May family stayed in the Castle Inn in December, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I was a little nervous about making reservations after some of the reviews, but I am so glad I took a chance. We stayed in room 211, and I couldn't have been more pleased. My 5-year-old felt like a princess staying in a castle. The hallways are painted to look like castle walls, and the rooms themselves are very elegant. We had two full-sized beds, good for our family of 4. The bathroom was lovely, and the room was very clean. I am very particular about cleanliness in hotel rooms (I wipe down all handles, remotes, lightswitches), but I could relax in this room with my toddler touching everything.
You need a code to open the door to the upstairs hallway, and this made me feel very safe.
The location is perfect. Instead of letting my children use the public restrooms, I could easily take them back to our room. My toddler was ready for bed long before we were, but we didn't have to miss out on the fun. My hubby & daughter went back out to window shop, while I enjoyed hot chocolate on the balcony and took in all the lights, sights, & smells. It was not very noisy and I kept my balcony door open halfway to watch my sleeping toddler. I enjoyed hearing the live soft 80's rock coming from somewhere below( possibly the Troll Tavern?) I could see the river as well as the shops.
Parking was no problem, either. I was treated very well at check-in and was allowed to go up to my room before 1p.m. My room had been used the night before, and I know they must have made it a priority to clean my room first. These are all non-smoking rooms, which is a plus for me.
The stairs were steep, but that was to be expected. There is a room on the corner that includes the castle's turret and has a fantastic view of the river , and I hope that room is available when I stay in Helen again! We come to Helen yearly, and we have definitely found our favorite hotel!

Booked room in October, just finished my stay (12/26-12/29). First off, I was not told I would be charged for the entire stay in advance (found out on my November CC statement) and was not told that there would be an extra $10.00 per day charge for my 9 year old son (which they charged me for at check-in). With that being said, I must say that I enjoyed my stay at the Castle Inn very much. I stayed in the suite (one bedroom with full kitchen, living room and private balcony) and it was beautiful. Nice colors, comfy furniture, more like an apartment than hotel room. I had to purchase my own paper towels (there were none) and extra toilet paper (bathroom only had one roll in it), which was not so bad but would have been nice if it were better stocked. The rental agency is located down the street, so there is no one at the hotel to ask for things. The fireplace that looked SO nice on the website had a big sign on it when we got there that said "Do NOT Use the Fireplace". I was pretty bummed about that as I had dreamed of sitting by the fire during my winter stay. Oh well. Be prepared to keep your car in the parking lot if you are lucky enough to find a space! If you move it, you may lose it!! There were lots of people parked illegally in the Castle Inn guests only spots, so be aware of that. Also, there is a two story climb up to the rooms from the parking lot (only one story to climb if you enter through the front entrance). Not the easiest thing to do when you are lugging bags and suitcases up and down to your room. There is music playing at night either downstairs at the Troll restaurant or across the street at Paul's Steakhouse, so if you are a light sleeper, this may be a problem for you. There is also a $5.00 key deposit (when are these older places going to stop doing that already??). The view from our suite was fantastic! Overlooking the river on one side and the downtown/main st. on the other side. Mountain views from balcony were amazing and watching the fog roll in over them last night was gorgeous!! The Troll Inn food was good, but overpriced. If you are interested, I have a written a review about them as well. Over all, my stay was very nice and I would definitely consider staying there again for future visits. Just make sure when you call to have them give you the TOTAL of your stay (in writing) so there are no suprises, like I had, and be sure to ask them how and when your card will be charged. I will be adding some pictures and links to video of Helen and the hotel, so check back soon. Just wanted to get my review in ASAP as to not forget anything.

My husband and I just got back from Helen and we stayed at the Castle Inn. Let me start by saying that the hotel is not correctly represented on their website. When we arrived at the offsite location to check in they didn't have our reservation correct. They had my name and the price of the room wrong. When I called to make the reservation I confirmed the rate and ask if the pictures on the website of the decor was current. I was assured they were. The staff pretty much called me an outright liar and told us that because it was the last weekend of octoberfest that we were going to be charged a much higher rate. ( I checked their website today and they have removed the rates) The staff then told us that we could turn down the reservation but it was up to us. We ended up staying because it was late in the afternoon and we had just drove 3 plus hours to be there. When we got to the room it was not decorated as pictured as. We were kept up all night by the Troll Traven customers and employees. The tavern was underneath our balcony. We could also here everything that went on in the hallway and ajoining rooms. Parking was a huge problem. We had to park in the parking lot with 14 spaces and like the other reviewer we were told if the lot was full we could park in one of the pay lots next door. However there was a space available in the small lot but it was literally in the front terrace entrance of the traven. Long story short I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. For this to be a small family owned business they don't care if their customers are staisfied. I always thought that was the first rule of business.

I had to cancel my reservation with several weeks notice, and got charged $35 for cancelling. Frankly, that is shocking enough to me to figure I'd best drop a note and warn folks.