Slieve Donard in Times’ best seaside venues list

Two venues in Northern Ireland have been named among the top coastal places to stay in UK.

The Slieve Donard in Newcastle and Co Antrim guesthouse Antique House were both listed in The Times’ 25 best hotels by the British seaside list.

Luxury Resort and Spa Slieve Donard, which was bought by American firm AJ Capital in March for around £40 million, was No20 on the list with Antique House B&B in Portrush at 21.

Speaking about the Slieve Donard, The Times said: “This red-brick pile in the Scottish-baronial style offers a ringside seat for one of the world’s most prestigious and prettiest links golf courses.

“The 36 holes at the Royal County Down Golf Club are so good they turn Tiger, Rory et al misty-eyed. Fortunately, the hotel has a pampering spa for those who consider golf a good walk spoiled.

“There’s no dispute over the town’s beach, thankfully — the ribbon of golden sand here is a beauty, overlooking the moody Dundrum Bay and framed by the Mourne Mountains, which inspired the soulful song that took their name.”

And the Antique House B&B, above, earned high praise for its “stylish rooms and French-toast breakfasts that will set you up for long days of exploration”.

It added: “Portrush is a magnet for fashionable weekenders from Belfast looking for a buzzy café scene that slides into memorable dinners and late-night drinks.

“Equally appealing are the town’s trio of beaches — wave to the resident pod of porpoises from pretty West Bay or stroll on the creamy 1.5-mile lick of icing-sugar-fine sands at East Strand; the latter merges into Whiterocks, where surfer dudes strut their stuff.

“You can also strike out along the breathtaking Giant’s Causeway and take side trips to photogenic villages such as Bushmills.”