Castle vs Palace
Two ways to run a company offsite, side by side — group size, budget, where each concentrates, and the estates worth booking.
Plan a RetreatCastle
Heritage grandeur — turrets, great halls, and a sense of occasion.
- Venues
- 21 exclusive-buyout estates
- Typical group
- 2–450 guests
- Indicative budget
- $500–$950 pp/night
- Concentrated in
- British Isles · Mediterranean Europe · Northeastern United States
- Best for
- leadership, celebration, strategy
Palace
Heritage palace hotels — ceremony, service, and old-world scale.
- Venues
- 14 exclusive-buyout estates
- Typical group
- 20–600 guests
- Indicative budget
- $425–$1,025 pp/night
- Concentrated in
- South & East Asia · Mediterranean Europe · Africa & Middle East
- Best for
- celebration, leadership, strategy
Dromoland Castle
A 16th-century baronial castle on a 450-acre estate with a walled garden, championship golf and a purpose-built Brian Ború Hall that swallows a 450-person conference under 30-foot ceilings. The mix of state rooms for board-level sessions and a full estate for team activity is why companies take it whole.
OHEKA CASTLE Hotel & Estate
Adare Manor
A neo-Gothic manor on an 840-acre estate whose golf course hosts the 2027 Ryder Cup, paired with a 499-square-metre Grand Ballroom seating 350. It runs board sessions in the oak-panelled library and awards nights in the ballroom without the group ever leaving the grounds.
Taj Falaknuma Palace
The former Nizam of Hyderabad's palace on a hill above the city, with a 101-seat state dining hall, a Durbar Hall and gardens that host events from 60 to 1,800. Guests arrive by horse-drawn carriage into one of India's grandest heritage settings.
Umaid Bhawan Palace (Taj)
One of the world's largest private residences, still partly home to the Jodhpur royal family, with a 64-key Taj wing set in 26 acres of formal gardens above the blue city. The plenary moves between the Majestic Banquet Hall (400) and the floodlit Palace Grounds (up to 1,200), and a full evening can be staged as a royal durbar with the Mehrangarh Fort lit on the skyline. Cultural immersion here is genuine, not themed.
Jai Mahal Palace
A restored early-20th-century palace on 18 acres of Mughal gardens in the heart of Jaipur, with about 100 rooms, seven meeting venues and lawns that stage evening functions for up to 2,000. Room for a full company kickoff with a genuine Rajasthani celebration built in.