Updated July 4, 2024
If you (or your child) is a fan of folklore or JRR Tolkien… or just fun things that are different, they’re going to LOSE THEIR MIND over this amazing rental from the good people at Good Knights. (My kids certainly did!)
A hill house five years in the making, The Burrow is the crown jewel of Good Knights’ new area, “The Hideaway”, which also features three Romani wagon (Vardos) inspired caravans.
The kids and I were able to spend a night there as they finished school for summer 2024, and can do nothing but sing it’s praises! The attention to detail is astounding, the hosts are incredibly friendly, and the activities feel spectacularly never ending!
Disclosure: Our visit was a hosted stay. All opinions in this post are our own.
About Good Knights Medieval Encampment
Good Knights has been running a fantastic medieval glamping experience at their Three Hills location called The Encampment for nearly a decade. The medieval camping includes an immersive medieval experience (without the filth and disease) including costumes and activities such as sword fight demonstrations, archery, and medieval craft workshops.
There is a public Royal Feast on the 3rd Sunday of the month during the summer, and Noble Feasts every Saturday for overnight guests. Guests staying in The Burrow can purchase tickets to either feast but it isn’t included.
Where is Three Hills?
If you’re not familiar with the Three Hills area, it’s located 1.25 hours from Calgary airport, 3 hours from Edmonton, 40 minutes from Drumheller, or 2 hours from Banff. Good Knights is 10 km south of Three Hills just off Highway 21 along Township Road 310.
A Tour of The Burrow
Good Knights has some great video and a 360 degree tour of the Burrow on their website, but I’ll walk you through our experience. I’m not sure I can truly express how absolutely mind-blowingly awesome it is, but I’ll try!
The Burrow is a fully contained, 5-room, ~650 square foot underground residence. Built to code with electricity, hot running water, and in-floor heating the space is SO cozy. The attention to detail is obvious in every little nook and cranny.
After arriving at Good Knights, we parked outside the gates and walk past the guard towers. In the distance you can just see The Burrow, past the brightly coloured caravans. Let the excitement commence!
The Burrow Exterior
Attention to detail starts before you even enter the yard! On the gate hangs a sign reading “no admittance except on party business” in a classically Tolkien font. My kids haven’t read Lord of the Rings yet, but I enjoyed the reference immensely (and going back through my photos it’s even more evident – it was one of my most photographed features!).
By this point both kids were bouncing with excitement, and, I’ll admit, I was in quite a bit of awe, too!
The bright blue round door beckons you into the yard more than Frodo’s green door. Speaking of the yard, it is filled with amenities that you are welcome to move around to suit your mood:
- Hammock
- Wood and propane fire pits (so you can still have a fire during a fire ban)
- Barbecue
- Lots of seating & tables (second breakfast, anyone?)
The crowning feature of the exterior is the newly installed private cedar hot tub! They were just finishing up the pathway from The Burrow’s fenced in yard to the stairs while we were visiting.
Don’t forget to pack your swimsuit!
Central Hall of The Burrow
Enter through my favourite feature (I think I’ll be saying that a lot!), the bright blue round door, and step into another world.
Inside, there are Good Knights capes and a staff for everyone in your party to use. They are so warm and drape beautifully. You feel like you could be Frodo or Bilbo about to head off on a adventure.
Before going further, can we take a moment to admire the arched ceilings that you won’t be Gandalf-head-bumping?
There’s a bench between the kitchen and living room for you to put anything you need on (or in – it’s empty for you to use, just don’t forget things in it!). Numerous hooks line the walls, so don’t worry about having somewhere to hang your coat, hat, and period costume accessories!
Across the room is an expandable table (it will seat six if needed) with some local information on it, and details about The Burrow, Good Knights, and The Encampment.
Be sure to sign the guest book before you leave and see if you can find my note!
In another incredible nod to detail, the back of the room has a mural to make you think the space continues further into the hill (sadly, it doesn’t). The illusion of extra space is incredibly well done.
If you have enough people in your party you decide to pull out the cot, placing it next to the mural is the ideal location.
The Burrow’s Living Room and Second Bedroom
Next to the front door is the living room. There are two cozy arm chairs, a delightful stack of Tolkien-inspired throw blankets, and electric fireplace.
Be sure to take some time to investigate the bookshelf. It’s filled with Tolkien, bird books, classic novels, and board games. We really enjoyed playing a round of Clue, but I’d love to try more of the games once my youngest is a bit of a better sport!
I love how the sunlight fills the room all day. The space makes you want to curl up with a good book (we read The Hobbit while visiting!).
Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to explore all the rooms to discover all the little easter eggs – like the One Ring on the frame over the mantle.
When it comes time for bed you can either push the coffee table to the side (what we did) or move it into the hall (I’d recommend this if you have two people sleeping in the bed).
The dark cabinet under the window hides a fold-out queen bed and bedding. The mattress is about 6-inch thick memory foam and very comfortable. The only thing you’re sacrificing with this space is having a curtain door instead of one that latches shut.
The Burrow Bedroom
Across the hall from the living room is the bedroom with the beautiful double doors that fit perfectly into the round opening.
While giving us a tour of the space Lord Daniel shared that most of the furniture was sourced locally, primarily through antique stores as they were able to locate items that fit the theme. This bed frame was perfect (and the mattress is super comfy, too)!
Compared to the other rooms, the bedroom feels sparse, but gets the extra cozy thanks to the fabric covering the ceiling.
There are still lots of little details to find in the room. Be sure to explore the boxes in this room (and throughout The Burrow – there are six in total) to find all the treasure! And I adored hooks by the door (not pictured).
The Burrow Kitchen
Meals aren’t included in your stay at The Burrow, but they don’t need to be! Located next to the living room, the quaint little kitchen has just about everything you need (except the food itself).
The adorable little table has a leaf folded down against the wall. You just need to pull it out to easily seat 3 or 4 in the kitchen.
The stove itself doesn’t function, but there is a single induction element on top, and a toaster oven inside the oven. Remember to leave the oven door open if you’re using it!
I have an induction stove at home and was so happy to have access to it here. There’s nothing like bringing a large pot of water to a boil faster than the kettle could manage!
There’s a kettle on top of the stove, and a Kurig tucked behind it. There are a couple options for coffee, and a wide selection of tea (the white drawers in this photo are full of tea bags!).
The property is on well water. While it’s safe to drink, it’s pretty salty (perfect for making pasta in!), so there is a reverse osmosis tap at the sink you can use for drinking water. Make sure you use it when making coffee or tea so the well water doesn’t ruin the machines!
There are plenty of dishes available for you to use during your stay, but Good Knights does ask that you wash anything you use.
The plastic wine glasses in the basket are intended for use in the hot tub. And the outlet just beside that has USB ports so you can charge your devices. They really have thought of everything!
On the counter you’ll find cutlery, sugar, salt and pepper, and oil and vinegar.
Under the counter is a cutting board, microwave, toaster oven, and some refills for consumables. The small bar fridge is next to this.
I was really happy with the kitchen as both a cooking and work space. Once the kids were in bed I was able to sit in the kitchen with the light on and not worry about disturbing either of them.
The Burrow Bathroom
The barrier free bathroom is gorgeous. We were all enchanted by the colourful sink!
The closet here is for storage (it isn’t a sauna; head outside for the hot tub!). The single bed can be found here, as well as the tankless hot water system.
The shower curtain was a special surprise for my kids. Between it and the blanket they had so much fun discovering the maps of Middle Earth!
The bathroom has a pocket door. The kids were fascinated by it, and it brought back memories of the pocket door my grandmother had to her kitchen, and how much all the grandkids loved playing with it.
Things to Do at Good Knights
We spent 21 hours at Good Knights and I didn’t hear “I’m bored” once! The kids spent a bunch of time exploring inside and outside our little home for the night before starting to explore outside.
All of these activities are included in your stay. Talk about adding value!
Tip: Stay longer than we did. At least two nights. There’s so much to do included in your stay one night just isn’t enough!
Walking Trails
There are two designated walking trails at Good Knights.
There is a path starting beside The Burrow that takes you up to the top of the hill where you can look down over the entire property, and beyond to fields of cattle grazing.
The second, and the kids’ favourite, is the slightly overgrown forest trail, located behind the tents in The Encampment. The short path feels magical – like you’ll discover fairies playing around the next bend.
Archery Lessons
With a wide range of bows available (all the way up to a 120 pound draw weight they were recently gifted!) there is a bow for everyone from age 3 and up.
We were all beginners and spent an hour learning safety and basic technique. There were bows for both my little lefties to shoot, which meant no taking turns (which is sometimes the case when you have two left-handed kids)!
You are shooting towards a hill and will get your steps in as you go to retrieve your arrows.
Medieval Dress Up at Good Knights
There are over 500 costumes for women, a similar count for men, and a wide range for boys and girls in the costume closets (yes, plural!) at Good Knights. If you have a specific costume in mind they probably have something!
You are welcome to explore all costumes to find what you will be most comfortable in – a dress, knight’s armour, elfin cloak, fairy wings and more!
The kids had so much fun dressing up and running around in their costumes. My daughter refused to take her dress off until the very last minute before we had to leave!
Leather Craft Lessons
The activities never end! After practising on a scrap we got to make a stamped leather bookmark and bracelet while visiting with Sir Daniel in the Noble Feast dining hall.
These crafts have already become the kids favourite bookmarks for their summer reading!
Even More at Good Knights
Accommodation Options
While The Burrow is the only building available to stay in at Good Knights, there are plenty of camping options.
From the giant eight-person double-master “Tudor” tent to the “Khan” yurt (imported from Mongolia), three Caravans, and all the other tents in the Encampment there is something for everyone here.
Feasts
Every Saturday night Good Knights hosts a 4-course Noble Feast for guests staying the weekend. A friend of my husband’s stayed two days after us and was incredibly impressed.
His words: “The Feast was awesome! It was really well done.”
If you aren’t able to stay for the weekend, there is a monthly 5-course Royal Feast on the third Sunday during the summer season that is open to the public. My kids are begging to go.
Travel tip: Plan to attend the Royal Feast on the third Sunday of the month and Rowley Pizza Night on the last Saturday of the month to book-end a week long trip to Drumheller.
The Hosts
Lord Daniel, Lady Linda, Dame Shannon, and the rest of the team at Good Knights are the perfect hosts. They are always ready to help you out, share a story, and teach a skill, but also give you plenty of space to do your own thing, explore, and relax.
Accessibility
For those of us with able bodies the accessibility of a place isn’t something we take note of unless it’s obvious. Good Knights has done such a good job at making their space accessible I needed it pointed out (and it’s something I try to watch for so I can share with all of you)!
If you require accessible accommodations I encourage you to reach out to Good Knights. They have experience working with a range of limitations and are familiar with many of the concerns of differently-abled guests.
Good Knights – a must visit
Be sure to follow Good Knights on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to see more of the property and learn about upcoming events and deals!
For more details about booking The Burrow, a Caravan, or Tent at Good Knights, visit www.GoodKnights.ca. Check TripAdvisor to see what others have to say.
Looking for More?
Be sure to check out these other accommodation options in Alberta!
- Top Hotels in Drumheller with Waterslides – extend your stay in the region with these Drumheller hotels
- Charmed Resorts – Stay in a fairytale-inspired cabin in Crowsnest Pass
- Pomeroy Kananaskis Lodge – Alberta’s only mountain accommodations with a waterpark
- Rent An Alberta Ice Fishing Shack – make the most of winter with an ice fishing adventure
- Best Hotel Pools Across Alberta That Kids Will Love – Don’t see your destination above? Check out this list of the most amazing hotel pools in the province!
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