It is a beautiful castle after it is put together...but shame on Mattel for terrible, blurry, vague instructions! The canopy/footboard fall down everytime. The Kelly bed keeps breaking off! My 4 year old gets angry bc everything falls over! Mattel could have done much, much better! Not a great toy.

I really wanted to give this castle 5 stars, but it just isn't made very well.

My 5 year old daughter received this castle from Santa. We have a small house, and I liked that the castle had an eating area, vanity, Barbie canopy bed, small bed and bathtub, yet still closes up compactly. It took a LOT of time to set up on Christmas eve. There are a bunch of pieces and stickers to put in place. 4 of us worked on it for about 2 hours. We finally figured everything out, but I didn't think that the instructions were very clear. In fact, there was one hiding place (the clock) that we never figured out how to open.

Christmas morning, my daughter was ecstatic! She is very into Barbies and princess, and she had a grand time with the castle. Of course, in short order, SHE discovered how to find the hiding place in the clock! I guess that's why this is marketed to little girls.

She has been playing with the castle steadily (but not roughly) for 4 months now, and it just isn't holding up. The little Kelly bed has broken off, and the canopy/footboard has broken. I was able to glue the canopy/footboard so that it is still usable, but the Kelly bed is now a stand-alone item.

My daughter would rate this castle highly, because she loves playing with it. Her Barbies and "dollhouse friends" (Little People sized dolls) all live in the castle, and really, how could a princess-girl resist it? But I have to rate it a little bit lower, since I expected it to hold up better.

Bottom line - It's a pretty neat castle for $35, but it doesn't give you value in the long run.

I bought this smaller castle for my 4 year old daughter for Christmas after looking at the $100 castle. I am glad I did not spend the money on the large one. This is the perfect size to tote around from room to room and fits neatly on a shelf or corner. My daughter played with it for about 2 hrs straight one night before bedtime. She makes up a whole story with her barbies and other dolls can join in too.
The down side of the castle is that the chairs don't fit inside and in true barbie fashion there are a bunch of very tiny pieces that can get lost easily. We have been keeping these tiny things in a zip lock along with the chairs in one of her barbie boxes. Overall, this is a cool toy. I am enjoying the fact that she's at an age where it doesn't take very expensive toys to entertain her.

I checked out a few of the Barbie castles and homes, and thought for the money, this one looked cute. Many of the other ones are $90 and up! I figured for a 4 y/o who recently started playing with Barbies, I'd start out smaller and see how she likes it rather than spending so much on a huge castle or house.

I'd have to say, it was a good decision. It folds up so nicely, and provides just as much enjoyment for her. From what I can tell, the bigger sets are just that, bigger, but not much more to them and way too much money.

We are into princesses here, so this is just perfect. Enough space for a few Barbies, and 2 girls (or mom and daughter) to sit and play!

This is a very cute item...it's probably not as cute as the bigger castles, but if you're short on space this is a winner. My daughters love the little hiding places, and the detailing is excellent. I like the fact that there are features included for the Kelly dolls also, like a bed that folds up into a seat for Kelly. There's enough little accessories included to keep any little girl happy, and the "dance floor" is fun. You can also use the Kelly dolls on the twirling dance floor. The dining table also becomes a full-length mirror so a princess can admire her gowns. Ths only negatives we've found so far are that the canopy for the bed does fall sometimes, but not every time, and you can't put all the pieces inside the castle when it's folded. It is nice to have a castle that can fit on a shelf though, and the toy is well worth the price.