Glenapp Castle, formerly the family seat of the Earl of Inchcape, is now a luxury hotel and restaurant located about 2.5 kilometres southeast of Ballantrae, South Ayrshire. The castle was built for the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County, James Hunter. It has no older origin. Designed by the famous Scottish architect David Bryce the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire at the time, the Castle was finished in 1870. It is a noteworthy example of the Scottish Baronial style of architecture The Inchcape family owned the castle from 1917 until the early 1980s. Pioneering aviator Elsie Mackay, daughter of the first Earl of Inchcape, lived at the castle until her untimely death in 1928 in an attempt to fly the Atlantic in a single engined Stinson Detroiter. The Castle opened as a hotel in 2000.
References:The Gravensteen is a castle in Ghent originating from the Middle Ages. The name means 'castle of the counts' in Dutch. Arnulf I (918–965), Count of Flanders, was the first to fortify this place, building a medieval bastion on this high sand dune, naturally protected by the river Leie and its marshy banks. This bastion consisted of a central wooden building and several surrounding buildings, also in wood.
In the early 11th century, the wooden building was replaced by a stone residence, consisting of three large halls that made up three storeys, connected by a stone stairwell. The monumental stone staircase, the light openings, the fireplaces built into the walls and the latrines were signs of considerable luxury and comfort in those days. There was probably also a tower.