Bushmills Resort

Proposed wellness focussed leisure resort responding to an established need for luxury accommodation in the Causeway Coast and Glens region of Northern Ireland. The 10ha site adjoins the village of Bushmills, next to the 400-year old Bushmills Distillery, and offers a 150-bed 5* hotel and wellness centre, and up to 95 eco lodges. The principle for the development is to provide a hub facility from which to explore the sights and attractions of the surrounding area. The region attracts couples and families, and this has formed an essential part of the brief – accommodating both tranquillity and togetherness in a single destination. The abundance of outdoor activities, natural and built wonders in the region encouragers and embracing of the outdoors – this is carried through into the design with an indoor-outdoor approach to benefit from the fresh air.

The hotel has been arranged as a series of pavilions with private courtyard spaces to cater for a variety of different visitor experiences and provide plenty of outdoor space, submitting to the contouring landscape the apparent scale of development is diminished. The wellness facility includes beauty and fitness suites, including outdoor exercise areas, and separate adult and children’s pool and spa facilities. The centre intends to concentrate on health and wellbeing, drawing inspiration from the health spas of Central Europe as a place for treatment and true rejuvenation as opposed to simple pampering. Links to health screening as part of the experience is also being considered.

The lodges are arranged in four distinct areas of the site. Tranquillity is catered for with the Farmyard and Hilltop lodges, the former arranged in a traditional farm building pattern with detached buildings, the latter also detached but focussed towards the extensive views across the Bush River valley towards the North Coast. Togetherness is provided with the Woodland and Lakeside lodges, located in a landscaped buffer adjacent to the village and providing excellent connection to both the hotel and village facilities, both are arranged as clusters of lodges to provide the potential to link with larger families or groups with both open landscaped spaces and more intimate courtyard spaces between lodges.