Set in spacious grounds just outside Ballycastle, with sea views across the town, this four-star eco hotel opened in 2019 and, since then, owner Denis McHenry has continued to develop it to create a unique eco-destination with wide appeal.
The hotel's exceptional eco credentials include a wind turbine, solar panels and heat exchange units that provide power and heating water, while systems are designed to minimise energy consumption and a borehole provides bottled water - all of which make for a very comfortable stay as well as a carbon-negative contribution to the environment.
Unusually, bedroom radiators are individually controlled, and LED lighting everywhere has motion sensors and controls. CO2 sensors monitor the quality of the air. And hotel staff can monitor the entire building’s energy efficiency through a centralised dashboard. Eco lodges are surrounded by woodland trees and are off-grid – they use renewable energy form the hotel’s wind and solar supply. These are an attractive alternative to the scandi-chic rooms in the hotel.
The outdoor sauna and hot tubs are probably the spa’s main attractions. Guests can relax while taking in the beauty of the local scenery and the magnificent views across to Rathlin Island.
You might also like to try a seaweed bath – these have been used for generations for the care and repair of the skin.In 2022 the McGarrity family (Joann and Nigel with their son and daughter, Carl and Emma, formerly of famed The Red Door Tea Room, Ballintoy) brought their collective expertise to the hotel’s management., bringing the food offering up several notches. Dinner with a view is part of the hotel’s appeal. Large picture windows looking out over the Atlantic is sure to whet the appetite as will the promise of the freshest of local foods.
Fresh fish from the nearby pier features strongly on both the lunch and dinner menus –Fisherman’s pie combines fresh salmon, cod, smoked haddock, and prawns with a Pernod cream, all topped with buttery mashed potatoes; the seafood platter includes pan-roasted scallops, crispy lemon pepper squid, marinated tiger prawns and oven-baked cod.
Meat lovers can choose between lamb rump and sugar pit pork while vegetarians will be happy with open pine nut and spinach lasagne or basil gnocchi. Vegans are very well looked after with a separate menu. The children´s menu is unadventurous with the usual goujons, sausages and burgers while non-meat eaters have no choice other than pasta carbonara. Hotels often disappoint with their breakfast offering, but The Salthouse stands out with the selection of pastries, granola, fruit pots to start followed by the full fry-up, omelettes or fluffy pancakes bathed in syrup for those who like a sweet start to the day.
