Ravenstone Castle

Such a wonderful experience in a Bed and Breakfast. Upon check in we were greeted by the hospitable keepers Terry and Jim. We were given a tour of the Castle to include all of the rooms available for rent. We stayed in the Egyptian room and could not have been more please with the accommodations. We could tell by the décor and quality of woodwork in the Castle that a significant amount of time and effort went in to planning and construction. The room had a private bath, Jacuzzi tub, and separate sitting room with a high ceiling. A small balcony outside with a view of the countryside complement the room. The breakfast was yogurt with fresh berries, apple strudel, banana and blue berry bread, orange juice, sausage and scrambled eggs. One word of caution is that if you have allergies to cats consider another inn as Sir Peter, Buttercup, and Princess are on the prowl but away from the rooms!

stayed two nights here in the unicorn room. Jose and Rose have built a lovely castle, and the accomodations were very clean and well appointed. breakfast consisted of eggs and sausage, scones or toast, some pastries, fresh fruit, coffee or tea, etc. all very good. i was there in november, the property would be spectacular in the spring or summer.
ravenstone is about an hour out of chicago proper, in the farmlands still outside the city. if you need to head into town, it may be just as fast taking US-​14 in as heading down to I-​90. and you avoid the tolls. huzzah!
some notes… as others have noted, no wi-​fi. i don’t consider this to be a problem, but if you absolutely positively have to have it, you may have to go find a starbucks or something. also, there are several cats living in the castle and a dog, keep that in mind if you have any pet allergies or issues. they’re all very friendly, and the cats of course will wander into any open room like they own it.

We have done many Bed & Breakfasts in our lifetime. I will share with you first what I liked about Ravenstone and then second what I did not like. I would first suggest if you have NEVER done a B&B do not make this one your first as it is not typical of a Bed & Breakfast.
What I liked: Gorgeous grounds, gorgeous themed rooms. Beautiful architecture complete with gargoyles even! Very nice hostess, Terry. Greeted us and gave a fabulous tour. This place is pretty much more for ambience, total get away… I mean stare at each other and at the walls get away. I will tell you why I say that later. They took time with each and every room to make the décor match the theme. We stayed in the Egyptian Room. There was a huge sarcaphagus in a separate sitting room complete with spinx and much more décor themed to the Egyptian Period. Our bath was even decorted with two colums containing hieroglyphics. Gorgeous blue and red coloring. We had a private balcony overlooking a courtyard and had it been a warm Chicago night we would have enjoyed sitting out there but there were no chairs anyhow… All the other rooms were each as enchanting. If I go again I’d stay in the King Arthur room. The castle is home to five cats and a dog. We saw two delightful cats. Buttercup and Sir Peter along with the dog who greeted us at breakfast. Breakfast… outstanding…a lot of food and delicious and traditional faire… not weird things that not eveyone likes. One complaint was the owner Rose chatted a bit too much while we just wanted to sit and eat. We were the ONLY guests at the castle which was very cool!
What We didn’t like: There is NO TV in the room, no internet connection. Not even a radio to play some music. There is one sitting area that has a DVD player The TV is about a 16 inch screen. Took us forever to figure out how to get it to work. A table is in the middle of the room blocking that DVD player and the chairs to sit on are uncomfortable. The DVD selection is poor. Most bed & breakfasts provide board games. This one did not even have that. Just a few thriller type books. We ended up retiring at 11:30 because there was nothing to do but stare at each other. LOL
There are not many snacks and no drinks provided to guests. We had to go to the local walmart to buy our own.
usually Bed & Breakfasts let you roam the other adjoining community rooms. But the owners live in a part of this castle and lights were out at about 10 pm so we felt uncomfortable doing that. Would have liked to sit in the living room by the fireplace but again felt awkward.
It was a cold night for September our room temp had to be about 50 degrees. The space heater provided did not work. We were told in the morning that they do not put the heat on until October despite cold temps and cold guests we just threw on an extra blanket.
The town of Harvard itself very small. We found a Walmart to get some drinks and snacks and waste a bit of time before our dinner for which we did head to Lake Geneva WI which was only a 30 minute ride.
All in all a fine experience. We loved the décor but not sure it was worth the $ 165 we paid for the night. This is not a resort setting by any means. You must be familiar with bed & breakfasts first of all and also you must know this is for great atmosphere and just to get away and have some solitude in a delightful setting.
Kudos the the chef… it was an amazing breakfast set out on a bistro table in a delightful renaissance like setting!

I bought a gift certificate through WRMN Radio Shopping Show for a $ 24 tour for 4 with the plan we would take our Webelos den there for a tour. When I called Rose was extremely rude on the phone and said that the gift certificate was only a ‘credit’ and that we would need to pay more as well. $ 8 per adult and $ 6 per child. Then she said they don’t give tours despite their website saying otherwise. I said it was for the Cub Scouts so she agreed. She then called a few weeks later saying I needed to mail in our ‘deposit’. I said we would have 3 adults and 6 kids. One was a toddler. I sent the certificate plus $ 36 and awaited our trip.
Upon arrival we were greeted with Rose’s daughter who was very, very nice. The boys enjoyed the tour. When we ended the tour it was like a Jekyll/​Hyde moment as the daughter turned quite harsh and said, WE NEED TO SETTLE UP. I and my co-​leader were shocked by her demeanor and the request for yet more money. I said I would handle it and sent the other adult and the boys outside. I explained what I had already paid and she said, we charge a $ 100 minimum for tours. I said that is not what was explained to me on the phone by Rose. I had already sent in $ 50 and as it was we had one adult and one boy cancel last minute. She was brusque and said,’ I’ll have you talk to Rose.’ Well apparently Rose was really nearby because the daughter went away and I could HEAR her tell Rose that she needed to come talk to me. Rose said ‘what does she want?’ and the daughter said that I didn’t want to pay the additional $ 50. Rose sighed and said, tell her tours are $ 100 min. The daughter said something unintelligible and then Rose sighed again and stomped out to talk to me. I was polite and said, ‘oh your Rose, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Brenda’ and she would have none of it. She just said ‘we charge a $ 100 min. for tours. I told you that.’ I said ma’am I never knew any of that. I re-​explained the pricing she had mentioned to me on the phone and what I sent in awhile. She would have none of that. She said, well it’s a hundred dollars and walked off.
I was sick to my stomach. The house was cool and the tour was nice but not even an hour and not worth $ 100!!!
I said I would need to get my purse and went outside. My co-​leader was upset too, as the pricing was clearly misrepresented. Had we known, we would have never visited this place and I would have never purchased the voucher from the show.
We gave them an additional check for $ 50, left quickly and felt sick. It was a horrible way to end a decent experience. No way is that tour worth $ 100!!! They misused the show certificate and then gouged us for more and we really felt like we were getting the shakedown. Bottom line: it’s fine if you want to build a castle but you guys should not be in the customer service business!

We were a little disappointed in the castle. We would not have booked it at all if we had known that they allow pets in the common areas (cat and dog, not sure how many). The place is kept clean, but if you have allergies, you know that doesn’t count for much. The room where the dog is being kept is not common area, but you can actually smell it from the next room. We did not feel that the owners were very hospitable. They didn’t offer anything for entertainment, which most bed and breakfasts do. The castle is not as big as it looks on the websites. It’s the size of a typical two story house. There is a third floor, but it’s unfinished. Our room was also quite small (the Elizabeth room), and the supposedly king sized bed was actually two twin beds pushed together with king sized bedding on top. One side of the bed was pushed against the wall– unfortunate for late night bathroom trips and those who require a side table. Being against the wall also didn’t help the allergy situation, as it is difficult to clean under the bed regularly. The mattresses were pretty hard and uncomfortable, and there were only two pillows. The adjoining bathroom was beautiful, but both bedroom and bathroom face the parking lot and the windows have no privacy draperies. The location is remote enough to allow for privacy, but I can see this bothering some people. There also wasn’t much to breakfast– coffee, juice, scrammbled eggs, yogurt with granola (very good), and store bought pastries. I would recommend taking one of their daily tours rather than spending the night.

My boyfriend and I stayed here a few nights ago and we were definitely impressed.
Neither of us have been to a Bed n Breakfast before and didn’t think it would be all that special. Maybe we spoiled ourselves by going here first cause I can’t imagine many Bed n Breakfast places can top this experience.
I called a few days before our anniversary and asked if the Egyptian room would be available on Saturday night. They were already booked for this room and the Unicorn room, the other room with a whirlpool tub inside the room.
So we decided to come on a Friday and made our reservation only the day before. We live on the southside of Chicago and were able to get there in a reasonable time. We checked in and went to our room and were amazed at how nice it was.
We also felt like the owner and her family who were around are all very nice and friendly. We got to pet a few of their precious cats and dogs. To us, this is a bonus. To someone with allergies… maybe not the best place to go. But the rooms were very clean and I didn’t see any pet hair around.
We drove to Woodstock and had dinner (that didn’t turn out so well) and then back to our room. The next morning, we had a delicious and freshly cooked breakfast. The coffee was good, the assorted fruit and breads were good and they made scrambled eggs and sausage. It wasn’t exactly the English breakfast we expected but delicious enough to make me happy.
We got a tour of all the rooms. I was impressed with the detail in each room. The owner Rose makes tapestries and sells them at the Bristol Renaissance Fair. So each room has hand made bed spreads, rugs, and tapestries.
If you stay in the other rooms, you still can use the whirlpool tub in the hallway bathroom. My boyfriend liked the King Arthur room and wants to stay there next time.
Overall a great experience and not overpriced. I would definitely come back to the castle and maybe spend some time in the garden areas outside!

Got stuck in Harvard last night during a snow/​ice storm, found this adorable B&B through google, and were lucky enough that they weren’t booked full for us to get in so last minute! Especially since this turned out to be the same weekend as their Christmas Art Fair!
The owners, Rose and Jose, were very gracious, especially considering our late check-​in. The rooms are all themed, and we opted for the Egyptian Room, which is a jacuzzi suite.
When we arrived at the castle, you enter in the sun room, which was full of arts and crafts for this weekend’s fair. It smells like antiques, which I love, so I immediately felt at home. Went up a small ramp to the kitchen, which is a modern kitchen with old world charm, including copper pots and things hanging above the sink.
Rose helped us with our bags up the large staircase to our room. It was SO CUTE, reminded me of The Luxor in Vegas. The queen size bed had a firm mattress with soft pillows, and the jacuzzi tub was perfect for my sore back. The attention to detail in the room was amazing. There was no tv in the room and no wi-​fi, but we were so relaxed and tired, we didn’t need it. In the morning, we did discover the sitting room Rose had mentioned, around the corner from our room, which did have a small tv and dvd player.
For breakfast, we had strawberry yogurt, apple strudel, and scrambled eggs with orange juice. We were also offered fresh fruit, raisin toast, english muffins, coffee and tea.
Before leaving, we also found the sun room had a little shop where they were holding the craft fair, with fudge! Lots of different flavors of fudge! I got Irish Cream Fudge and my bf got Pumpkin Fudge, both sooo good.
If we ever need to stay the night in Harvard again, we’ll be staying at the Castle!
FYI if you have pet allergies, this may not be the B&B for you. There’s an older dog who’s kept seperate, and there are two friendly kitties who roam free.

This is truly a unique location and a great place to experience. The rooms are well appointed and feature custom fabrics and draperies with big, plush beds. Attention to detail is everywhere with the antiques and tapestries– all are just breath taking.
We rented the entire castle for our wedding and could not have been happier. We reserved rooms for our parents to stay over the weekend as well. What a joy it was to hear them rave about the accommodations and their generous hosts, Rose and Jose.
If you are looking for a quiet get-​away not too far from home, look no further. It’s beautiful, luxurious and so unique!