The morning sun tickles your eyelids, waking you from a night of restful sleep in an elegantly canopied bed. You swing your feet to the floor, glide to the window of your bedroom in the crenelated tower, and gaze out over acres of thick forest. The drawbridge is down. You stretch and rub your eyes before dressing for the hearty breakfast in the castle’s Great Hall.
A day in the life of a medieval princess? No, it’s a typical morning at Ravenwood Castle, “a romantic medieval inn” in the rolling hills of southeastern Ohio, just a couple hours’ drive from Cincinnati.
Ravenwood is a unique bed-and-breakfast, a replica of a twelfth-century Norman castle surrounded by fifty acres of forest at 65666 Bethel Road, New Plymouth, Ohio, in Vinton County. Meals are served dinner party style in Ravenwood’s Great Hall, a mammoth room with a stone fireplace at one end and three large stained-glass windows, reclaimed from an old church, at the opposite end. A hearty breakfast (included in the room rate) is served every morning in the Great Hall (and a special breakfast buffet on Sundays), and a multi-course dinner is available by reservation for an extra charge.
Ravenwood boasts seven guest rooms in the castle, including the elegant two-story "King Arthur Suite" (with a second-floor sitting room), “Rapunzel’s Tower” (a cozy third-floor retreat), and “The Duke’s Dungeon” on the lower level. Each room has a gas fireplace and antique mantle (there are sixteen fireplaces at Ravenwood), stained glass windows or lamps, and more modern amenities such as large private baths and showers. The lower level of the castle also features a game room (its faux stone floor, tavern windows, and great fireplace are patterned after many British pubs), a comfortable library lined with books, and a terrace.
Nights at the castle are quiet, restful. Castle rooms contain no televisions, radios, or phones (however, the coach house suite and cottages do have VCRs or DVD players). The rooms are furnished with jigsaw puzzles and books, and various table games are available in the game room. A VCR and videos are available in the library, and a grand piano occupies one corner of the Great Hall. But the emphasis throughout the castle proper is on peace and quiet.
The grounds surrounding the castle contain more accommodations: medieval village cottages, fairtytale village cabins, and two gypsy wagons. Ravenwood also hosts special events throughout the year, such as an Irish weekend in March (around St. Patrick’s Day), a Shakespeare’s birthday celebration in April, and a Mother’s Day brunch in May. The entire castle can also be booked for private events.
Guests at Ravenwood can enjoy the surrounding Wayne National Forest as well as area attractions such as Hocking Hills State Park, Lake Hope State Park, Buckeye Furnace, the Bob Evans Farm, Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, and the nearby Natural Rock Bridge in Hocking County.
Ravenwood Castle is located near the intersection of State Routes 56 and 93, seven miles north of McArthur, Ohio. For more information, call 1-800-477-1541.
Rates: Rooms and suites $115-$225 per night for two. Cottages $155-$250 per night for two. Summer Fairytale Cottages $88-99 for two. All rates include full breakfast. A multi-course dinner is available by reservation for an extra charge, and lunches are available in the Coach House Tea Room (May-October).
Reservations: Book your rooms well in advance; dates in September and October should be booked approximately a year ahead.
Accessibility: First-floor rooms are available; be sure to request this when making reservations.
Getting there: Directions will be mailed out or given over the phone when you make your reservations; still, plan to arrive before dark, or the small signs and narrow roads will be easy to miss.
Arriving: Regular check-in hours are between 4 and 7 p.m.; call if you must arrive earlier or later. Check-out time is 11 a.m.
Special needs: Dinner at the castle is a set menu, so inform the hosts if you have any special dietary needs.
Children/Pets: “Very well-behaved and well-supervised children” over ten are welcome. Pets are not permitted.
Smoking: Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the castle or cottages.
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