4 Best Hotels in Glens of Antrim, Northern Ireland

Connoisseurs of sea views love this little mock-baronial castle, originally built by a Scottish lord in 1625. Bedrooms in the castle have retained beamed ceilings but the furnishings are somewhat bland, if comfortable. Ask for a room in a turret—they are named after four of the nine Antrim glens—and one comes complete with milady's ghost. Eighteen deluxe rooms decorated in green and purple have what the hotel classifies as "five-star coastal views," which come at a premium, though you also get super--king beds, a separate shower and bath, and bath robes. Depending on how busy the hotel is, the extra cost for the sea view rooms varies from £40 to £50. On Saturday, a decent set-menu dinner in the Garden Restaurant is served to musical accompaniment, while a Sunday bistro meal is also available in the Kintyre Room. The hotel offers Game of Thrones packages that include an evening banquet or Game of Thrones afternoon tea served with Winterfell jaffa cakes, Kingslayer cupcakes, and Sansa Stark's lemon cakes along with finger sandwiches (£24). After a storm in 2016, the wood from several beech trees at the Dark Hedges road (filmed as Kingsroad) was made into ornately carved wooden Game of Thrones doors. Door No. 9 at the entrance to the restaurant depicts a battle featuring hungry dogs and crests of House Bolton and House Stark. Check the website for good value gourmet mini breaks available at certain times of the year.

The original Italianate house dates from the 1850s, but the completion of a £10 million renovation pushed this manor house resort into the premier league. The swish deluxe rooms and suites come in warm tones with king-size beds, leather Rolf Benz seating, soft lighting, and balconies. In the 160 acres of estate grounds you may practice archery, and shoot clay pigeons. Full privileges at an 18-hole golf course, a mere five minutes from the hotel, is an added treat. The River Maine (good for brown trout) flows within view of many of the large rooms, and you can ask for a day permit to fish on-site. The notable gin and cocktail library bar boasts several hundred varieties of "mother's ruin," and at 6:30 pm each day there's a 45-minute tasting with three gin cocktails for £25. For those drinkers not content with the gin selection, the hotel opened a new whiskey bar in 2019—McKendry's lounge bar boasts an encyclopedic collection of more than 300 varieties of whiskey from 21 countries, along with some toe-tapping Irish traditional music on Tuesday and Thursday evening. Dining options include traditional Irish and the Fratelli Italian Ristorante or the newly opened Castle Kitchen, a barbecue smokehouse serving lunch and dinner with a wraparound horseshoe bar. Try the Hammered Heron, which is a crisp, light-tasting lager made by the resort's own microbrewery. A spa contains 12 treatment rooms, five climate rooms, heated loungers, and an outdoor hot tub and Jacuzzi pool. On the grounds, a thunderous foaming waterfall creates a natural ambience, while ancient multilimbed trees, a pergola with climbing clematis, ornamental urns, and fragrant gardens with mature plants complete the serene scene. Galgorm is a springboard for exploring the nearby Dark Hedges road famed for its appearance in the Game of Thrones TV series, as well as the coast, glens, and attractions of Belfast.

What awaits at this lovely traditional inn are ivy-clad walls, gorgeous antiques, regional paintings, prints and maps, rare whiskeys, and lots of fresh flowers—all time-burnished accents well befitting an estate once inhabited by Sir Winston Churchill. Located beside Carnlough harbor on the edge of a peaceful bay at the foot of Glencloy, the second of the beautiful nine glens of Antrim on the celebrated Causeway coastal route, this 1848 hotel was built as a coaching inn by the Marchioness of Londonderry. In 1921 Sir Winston, a great-grandson of the original owner, inherited the hotel, which is now owned and run by the gregarious Denise O'Neill. Georgian furnishings and luxurious fabrics—we love the ultrachic French Nobilis wallpaper with its historic scenes on the ground and first floors—are immaculately kept. During 2019, the bedrooms were reconfigured but still retain their Connemara-made furniture. Choose from rooms with a sea view, family rooms, cozier rooms, the Glencloy room (one of the most spacious), or the Churchill room (No 114) which is more isolated. The Frances Anne restaurant serves substantial, traditional Irish meals, while lighter dishes and snacks are available in the bar-bistro. The newly designed Arkle Whiskey Bar specializes in rare malts, blends, and vintages from Ireland and the Western Isles of Scotland. Arkle was a famed Irish thoroughbred racehorse which won three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups in England in the 1960s. Before you leave you can touch the lucky horseshoe worn by Arkle—and it is said that you too will enjoy good luck.