My stay at Ireland's first whiskey hotel
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Score 7/10A former coaching inn built in 1848, the hotel was at one point inherited by Winston Churchill — a fact to which framed 1922 deeds in the bar attest. Run by the O'Neill family from 1947 until last summer, when it changed hands, it has just completed an extensive £1.6 million restoration and offers 35 rooms, including three suites. Think homely but smart comfort with deep carpets, floral quilts and headboards on comfy beds, work by local artists and striped armchairs. Bathrooms glisten with brushed gold showers and toiletries by the upmarket Sligo-based brand, Voya. Rooms in the front have harbourside views, while those at the back look out onto the hills.
Score 8/10While the spacious lounge is snug with sofas and a roaring fire, the characterful adjoining Wee Bar is filled with books, framed old whiskey posters and vintage Guinness signs. In the booth-lined Coach House restaurant, the hearty menu balances rustic dishes with thoughtful touches. Whiskey is naturally a key ingredient in starters, mains and desserts: pears poached in the stuff are balanced with crumbly goat's cheese and bitter leaves, while a moreish Irish coffee cheesecake is soaked in Outwalker. An impressive slow-cooked beef shoulder, meanwhile, is braised in Guinness, and breakfast majors on locally cured bacon and golden-yolked Ballygarvey eggs. Service is chatty and relaxed.
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Score 8/10The Wee Bar hosts free trad music sessions on Fridays and contemporary local musicians on Saturdays. Throughout the hotel whiskey takes centre stage, with a stylish library and shop selling bottles, T-shirts, gift sets, tasting glasses, gilets and even seaweed bath detoxifiers. Co-owner McNally is a master distiller, a whiskey flight is a must, overseen by an expert who talks you through four distinct styles at one seating, sampling 15ml each. The hotel also hosts regular whiskey-themed events, including the Carnlough Whiskey Festival (August 20-23).
• Read our full guide to Ireland
Score 9/10Carnlough, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Antrim coast, has a harbour made for lingering — with fishing boats, lobster pots and chalk steps made famous by the TV series Game of Thrones. It's a 45-minute-drive from Belfast International airport (or a 50-minute bus ride from Ballymena, the nearest train station). Glenarm Castle, with its flower-filled walled gardens, cafés and craft boutiques, is three miles away. For an artisan coffee or brunch try Carnlough harbourside's Twilight Coffee & Bunkhouse, before making the atmospheric 20-minute walk up to Cranny Falls, a spectacular local waterfall.
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Price B&B doubles from £165Restaurant mains from £17 Family-friendly YAccessible NDog-friendly Y
Stephen Emms was a guest of the Harbourview Hotel (theharbourviewhotel.com)
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