50 | PARADISAL PORTRUSH


www.nitravelnews.com dismal.


The huge bed, a generous (fitting even a corpulent Henry VIII?) king size did more than compensate though, as did the level of equipment, including robes,


hairdryer, mini


fridge and even a clothes steamer. But to the highlights of our break: walking on the endless East Strand, surfers and all


February 2026


(galloping


horses too) and our second night dinner and live music in the iconic Harbour Bar. The Grill Night offer in the bar’s adjacent bistro was both superb value


and quality. Good


service too. Rustic We then went into the


rustic bar, complete with blazing open fire, to enjoy some of the best live


guitar


Plentiful Portrush & Seaside Sights


AS the glow of last year’s Open Golf hospitality trade bonanza begins to fade into memory, BRIAN MCCALDEN casts an experienced eye over what Portrush still has to offer tourists in 2026.


BY BRIAN MCCALDEN


BELOW towering sand dunes, within yards of crashing Atlantic waves, two galloping horses and riders raced past. Under the warm(ish), mid January


sun, an overexcited dog hurried past


in hot pursuit, sadly wasting


followed by said canine’s owner,


breath, calling it to heel. Surfers gambolled shore waiting


off for


the perfect wave while golfers tee’d off their rounds


days ahead on one of


the world’s premiere courses, also close by. Just


of


2026’s so-called ‘Blue Monday’, scores of people walked off their personal weight of gloom on the seemingly endless golden sandy beach: could


closely his


this be paradise? But no: this was not some distant, exotic location. Instead one of Northern Ireland’s best


known and recently celebrated golfing (and tourism) venues, specifically the more prosaic as


Whiterocks, the


East Strand, Portrush, it nears the ancient below


famed, prestigious Royal Court Hotel. Boasting perhaps


the best location of any north coast hotel,


Royal vista Court


offers rooms with said


from a


private balcony, which, combined with in-room water jet bath tubs and a restaurant with epic views too, it is


hard to beat. Central


This time, we opted for a more central location in order to be in walking distance from Portrush’s bars and multitude of shops, and booked online for a two night, mid week break in The Atlantic Hotel. In fact, due to a short winter


closure, we were upgraded to next door’s Adelphi Hotel, for a great deal under the normal room rate. There, the most professional


and welcoming staff catered to our needs. This included a rare phenomenon: breakfast served to the table. How has


buffet service


become universally accepted? It’s fine on foreign holidays, but is sadly now the standard across our hospitality trade at home too. Anyway, breakfast choices varying from


were good, porridge


to smoked salmon


and beautifully presented grilled ‘frys’ with eggs cooked to individual taste. Each table also gets a three-tier ‘cake/


tea stand’ that is bursting with taste. Four separate yogurt and granola dishes nestle alongside preserves and butter, as well as sweet pastries, (sadly overdone and virtually inedible on our second morning) to enjoy. Men’s Club The Adelphi rejoices in an Edwardian-


style decor, remisisant of my ‘once-only’ overnight stay in London’s Sloane Club. The Adelphi leather overstuffed sofas align


with art deco lamps, lovely seascape prints that collectively hint of luxury and style, but (for us) somewhat spoiled by the constant ‘elevator music’ that was omnipresent at our first night dinner and even at breakfast. That said, it is a fair menu, at a good price


– though nothing special. Rooms are of similar decor, and therefore (to our taste) far too dark and frankly,


and lyrics


(free) and imbibe some of the atmosphere that is perhaps a third sea air, a third harbour and sea view and the rest just ‘craic’. Well worth experiencing.


Even in the gloomiest month of the year Portrush is still the gem of the


north coast. It is sparkling away - despite the ever


growing tide of ‘apartment blight’ that is fast encroaching on the town’s unique seaside traditional feel – it not only excelled in the Open Golf fillip for business last year, but heads into 2026 with increasing confidence. Our homeward journey, to take in some of


the most spectacular scenery anywhere, has to get mentioned too. The switch back, big dipper ‘road’ around


Torr Head is surely one of the most striking: deemed ‘unsuitable for heavy vehicles’ it is barely passable to private cars at points. The breathtakingly precipitous road offers


views across to Rathlin Island and, down sometimes sheer drops,


to the crashing


waves below. That, plus Dunluce and Dunsererick Castles,


Portballintrae, Ballycastle and Rathlin Island itself – are worthy of a whole edition of NI Travel News – not forgetting The Giant’s


Causeway, Bushmills and Cushendun, as well as the glorious journey up the Glens of Antrim to re-join civilization at the Ballymena ring road. Paradise indeed!


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