History enthusiasts, individuals who wish to sleep where royalty has stayed, and fans chasing connections with hit television shows like “Bridgerton.”
Those are among the sorts of travelers a latest “collection” of historical castles, manor houses and grand homes in the UK and Ireland is hoping to draw.
Storied Collection is a travel website that lists heritage hotels and houses — including private castles — so vacationers who love history can easily find accommodations that suit them.
The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa is situated contained in the Royal Crescent, a row of terraced houses built between 1767 and 1775.
The Royal Crescent
The thought for the positioning got here to Storied Collection co-founder Michael Goldin when he was looking for a “beautiful castle” to remain in after Covid travel rules were relaxed and the U.K.’s borders reopened, he said.
However the means of sifting through online search results was unsatisfactory, he added.
Eventually, he found Fenton Tower, a Scottish castle with Twelfth-century origins, which was restored and was a luxury accommodation in 2000. Goldin also discovered an ancestral connection to the tower — within the Sixteenth century, it was briefly owned by his Thirteenth great-grandfather, a person named Sir Alexander Hamilton, he told CNBC by email.
Goldin, who’s from the USA, is an avowed fan of history, as are many Americans, a few of whom seek to trace their family histories to other continents.
Spurred by reopened borders and shows like “Bridgerton” and “The Crown,” Americans are flocking back to the UK, with flights from the U.S. to the U.K. from February to April this 12 months on the right track to surpass pre-pandemic levels, up 9% from the spring of 2019, in line with the tourism agency Visit Britain.
The 31-bedroom Markree Castle in County Sligo, Ireland, sits on 500 acres of land, and former guests include Johnny Money and June Carter Money.
Valerie Robus | Moment Mobile | Getty Images
Coming back from vacation, Goldin called Justin Hauge, a former Airbnb executive and friend. “He … said ‘hey, I just took this amazing trip with my wife, it was like no other trip I’ve ever taken … I actually felt like I used to be transported back in time. I would like to explore this,'” Hauge told CNBC by phone.
Hauge — who left Airbnb in 2021 after greater than a decade — reached out to castle owners and operators within the U.K. and Ireland who told him their web sites were randomly “lumped” into online search results. Additionally they said that they lacked an efficient method to tell their stories to the travelers they wanted to achieve, he said.
This was Hauge’s “lightbulb moment,” he said. Hauge and Goldin, along with the previous CEO of Best Western UK Rob Paterson, launched Storied Collection in 2022.
Heritage travel
Spurred by reopened borders and shows like “Bridgerton” and “The Crown,” Americans are flocking back to the UK, with flights from the U.S. to the U.K. from February to April this 12 months on the right track to surpass pre-pandemic levels, up 9% from the spring of 2019, in line with the tourism agency Visit Britain.
Travelers who like the concept of staying in a spot of historical importance can search Storied Collection’s accommodations by surname, in the event that they are looking for a family reference to a selected owner or a famous former guest. Listings also detail television shows and films that were filmed on the homes and hotels.
The listing for Fenton Tower — which accommodates as much as 13 people — details nine former owners and King James VI as a guest, in addition to the ruins of a medieval church. It is also described as suitable for golf vacations with greater than 100 courses inside a 30-mile radius of its location within the East Lothian region of Scotland.
If that is too small, there’s the 31-bedroom, Seventeenth-century Markree Castle in County Sligo, Ireland, which once hosted the country singer Johnny Money and his wife June Carter Money. Surnames of previous owners include Cooper, Bingham and Synge, in line with Storied Collection.
The Rubens on the Palace, a hotel in central London, has numerous royal-themed rooms in a separate wing of the property.
The Rubens on the Palace
Hauge said Americans’ love for British and Irish historical sites has risen over time.
“These form of heritage attractions … have been a large draw for U.S. travelers … The previous couple of years, with the recognition of shows like ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Bridgerton,’ has form of created this even latest awareness [in] … travelers that wish to experience this manner of life, and there is really no other place that they are capable of do this,” he added.
In a global survey of around 23,000 people about how Britain is seen by tourists conducted by Visit Britain, those within the U.S. ranked the statement “a spot where I can explore history history and heritage” as their top perception of the country.
The drawing room of the Sir Percy Blakeney Suite on the Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa in Bath, England.
The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa
Rooms on the Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa in Bath, a Georgian constructing on a street featured on “Bridgerton,” will be booked via Storied Collection, with vacationers capable of pick from 45 rooms and suites decorated by British designer Jane Clayton.
The hotel is one in all three accommodations on a “1,000 Years of History Tour” road-trip itinerary suggested by Storied Collection, where the properties have a combined age of 1,000 years. Not removed from Bath, guests can stay at Thornbury Castle, the Sixteenth-century retreat of Henry VIII.
The king’s bedroom, where he stayed with second wife Anne Boleyn in 1535, is even available to sleep in, while newer guests, in line with the listing, are Sophia Loren and Laurence Olivier. Rooms start at $344, in line with Storied Collection’s website.
Rates for the King Henry VIII Suite at Thornbury Castle — where Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, stayed — start from 569 British kilos ($685) per night.
Thornbury Castle
The third property on the tour is The Rubens on the Palace, a hotel that was once a part of Buckingham Palace‘s grounds. It has royal-themed bedrooms in addition to more classic luxury accommodations.
The seven-night “1,000 Years of History Tour” costs from $1,999, in line with Storied Collection’s website.
Hauge cited Gilmerton House, a Seventeenth-century Scottish mansion that may accommodate as much as 20 guests, as a favourite of his. “It’s almost such as you’re living in a museum,” he said of the property, which is owned by the Thirteenth-generation of the Kinloch family.
Storied Collection hopes to sign more grand properties, said Goldin. One recent addition is Pentrehobyn Hall in north Wales, a Jacobean manor built by Edward Lloyd in 1625 that is still under the identical family ownership today.
