Ravenwood Castle — Hotel in Swan Township

We arrived on 7.29.24 and were greeted by a gang of cats hanging out on the overflowing dumpster at the top of the driveway. Walking in were showered with rock and concrete debris from the waterproofing contractors performing work at 530PM. Below are some attached photos. Buyer beware when visiting this themed hotel. -Air conditioning did not work in the King Arthur Suite. Temp all night was 80 degrees. We were told to use the box fan in the closet from the first floor. -17 steps to the second story of the King Arthur Suite with no hand rail. Very dangerous as the bath is on the first floor and the bed on the second. -The light on the wall bottom of steps hanging loose. -Dresser on second floor in suite knobs missing, water damage inside drawer along with an old hair clip. -DVD remote batteries were dead -Mural on second floor of suite looks as if it were drawn by an illustrator from the first edition AD&D players handbook. -The deck on the the second floor very sketchy. Does look as if its been sealed or finished in over 10 years. -The exterior man door to the deck has a broken seal in the glass. One can see the condensate stains. -Such a nice bed but no draperies. -Pillows hard not fluffy. -2 lightbulbs burned out first floor King Arthur suite. -1 lightbulb burned out in bathroom -Bath wooden window old and cracked frame needs painted and caulked. -Bust of knight on mantle first floor King Arthur suite has a broken sword. -Dead moth on floor in King Arthur suite first floor next to closet. -2 gang light switch cover at entry to King Arthur suite is covered with tape. -Ceramic floor in King Arthur suite cracked. -Old coffee cups on ground near metal park bench at entry. -Entry metal cage at walkway bent/damaged. -Suite of armor at entry leaning against wall. -Doorbell not secured completely at entry door. -Blue Sherwin Williams bucket left on ramparts front of castle. Couldn't even get a decent pic. -See pic of all the rock dust and debris on the side porch. -Debris on walkway morning of the 30th. -Outdoor electrical outlet with exposed wire and laying on ground not secured. -Tapestries in main dining hall old, tattered not hung well. -Water damage on wall over tapestries. -Large light cover at front of entry skewed and falling off. -Ravenwood coffee mugs logo faded and chipped. -Only a corned beef hash casserole for breakfast. No cereal, muffins, or fresh fruit. Hash was all potato, very little corned beef. -No phones in room. -At my 4am walk-thru because i couldn't sleep in 80 degree temps in the King Arthur suite, the front door was unlocked. -The library had a very small selection of DVD videos. We stayed in the King Arthur suite and didn't even see the movie "Excalibur" in the library. -Drawer knob in library came off when attempted to open. -Both the clocks on the mantles in library and the King Arthur suite are non operational. -The pub had not a soul when we arrived. I would be afraid to eat anything from the menu. Not sure it would be fresh. I speculate everything is frozen food. The picture of the burger on the web most likely isn't what you would get. -None of the fireplaces are wood but gas. -The castle book in the library on the stand has a tattered spine and I didn't even attempt to pick it up and and look at it. -The kitchen is in need of updating and looks akin to something from the movie Mouse Hunt. -No pool, hot tub or other.

It seems from Youtube videos of Mr. Reed, the owner who lives in Hudson, Ohio, that half to 3/4 of the business is convention and gaming related and there does not seem to be any regard for upkeep of the fake castle. Most everywhere one looks, something is broken, dirty used or neglected. I suspect that most people are so enamored with staying in a castle, in this case a stick built structure with 8" block as a faux castle walls, they fail to really look at the details. For $310.00 per night, I had high expectations that quickly evaporated. Don't stay here.

We refused to stay another day at Ravenwood. We stayed at The GlenLaurel Scottish Inn, 5 stars above...

We didn't want to leave, and already excited for our next visit to Ravenwood, perhaps in a cabin with our little one. Every year me and my wife try to plan a night or weekend away to re connect with each other away from the craziness that comes with living in the city, our family, and work/school. This year is our last year in Ohio and so I wanted to do something unique to our surroundings that we wouldn't necessarily be able to do where we move to, and settled on Ravenwood. We arrived Friday evening and checked in the Rapunzel's Tower room, which was a small hike up stairs but more then worth the hike. The room was beautiful and seemed to have been recently remolded. The room was extremely clean, which more then not is a common gripe with me. With the exception of a few small "Touch ups" of paint on the wall that where a slight shade off of the original the room was perfect and you could tell much love has been put into the room. The staff where for the most part extremely caring, friendly, and seemed to love their jobs and history of Ravenwood. The Pub was enjoyable, and the drinks weren't crazy expensive like you'd expect at a hotel or other B&B's. We spent some time playing bored games from their massive collection, and even found some time to enjoy the quiet of the property while reading from their library.

The breakfast was amazing, and delicious and we spent our dining outside enjoying our breakfast admiring the beautiful view, and sounds of Ravenwood.

The dinner was good (we left stuffed) but to be frank I had higher expectations given the 20+ dollars a person. I personally chalked it up the experience of being in the dining hall, which was beautiful.

If you can't live with out your internet and TV you may want to reach out the innkeeper to make sure your room has a TV and WIFI available. Our room had neither, which in our eyes only added to the charm of Ravenwood, we had enough service to get/make calls which was good for emergencies back home, but it kept out the temptation of spending our weekend on the phone or watching TV. In our eyes the lack of both just added to the charm of Ravenwood.

One thing I was worried about, was at a first glance it didn't seem like there was much Ravenwood and the surrounding area had to offer to keep you busy, the truth being the opposite. The charm and setting of Ravenwood seemed to make you want to just slow down and relax, enjoy the beauty and not rush. Their was also quiet a bit to do in the castle, and on the grounds. Not only this but there was plenty of unique things to do all about a 20 minute drive away.

The Ravenwood team seems to put a lot of love and care into their grounds, building, and service, and it really shows. I can't wait to plan a a long weekend trip to return to the castle with my son and wife to relax and disconnect from the rest of the world in a fun relaxing, and caring environment.

To the owners; while all the staff where positive forces in our experience, the young lady managing the pub Friday and Saturday night went the extra mile to take care of not only us but other guest. She has outstanding customer service, and could pickup quickly and easily on customers who wanted someone more interactive and present, while also picking up on the customers who simply wanted service and exclusion to enjoy the grounds on their own, while still providing excellent customer service. She was extremely fluid in her ability to make all different types of guest feel comfortable and right at home. Be sure to know the value this new comer brings to your team.

The 2nd was the young lady who served breakfast Saturday morning, she was pleasant and very knowledgeable on the castle and grounds, but more importantly she spoke and presented herself in a way that you could tell she had a strong love for the castle and its guest. She spoke and acted in a way you would expect an owner of the building who does what they do simply because...

For those of you reading this and considering a stay at Ravenwood, please be advised of our very negative experience (especially the belittling response from the owners to us and others, who have left honest, negative reviews) and take into consideration before booking a stay.

My son and I were very excited to stay at Ravenwood Castle on July 16th but left extremely disappointed. We stayed in the Clock Tower. I only get one vacation a year and Ravenwood was supposed to be the highlight of our week. Out of the three places we stayed (Hidden Gems Cabins in New Lexington and All American Cabin in Heath were the other two) Ravenwood was the only bad stay we had, and by far most expensive - $270.67 for one night. We will not be back.

The employees were just wearing street clothes and that just doesn't seem right for a destination like Ravenwood. It also make it difficult to identify who is working there unless they are behind the front desk or carrying food or something. I'm not saying they need to wear full-on medieval garb, but at least put on a Ravenwood Castle t-shirt or something with a collar. I think it would help the brand and at least help identify the employees.

The clock in the Clock Tower and the one in the master bedroom do not work. The Website even states, “Keeping time in the Medieval Village is easy thanks to the Clock Tower.” It’s kinda hard to keep the time from a clock that doesn’t work.

The “shower” in the whirlpool tub was unusable. The cord is not long enough and even if it were, water would go everywhere. Neither of us was able to shower.

My son slept in the master bedroom and I got the futon. The AC window unit in the master bedroom was unbearably loud. I wouldn’t have booked had I known there was no central air. We turned it off and were able to sleep for an hour or two before it got too hot. We got very little sleep. On top of that, the fridge ran all night. So between the AC and fridge, there was no peace and quiet.

Some other things that would have made our stay better: The TV was tiny and DVD player didn't work well. We didn’t stay at Ravenwood to watch DVD’s but considering what TV’s cost today, an upgrade would be well worth it. We counted seven burnt out light bulbs. Coffee was from GFS. Better coffee would have been appreciated. The mattress for the master bedroom was very firm and lumpy. The dresser in the bedroom was missing handles and drawers do not go in and out well. The faucet in the bathroom was loose. Also, if turned on full, water went all over us. There were cup stains on table and countertop. When exiting the grounds there is very small sign pointing to the right. It would have been nice to be informed on where to exit upon check-in. We got drinks from the Pub and the gentleman who helped us didn’t know how to get the draft beer to work (or maybe they were just out of all draft beer). I know some of these things are nit-picky but most are inexpensive (or free) fixes. When we checked out, we worked with Andrea. She asked how our stay was and I told her not great. I told her about the air conditioning and how we did not sleep well. She said she was sorry and continued to check us out. I told her about the faucet, light bulbs, and the clocks not working. She said she would let maintenance know. She was nice and pleasant but I really don’t feel like she cared much.

The castle and its medieval theme are awesome. I mean, that's the reason my son and I were staying there. It was fun driving into the grounds and upon arriving, exploring the area and seeing all there is to see.

UPDATE 8/3/2020. After reading other reviews, I've noticed that Mr. & Mrs. Reed have been especially critical of some guests. The owners do not show concern for guests that have a bad experience, instead pointing out how wrong they are. In addition, ownership berates guests for leaving honest, negative reviews that indicate issues with service or...