The Marine Hotel Ballycastle is now 10 years old. In 2013 Claire Hunter and Colum McLornan bought the derelict 28 bedroom Marine Hotel on the seafront in Ballycastle. They saw the potential of the derelict site. Claire won the Belfast Telegraph Business woman of the year back in 2014 just one year in to the journey.

The location is second to none in Northern Ireland. The Causeway Coast has massively increased in popularity with people staying at home to holiday and enjoy what the coastline has to offer. The hotel is innovative in refurbishment and has consistently made improvements every year, Marine Hotel Ballycastle has almost doubled in size since 2013 and every room has been fully refurbished. It has been a “slow and steady approach” but has invested over £2.5 million since purchase 10 years ago.

Through hard work, smart thinking and cost care the hotel now has 51 bedrooms, dog friendly, family and suites included, has the 90 seater Marconi’s bistro, 65 seat outside dining capacity, 40 seater Proud to Serve Costa coffee Lounge and lobby, three interconnected event spaces with separate entrance catering for up to 400 people.

The workforce has grown enormously over the years and now stands at over 70 members of staff. The team development training has been incremental to the success of the hotel. By researching hospitality businesses in Cornwall, St Lucia, Portugal and the West of Ireland, Team

The Marine Hotel have developed into a modern, funky beach side premises right here in NI. Claire Hunter and Colum McLornan are in their 10th year of business with many of the team involved since the beginning. With support from Tennents NI, Invest NI and AIB, Marine Hotel is well on their way to deliver their mission statement: “To become the leading 3 star hotel property on the North Coast providing excellent, measurable products and services at an affordable price to every customer every time”.

The hotel continuously Invests in the personal and professional development for their team, innovative recruitment strategies and use of local contractors in all of our development. The hotel has put its team first with incentive and bonus schemes to reward & recognise the service from their team. Staff training & development programmes are available for all.

The hotel plans to continue working with other local businesses and tourist vendors to encourage domestic tourism within Northern Ireland and specifically the Causeway Coastal Route. The team plan to create new packages for 2023 & 2024 with new and unique offerings that target sports, recreational, foodie and leisure travel as well as international tour operators. Focussing on the reasons why our location is prominent will be key in delivering this whilst keeping the hotel’s mission statement at the forefront.