summer solstice and found the castle bathed in sunshine, the warm air filled with the chatter of jackdaws, the coo of doves, and the occasional honk from a growing gaggle of Canada geese. Set within 12 acres of parkland on the edge of Amberley village, this luxury castle hotel offered a brief but welcome escape from reality. Thankfully, there’s Wi-Fi—and there’s wine.

The Rooms at Amberley Castle

Amberley Castle offers a mixture of accommodation styles: charming gatehouse suites reminiscent of standalone cottages, and more traditional rooms built directly into the original castle walls. We stayed in one of the latter—Knepp—where thick stonework shaped the layout and the furniture was cleverly fitted between centuries-old features.

This is not the uniform box of a modern hotel room, but that’s precisely the charm. The large bed was supremely comfortable, and the bathroom bright and spacious, featuring a monsoon shower (but no bath). It’s not a room filled with light, but it delivered on peace, comfort, and the unique pleasure of sleeping within real castle walls.

Dining Review: Afternoon Tea, Tasting Menus & Wine

We checked in just in time for afternoon tea, enjoying two tiers of delicate morsels: finger sandwiches, warm savoury pastries, schoux buns, tiny battenbergs, and warm, fluffy scones. It was more than enough to keep us satisfied for an evening trip to Petworth, where we caught the new Turner exhibition.

Breakfast the following morning was à la carte—entirely logical, given there are just 19 bedrooms. The kitchen got the orders right (no black pudding, thank you), and the sausages were excellent.

Dinner was served either outdoors from the bar menu or in the castle’s dining room with a five-course tasting menu. We opted for the latter, which offered a beautifully presented journey through five themes:

Flour / Salt Yeast (the bread), Brighton / English Channel (the fish), Farm / Pastures / Forest [run, Forrest, run!], Orchid / Dairy / Hedges, and more. Vegetarian options were easy to swap in with no fuss.

a Triptych of Beautiful Plates of food at Amberley Castle — Beautiful Plating at Amberley Castle

At £98 a head, the food felt fair for the setting and ambition. The wine list was hosted on an interactive app—clever, if a little clunky. We chose a bottle of Château de Caumerade Rosé, which slipped down a little too easily. One bottle became two.

Service & Experience at This Luxury Hotel

The grounds were beautiful. The food was enjoyable. The service… was the sticking point.

The staff themselves were friendly, but clearly overextended. The same three core team members served us for afternoon tea, breakfast, and dinner the following evening. While this isn’t unheard of in hospitality, they looked tired and stretched. There was an hour-long gap between the first and second tier of our afternoon tea. Breakfast was fine, but at dinner, we sat down at 20:00 and didn’t finish until after 23:00.

At times we had to chase for attention—and when you see the turn-down service helping out with dinner, you know something’s off. Perhaps that’s why our rooms weren’t properly serviced, beyond a quick fluff of the pillows. It wouldn’t have mattered so much had we not been charged an eye-watering ‘optional service charge’—mentioned nowhere until the checkout bill.

Is Amberley Castle Worth the Price?

The bill for two nights and two rooms was, frankly, steep. The room rates were equivalent to what you’d pay at The Cadogan on London’s Sloane Street—without the size, style, or service. It’s not that we didn’t expect these prices; it just felt like a lot of money for what we actually received.

Would we return? Possibly—but more as a one-off escape than a regular retreat. The uniqueness of the setting makes Amberley Castle memorable, but it’s not the only historic luxury hotel in England. There are plenty more to try before we consider coming back.