I suppose after a grueling flight from SFO to Frankfurt, and then a long drive to Sababurg, anything would have looked good. However, when we arrived at Dornroeschenschloss, my husband and I were unprepared for the beauty of the area, the loveliness of the castle and the warm and welcoming staff. Our room was perfect and overlooked the beautiful, lush fields (and the rain that night, which washed everything green, didn't hurt either). Dinner was absolutely wonderful and the setting (in a medieval style dining room), was perfect.

The next morning, we enjoyed watching the sheep wandering about the field and climbing up on the broken walls to lay in the sun. After a delicious breakfast, we toured the castle grounds, taking in the gardens and the fields beyond. Sadly, we were only there one night but how I wished we could have stayed longer ( ... next time).

If you travel the fairy tale road in Germany this is a place you wouldn't want to miss. On top of a hill overlooking woods and meadows the sleeping beauty castle hotel is the perfect place to spend your night. Excellent service and happy faces to look after you, excellent dinner served by a lady that might have served Aurora and her prince, nice ambience. It is true that rooms are not what you would expect at this castle - at least the standard rooms we had which were really in an annex adjacent to the castle. There are some touches of antique furniture but the beds and the wardrobes are 70's style. The bathrooms are simple but with nice touches of Crabtree and Evelyn toiletteries. The dining service as mentioned above is excellent. Nice food and service at reasonable prices. Breakfast was also very good with a variety to pick from plus tasteful cooked to order eggs. The animal reserve at the foot of the castle is worth a visit. Highlights of our visit 1. the feeling when night falls that you are really in fairy land which is increased by the impressively lighted bare trees (nice touch), 2. the splendid view from the rooms which make up for the room itself, 3. the gift of rosepetal marmalade jar we were given on our departure.

Location, location, location - this place has it in spades. Who can resist staying in a castle turret, after all? An idyllic setting, complete with an animal reserve down below. Plus - as the name suggests - they say it was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty, which is doubtless what attracts many of the visitors.

The good points? Its cleanliness. The comfortable bed. The good restaurant. The welcoming and personal service. Oh, and the fact that it's set in a spectacular castle.

Drawbacks? Turret rooms disappointingly ordinary and tired. TV inoperative (systemic problem, and presumably temporary). Bathroom absolutely tiny, and with an absurdly flawed and dangerous design which features a lavatory that is effectively co-located with a radiator. The elderly (or even the unfit) may wish to avoid the high turret rooms - assuming they survive the ascent, they risk being branded when they get there!

Overall, if I had been converting a beautiful ruin into a hotel, I would have made sure that the quality of the rooms matched that of the location. Sadly ours didn't.

It takes a little effort to find this place, but it is well worth it. After a long drive along country roads, we decided we had found the place when we saw a tour bus parked in the parking lot. We were a little nervous about staying at a tour bus stop, but our fears were unfounded. (The bus had stopped so that the passengers could have an afternoon snack in the beautiful outdoor dining area.) We received a warm & friendly reception and assistance getting to the room. We had reserved one of their more expensive rooms (215 euros incl. breakfast) in the turret with a four-poster bed. It was a large & beautifully appointed room. In spite of the very high temperatures outside (90's F, 30's C,) the turret was cool as a result of the thick walls. It did require us to walk up several flights of stairs but they were easy to navigate. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful. Because of the heat, we had dinner on the patio and enjoyed an outstanding meal, truly gormet quality, with a magnificent view. The staff was cheery & helpful & the price of the meal was an excellent value considering the quality. It was a good thing because I do not recommend leaving the hotel to find a meal anywhere else. It would be a long drive & not worth it. In fact, I don't recommend leaving the hotel for anything. In short, a magical castle in a beautiful, secluded setting with excellent rooms, food, and service.