Tips for Visiting Knight’s Village at Warwick Castle

The Warwick Castle Woodland Lodges are family accommodation lodges situated in the Warwick Castle Knight’s Village, within walking distance of the castle attraction. These lodges are available year-round. We had a comfortable stay in a Woodland Lodge in January. Visiting in winter meant we were able to enjoy the stunning grounds of the Knights Village in peace and quiet, although it was very necessary to be wrapped up in layers.

Woodland Lodges are not the only option for a stay in the Knight’s Village. More spacious Knight’s Lodges are also available, and in summer glamping in a large medieval-style tent is also available. More details on the Knight’s Lodges and glamping at the Knight’s Village can be found below my review of the Woodland Lodges.

Warwick Castle Woodland Lodge

The Woodland Lodges are the smaller of the two permanent accommodation options available in the Knight’s Village. Each lodge is a semi-detached cabin consisting of three rooms, the main bedroom, the kids’ room with three beds and a bathroom. They also have a private veranda overlooking the rest of the Knight’s Village which has plenty of shared green space. The lodges are compact inside, no bigger than an equivalent hotel room. The Woodland Lodges sleep a maximum of 5 people.

Family-Friendly Features in the Woodland Lodges

Although the Woodland lodges are aimed at families, they don’t have a vast number of specific family-friendly features. The most crucial advantage that the lodges have over most hotel rooms and the glamping at Warwick Castle Knight’s Village is the separate sleeping area for the children. In theory, this makes bedtime a bit easier.

Another advantage is the fantastic outside space around the lodges. The Knight’s Village is the perfect place for kids to play, explore nature and burn off energy. The site overlooks the River Avon, and when we visited in January, it was really peaceful.

Otherwise, there is not much inside the lodge that particularly recommends them to families. The bathroom is stylish, but there is no bath. In the main living area, there is not a massive amount of space. So on a cold or rainy day, you will probably end up with the whole family squeezing into the bed to watch TV.

For a family focussed stay in a family hotel full of family-friendly features check out this review of the CBeebies Land Hotel.

Winter Entertainment at Warwick Castle Knight’s Village

In winter, most of the entertainment options listed on the website are not available. Instead, if enough people are booked in for dinner in the on-site Medieval Banqueting Hall, then they are treated to entertainment by two knights. The knights will do the rounds of the tables while you eat, drumming up support. Then at 7 pm (times may vary), they enter a space in the centre of the room and but on a mock sword fight.

We ate dinner in the Banqueting Hall once, but we saw the show on both nights of our stay as they have a seating area by the bar. The show was the same on both occasions, but the knights performing it were different. All the actors were excellent, and the show was funny and entertaining. The children loved both performances, although the 2-year-old was a little nervous about the noise and violence at first.

Eating and Drinking at Warwick Castle Knight’s Village

Drinks

Soft drinks are free for the duration of your stay at the Knight’s Village in Warwick Castle. The Banqueting Hall has a selection of hot drinks, fruit juice and fizzy drinks which you can help yourself to. The lodges also have tea and coffee making facilities in them.

The Banqueting Hall also has a fully stocked bar with its own seating area. On a cold or rainy day, this would be an ideal place to escape to.

Breakfast

Breakfast is included in the cost of your stay at the Knight’s Village. The website explicitly says you can have a full English or a continental style breakfast, but there’s no reason not to have both. There is a good selection of food, and they cater to most dietary requirements. We were happy enough with the vegetarian options for the full English. The only slight let-down was that they only had regular dairy or soya milk, and Ted is intolerant to both. Fortunately, we had brought some oat milk from home.

Dinner

The dinner menu is a set-price two or three-course meal. I would describe the food as good pub food. It was absolutely fine, but nothing special. You are definitely paying a premium for eating at the resort and for the entertainment because nearly £10 for a children’s meal is a little pricey.

Booking is essential during peak seasons. On the Friday night of our stay in January, the Banqueting Hall was half empty. However, on Saturday, it was almost full, and several families came along to see the show.

Car Parking at the Knight’s Village

Car parking is included in the cost of your stay at the Knight’s Village in the Stratford Road Car Park (CV34 6AH). The reception for the Knight’s Village is close to the entrance of the car park. The entrance to Warwick Castle is at the far end of the car park.

Visiting Warwick Castle from the Knight’s Village

Tickets to visit Warwick Castle on two consecutive days are included in the cost of your stay. Vouchers for entry to the castle can be printed at home and converted to tickets at the castle ticket office. The castle entrance could be reached via a path through the car park. The castle can be done in one day, but it was nice to have the opportunity to cut the first day short when the kids got tired and cold knowing we wouldn’t miss out on anything.

Other Accommodation Options in the Knight’s Village

Warwick Castle Knight’s Lodge

The Knight’s Lodges are a bigger version of the Woodland Lodges. Like the Woodland Lodges, they are semi-detached cabins, and they have a similar footprint. The additional space in the Knight’s Lodges comes from the mezzanine floor, which holds the master bedroom area. This frees up the entrance for a living area with a sofa bed. Outside on the veranda, you are treated to the most scenic views on the site. The Knight’s Lodges sleep a maximum of 7 people.

Glamping Tents at Warwick Castle

From June to September the Knight’s Village contains glamping tents in two sizes. The Warwick Tents have a double bed and two singles whereas the King’s Luxury tents have a four-poster bed, two singles and room for a travel cot. You can also feel grand as you sit on your thrones outside your tent.

So Would We Stay in a Woodland Lodge Again?

Whether we would stay in the Woodland or at the Knight’s Village again is something David and I have debated since we got home. We enjoyed our winter stay, and I would definitely recommend giving it a go. The surroundings are stunning, and the entertainment they had running in January was excellent. I am intrigued by the idea of a summer visit because there is a lot more entertainment going on in peak season.

Two things are putting us off from booking right now. The first is the crowds. The Knight’s Village was peaceful, with plenty of room to run around and not see anyone in winter. I suspect this will not be the case in August. Having said that, I am aware that now we have a child at primary school, crowds are something we need to get used to.

The second is the price tag. Merlin short-breaks are not cheap, even during the low season. It would be hard for us as a family to justify the cost.

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