How to find castles and historic hotels in the UK and Ireland

History buffs, people who want to sleep where royalty has stayed, and fans looking for connections to hit TV shows like “Bridgerton.”

These are some of the types of travelers that a new “collection” of historic castles, mansions and stately homes in the UK and Ireland hopes to attract.

Tiered Collection is a travel website that lists heritage hotels and houses, including private castles, so history-loving vacationers can easily find the right accommodation for them.

The idea for the site came to Storied Collection co-founder Michael Goldin when he was looking for a “magnificent castle” to stay in after Covid travel rules relaxed and UK borders reopened, did he declare.

But the process of filtering search results online was unsatisfactory, he added.

Eventually he found Fenton Tower, a Scottish castle with 12th century origins, which was restored and converted into luxury accommodation in 2000. Goldin also discovered an ancestral connection to the tower – in the 16th century it was briefly owned to his 13th great-grandfather, a man named Sir Alexander Hamilton, he told CNBC via email.

Goldin, who is from the United States, is a history buff, as are many Americans, some of whom seek to trace their family history on other continents.

Spurred by the reopening of borders and shows like ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘The Crown’, Americans are flocking to the UK, with flights from the US to the UK from February to April this year set to exceed pre-pandemic levels, up 9% from spring 2019, according to tourism agency Visit Britain.

Back from vacation, Goldin called Justin Hauge, a former Airbnb executive and friend. “He…said ‘Hey, I just had this amazing trip with my wife, it was like no other trip I’ve ever been on…I really felt like I was transported in time. I want to explore that,'” Hauge told CNBC over the phone.

Hauge – who left Airbnb in 2021 after more than a decade – contacted owners and operators of castles in the UK and Ireland who told him their websites were being “clustered” randomly in search results by line. They also said they lacked an effective way to tell their stories to the travelers they wanted to reach, he said.

It was Hauge’s “light bulb moment,” he said. Hauge and Goldin, together with former Best Western UK CEO Rob Paterson, launched Storied Collection in 2022.

The list for Fenton Tower – which can sleep up to 13 people – details nine former owners and King James VI as a guest, as well as the ruins of a medieval church. It is also described as suitable for golf holidays with over 100 courses within a 30 mile radius of its location in the East Lothian region of Scotland.

If it’s too small, there are the 31 17th century rooms Markree Castle in County Sligo, Ireland, which was once home to country singer Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash. Previous owners’ surnames include Cooper, Bingham and Synge, according to Storied Collection.

Hauge said Americans’ love of British and Irish historic sites has grown over the years.

“These kind of heritage attractions…have been a huge draw for American travellers…In recent years, with the popularity of shows like ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Bridgerton’, has kind of created this new awareness [in] … travelers who want to experience this way of life, and there really is no other place where they can do that,” he added.

In a global survey of around 23,000 people on how Britain is perceived by tourists led by Visit Britain, those in the US ranked the statement ‘a place where I can explore history and heritage’ as their top perception of the country.

Rooms at Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa in Bath, a Georgian building on a street listed on “Bridgerton”, can be booked through Storied Collection, with holidaymakers choosing from 45 rooms and suites decorated by British designer Jane Clayton.

The hotel is one of three accommodations on a ‘1,000 Years of History’ driving route suggested by Storied Collection, where the properties have a combined age of 1,000 years. Not far from Bath, you can stay at Thornbury Castle, the retirement of Henry VIII in the 16th century.

The king’s bedroom, where he stayed with his second wife Anne Boleyn in 1535, is even available for sleeping, while more recent guests, according to the listing, are Sophia Loren and Laurence Olivier. Rooms start at $344, according to the Storied Collection website.

The third property in the tour is The Rubens at the Palacea hotel that was once part of Buckingham Palace‘s reasons. It offers royal themed rooms as well as more classic luxury accommodations.

The Seven Nights”1000 years of history tourcosts from $1,999, according to the Storied Collection website.

Hauge quoted Gilmerton House, a 17th century Scottish manor house that can accommodate up to 20 people, as one of his favourites. “It’s almost like living in a museum,” he said of the property, which is owned by the 13th generation of the Kinloch family.

Storied Collection hopes to sign more large properties, Goldin said. A recent addition is Pentrehobyn Hall in North Wales, a Jacobean mansion built by Edward Lloyd in 1625 which remains under the same family ownership today.