to specify on the environments in lords, they were more ancient and mystic. a dusk forest with dead trees wouldn't hurt. even a normal forest in the night, dark and vibrant colors contrasting. web in trees, no goblins.
Yes, LoS had that more "ancient" Feel to it. Dark, creepy, spooky, maybe even more gothic themes would be nice. More night. I know people say, "But some earlier castlevanias had day stages", but to tell you the truth, even back then, I can honestly say was wasn't a fan of THOSE either, so it's not LoS bias. I dislike mostly ALL the daytime areas in ALL CV games. I think the night stages benefit the series far more than the say stages. Dark night, cloudy or clear, full moon looming in the sky, rain or wind, stars or not, sound of bats, wolves and night insects from all around. I love that.