True royalty is not born of bloodlines, but of unwavering devotion and a love that makes your bond feel like an unbreakable fortress. If your partner carries themselves with a noble grace, an extraordinary proposal setting may be in order.

Welcome to your definitive guide on how to orchestrate an engagement inside the castle sanctuary of the Hazelnut Inn’s Copper Crown Suite.

The Sanctuary of Sovereigns

Step through the castle gate and leave the world behind. Draw the curtains and pour your favourite drinks into ornate goblets. Take a seat together, under the glow of the grand chandelier, like two sovereigns finally escaping the demands of their court to focus entirely on each other.

The Coronation Ritual

Once the atmosphere is set, transition to an unforgettable declaration of your love. Well before your trip, source a delicate, customized velvet or filigree crown to bring with you. While your partner is distracted — perhaps admiring the stone arches and rich tapestries, or watching the fish glide through the moat — quietly retrieve it.

Step up behind them and place the crown gently upon their head. As they turn to look at you, tell them that while earthly kingdoms fall and empires fade, they will always hold absolute dominion over your heart. Speak directly from your soul and present the ring, asking them to rule by your side forever.

Long after you leave the Hazelnut Inn, the memory of this night will remain etched into your shared history. Within these stone walls, you will have established a kingdom built to last a lifetime.

Step into the Copper Crown and begin your reign together.

The Under Hill Suite at the Hazelnut Inn was built beneath the roots of a tree. Its design brings together references to Tolkien’s Third Age and the gentle, watercolour world of Beatrix Potter’s English countryside.

The journey begins in a secluded courtyard. Pass through a handcrafted moon gate into a garden with a waterfall, then approach the suite’s heavy, arched entry doors. Carved into the lintel above it is a phonetic inscription declaring that this particular hole in the ground is pure comfort.

Inside, hand-painted wallpaper, warm Tiffany lamps, and bespoke ironwork give the suite a distinctly pastoral character. Above, a large root system twists across the ceiling, making the tree itself part of the room. A king-size bed rests in a recessed alcove, while a large soaking tub for two provides a place to settle in and slow down. Modern conveniences are deliberately kept out of sight, preserving the sense of stepping into an older world.

The moon gate, the garden, the carved inscription, the ceiling shaped by tree roots, and an interior that brings together two very different literary and visual traditions make the Under Hill Suite unusually specific.

It is a hole in the ground—but definitely not an ordinary one.

Some places are built, while others are dreamed into existence. When we first began shaping the Hazelnut Inn, architecture and story often found themselves occupying the same space. The North Star Suite — with its deep colours, private corners, and a ceiling that opens onto a sky of its own — was influenced by many of the fantasy worlds I’ve explored through the years.

I’ve always loved reading, and I’m particularly fond of Naomi Novik’s work. Her fierce, deeply empathetic characters and richly imagined worlds have stayed with me long after the final page.

If you are packing your bags for a stay beneath our stars, here are two of her books I’d recommend for the North Star Suite.

A Deadly Education

The North Star Suite, with its midnight tones and quiet private spaces, has a certain darkness that makes Novik’s A Deadly Education an easy companion.

The novel takes place in the Scholomance, a school that is actively trying to eat its students. Its enclosed, perilous world offers an interesting contrast to the quiet of the North Star. The room provides the sanctuary; the book provides the danger.

His Majesty’s Dragon

For something altogether different, I’d consider His Majesty’s Dragon.

The story trades the claustrophobic danger of the Scholomance for historical adventure and open skies. Captain Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, feel like they belong beneath the suite’s sweeping celestial ceiling.

Perhaps the best books to bring with you are the ones that make the room around you feel a little different by the time you reach the final page.