£16.5m hotel to open beside Royal Portrush ahead of return of The Open

A new £16.5 million hotel and hospitality venue is to open beside the Royal Portrush golf course later this year ahead of The Open Championship returning to the Co Antrim course in 2025.

The five-star Dunluce Lodge, which will employ more than 80 people from the local area, is located on the edge of the fourth fairway at the links course.

The facility, which opens this autumn, offers 35 suites with a private lodge offering facilities for larger parties.

The hotel will also feature an onsite putting green, designed by golf architect Martin Ebert, as well as private transfers to the nearby helipad and to the clubhouses at Royal Portrush and Portstewart Golf Club.

Dunluce Lodge will be operated by hotel management company Valor Hospitality Partners, in partnership with the US based owners, Links Collection, the same team behind the Seaton House hotel in St Andrews which is set to open later this year.

General Manager at Dunluce Lodge, Stephen Meldrum, said: “When Dunluce Lodge opens later this year it will set a new standard as the definitive five-star location on the Causeway Coast.

“Overlooking the fourth fairway at Royal Portrush Golf Club and facing the wild Atlantic Ocean, our location speaks for itself.

“From my very first conversations with Valor Hospitality Partners and the Links Collection, their vision for Dunluce Lodge has been very clear.

“They want to deliver an unrivalled, refined experience on the Causeway Coast that builds on Northern Ireland’s world-renowned reputation for sincere hospitality and deliver a resort that is intrinsically integrated with the local community.”

Euan McGlashan, global co-founder and chief executive officer of Valor Hospitality Partners, said: “It is a thrill to be working on this incredible project in such an area of outstanding natural beauty and on the edge of such an iconic golf course.

“Our wonderful owners have been intimately involved in all the design details, ensuring that their love of hospitality, golf, and Northern Ireland is projected into Dunluce Lodge which will stand proudly as the region’s only five-star hotel.”

Jonathan Harper, managing partner of the Links Collection, said: “While Dunluce Lodge sits proudly beside Royal Portrush, it is also the perfect base for many other prestigious courses nearby.

“In addition to setting for the 153rd Open Championship, guests can also enjoy the nearby courses at Castlerock, Ballycastle, Portstewart, and Royal County Down.”

Royal Portrush hosted The Open in 2019, the first time the event had been held there since 1953. It will host the tournament again next year.