2024 Award Winners BOUTIQUE HOTEL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024

Elephant Rock Hotel, Portrush Co Antrim

The rise of the boutique hotel is a welcome trend in Irish hospitality and, at its best, this is a genre that is providing a wonderfully quirky mix of old and new, with hands-on hospitality, great food and a sense of fun. Here in an imposing Victorian terrace building that was once home to the British Legion, this unusual hotel was opened in 2022 by enterprising local woman Charlotte Dixon and her family – and, with its trademark dark grey and bright pink frontage giving a hint of the changes that lie within, it has brought something new and refreshing to that most traditional of seaside towns, Portrush. With its cool cocktails and statement interiors sporting luxurious fabrics, specialist finishes and vibrant colourways it hit the ground running on opening, soon becoming a place of choice for Afternoon Tea, classy cocktails and local meet-ups. Also a stylish short break destination, some of the individually-designed rooms have magnificent ocean views towards the Giants Causeway – and the rock that inspired its evocative name.