England's castles - a fairytale experience - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

When many people hear of a castle they think of a fairy tale, kings and queens. Throughout England, there are castles where members of the monarchy lives. But at the Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire, you can stroll through the gardens, eat like a king in the dining room and spend the night in the same room where King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn slept 500 years ago. Guests that rent the Duke's bedchamber for $900 a night climb more than 70 stone steps in a spiraling staircase. Open the large door and your eyes immediately lock on a huge bed.

"Welcome to the tower bed chamber, the largest four poster bed in the UK hotel. It's a mere 10 foot wide," said General Manager Brian Jarvis who pointed out a large television that emerges from the foot of the bed, an impressive fireplace and a spacious bathroom.

"We come in to the lovely bathroom, lovely slipper bath. The twin sinks and a great shower behind. And, of course you do need another TV of course. We don't want you to miss anything on the television," said Jarvis.

The bathroom also includes a toilet that looks like a throne.

"This is a typical throne as made by our carpenter. It's a great piece of furniture. You can do them in the a castle. You'll never forget that will you? You can go home and remember that," said Jarvis.

"This is more than a hotel. It's got so much history. To walk where Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn once walked. It gives me goose bumps. It really does," said Jarvis.

In addition to the huge bed, the Duke's bedchamber also has smaller beds for children.

"We have these lovely truffle beds that we can wheel out from underneath to keep our young guests happy. I like to keep the younger guests happy because I want to keep my job. And, they're my guests of the future," said Jarvis.

There are other bedrooms in Thornbury Castle that rent for $600 a night.

"We actually came here for the castle. We're just looking for family vacation and decided that I looked it up and found a castle and thought it would be a great experience for the kids while we're here," said Jodie Reaver, originally from Sterling, Illinois. She now lives in England with her family and enjoyed two nights in the castle with her husband and three children.

"There's stone walls that were very thick. Beautiful windows with great window seats. Some wood paneling, a beautiful four poster bed. It seemed like staying in a really nice hotel, honestly. But, going up the spiral staircase, that definitely set the tone for being in a castle," said Reaver.

"To get to our room, you had a key that probably weighed 4 or 5 pounds, and we walked up a spiraling staircase of stone, very steep, and turned the lock and it opened up to this beautiful room with a roaring fire," said Patrick Dillon.

"There's hundreds and hundreds of years, thousands of years of history. You can't help but walk through the garden and wonder who else walked through here. What else happened here? What's the history of these grounds. It's amazing that people have been living here 500 years," said Dillon. "When we're over here, we look at things and say that existed longer than the United States has existed as a country, so it gives the kids perspective. And they just see there's more out there. And hopefully, we're creating little explorers who will see other things," said Dillon.

Staying overnight in a castle sounds incredible, but Iain Young and his bride Nikki chose Thornbury Castle as the site for their wedding.

"Castles have always been associated with romantic story lines. Bloke comes in, gets the girl," laughed Young, after getting married inside the castle. Their wedding ceremony took place in a room flanked with knights in shining armor.

"The castle was just perfect. It was the room with the Tudor fireplace that did it for me. The wooden floors. We've seen the dress and that fits perfectly with that setting," said Nikki Young. "People remember it. Friends will remember it. Family will remember it. It's a different place."

After the ceremony, the wedding photos took place with a backdrop fitting for a king and queen.

"It's just so photogenic. The castle. It's actually very difficult to take a bad photograph," said Iain Young.

"They were all fantastic photographs. It's just the perfect building," said Nikki Young.

"Perfect start to our marriage. I can't put it better actually. It's the perfect start to the rest of our lives," said Iain Young.

Management at Thornbury Castle say weddings are a big part of their business, particularly for couples from the United Kingdom and a few Americans.

"There's that huge fairytale story to weddings here. That's really, really good. The photography here is just great. We get weddings for two people, to 200. We do first weddings, we do second weddings, third weddings. Any type can happen here," said Jarvis.

It is a castle built in the 16th century, filled with royalty, romance and history. Now, this castle is creating memories for the people who get married on the grounds or spend the night in the spectacular rooms.

"The stone walls, the fireplaces, candlelit dinners, probably a little escapism from the modern world. You can come here and chill out and relax here and have a wonderful time," said Jarvis.