Charming Canadian Castles

Toronto, Canada, is home to Casa Loma. The structure was built in 1911 by Sir Henry Pellatt in the Gothic Revival style. The castle has 98 rooms, 30 bathrooms, an electric elevator, a dining room that seats 100, three bowling alleys, a rifle range, soaring towers, winding secret passageways, an 800-foot tunnel for horses, and five acres of gardens. Pellatt’s financial problems during WWI left the castle in disrepair, and it was taken over by the Toronto City Council. Today it has become a major Canadian tourist attraction.

Craigdarroch Castle is located in Victoria, British Columbia, and was built as the home of the richest man in the 19th century. The eccentric coal baron created a castle with 39 rooms, 17 fireplaces, and four floors with stained glass windows and Victorian-era furnishings. Today visitors to the castle say that they can hear whispers and piano music echoing down the empty hallways. It appears the coal baron has not left his home even after death.

Digby Pines is located in Digby, Nova Scotia. It opened in 1905 and served as quarters for army officers during WWI. After the war it was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway and rebuilt in the Norman Chateau style. Today it is a hotel with an 18-hole golf course. There is a landscaped outdoor heated pool. Views include the lovely Annapolis Basin and Digby Gut, a channel connecting to the Bay of Fundy.

Dundurn Castle is located in Hamilton, which is a port city in Ontario, Canada. The Italianate-style castle was built in 1835 for Sir Allan Napier McNab. Today visitors can get guided tours with guides dressed in period costumes to show what it was like to live the elite life in the 1850s.

Hatley Castle is located in Colwood, British Columbia. The castle sits on Vancouver Island . It was built in 1908 for James and Laura Dunsmuir in the tradition of British and European private estates. The baronial-style mansion includes 82-foot-high turrets and 42 rooms with oak and rosewood paneling, teak floors, and a baronial fireplace. Surrounding the castle are gardens, old-growth forests, lagoons, and nature trails.

The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel has been renovated and rebuilt but was originally a wooden structure built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The rebuilt hotel was inspired by Scottish Baronial architecture and has been nicknamed the “Castle of the Rockies.” The hotel offers 757 rooms. Guests have incredible views of the Canadian Rockies.

Not only will you enjoy your stay, but you can meet some ghostly spirits as well. There have been ghostly sightings of a bride who fell down the marble staircase in the hotel and a retired head bellman named Sam McAuley; this spirit comes dressed in full uniform.

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is located in Banff National Park in Alberta. Lush forests and tall mountains surround the castle. It sits on the edge of glacial Lake Louise, which freezes in winter and is popular for skating. Originally the structure was a log cabin hotel built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was rebuilt in 1890 and underwent expansion in 1929. Today it is a hotel that offers 539 rooms or suites with views of Lake Louise, the Victoria Glacier, and Fairview Peak. Visitors have access to hiking trails and ski hills.

The Fairmont Chateau Laurier sits by the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River. It is known as Canada’s “Third Parliament.” The castle was commissioned by business tycoon Charles Melville Hays. It is designed in the French Gothic style to complement the nearby Parliament buildings. This luxurious hotel has 426 guest rooms. Leadership conventions have been held in the ballroom.

Unfortunately, Charles Melville Hays lost his life aboard the Titanic days before the grand opening of the hotel in 1912. Guess who came home anyway and still roams the hotel?

Stone Hall Castle is nearly 100 years old and looks like a medieval European structure. It is located in Regina, the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The castle was built in 1926 by Francis Nicholson Darke as a safe place for his wife, Annie, to dwell since she was afraid of cyclones. Stone Hall is built of stone and even has a bomb shelter in the basement.

The interior of the castle has undergone a medieval renovation and includes furnishings, tapestries, and Old Masters oil paintings from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Guided tours are available.

Wesley Hall is the oldest educational facility in Winnipeg. The castle-like structure was completed in 1895 and was home to the classrooms, offices, and dormitories of Wesley College. The college is a theological institute associated with the Methodist Church and the University of Manitoba. This historic building is now part of the University of Winnipeg campus and functions as the school’s convocation hall, a venue for academic and social functions. Wesley Hall stands out from modern buildings with its broad entrance arch, stonework, and prominent tower. Visitors can tour the Richardson Romanesque-style hall on a Winnipeg Architecture Foundation tour.