The Bushmills Inn Hotel — Hotel in Ireland

I’m not sure where to start… this hotel (and it’s staff) really are something special - we have never been made to feel more welcome.

The staff were all incredible. We were celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary - on arrival there was a card waiting for us in our room signed by the staff. The staff were also incredibly helpful in arranging for us to stay an extra night and for my various changes to the times of our dinner reservations! Our room (Cassidy - Mill House Deluxe) was perfect - I especially enjoyed having a large walk in closet and a proper seating area in addition to a dressing table.

The highlights were in the incredible turf fire, numerous snugs to sit in and the secret library; with so many books and places to sit and relax you could never get bored.

Although the fireside menu was limited, the toasted soda farls and scones with jam and cream were delicious. We also had a fantastic meal in the bar (the seafood chowder and cheese board was amazing) and an equally as excellent dinner in the main restaurant (chicken and duck). Breakfast was superb - you could order as many things as you wanted from one side of the menu (toast, cereal, croissants, porridge, fresh fruit salad) and then one main course from the other side. The poached haddock and scrambled eggs in cream was delicious but nothing can beat the full Bushmills breakfast!

A special mention must be made to Peter the barman for looking after us so attentively - we spent a lot of time sat by the fire enjoying various refreshments due the the stormy weather outside. Peter took the time to chat to us and provided us with invaluable local knowledge about places to go and visit - he definitely went above and beyond and made us feel incredibly welcome; it made our stay even more special.

My only criticisms are that breakfast was very slow on the Saturday morning (but that’s probably my fault for leaving it until 09:30 (breakfast is served until 10:00) and that the Innkeeper’s choice main course (venison) had sold out before 7pm. The Bushmills distillery was also still closed (due to Covid, apparently) but this is not the Bushmills Inns fault! The hairdryer wasn’t the best either.

However, nothing can detract from the overall incredible experience that the Bushmills Inn provides. It is well worth a visit - there really is nowhere else like it. We cannot...

Booked a meal on recommendation from the causeway hotel and I have to say that on the whole, the food was very good, although the service did let it down.

The flavour and presentation was incredible and the chef did a great job; the quality of the meat left something to be desired - the steak was mostly gristle and I was left feeling short changed. I did mention this to the staff, to be told that the message would be passed on to the chef - no recompense was offered and this was barely acknowledged with any level of sincerity.

Staff were inexperienced and made clumsy errors, which detracted from what should have otherwise have been a 5 star dining experience, which included clumsiness over pouring drinks, poor knowledge of the menu and being brought incorrect drinks orders. I do have to say that most were polite and helpful, if a little bewildered and out of their depth.

This being said, the drink selection was phenomenal and second to none… it’s a shame that I have to pass comment on the delivery.

Most disappointing, was the passive remarks overheard from off duty staff who were drinking outside after shift, which I have to say did leave me feeling unwelcome and unfairly judged.

I apologetically offered polite and courteous feedback, which I would have thought would have been in the interest of improving on what in total, was not a bad evening. It was sadly one or two that left us feeling that despite the otherwise 5* experience, this was dramatically overpriced and underserved.

I hope this feedback is received graciously and acted upon, as I feel this could have been an exceptional dining experience.

Perhaps it was just an off night (?) - I’d urge management to look at staff training in politeness and etiquette, given the target audience… and possibly don’t order the sirloin.

The lamb was cooked to perfection and the dessert also didn’t disappoint…mostly, we were treated and accommodated respectfully.

It was the minority of one or two, that really left us considering whether we would return or recommend - sadly I...

Went for a family celebration dinner. I have never been so underwhelmed at a menu - I could not find one dish that appealed to me. So much pretentious nonsense, things we had to Google to find out what they were - and the prices are just ridiculous. £39.95 for a fillet steak with no side order, £25.50 for roast chicken served with a scallion potato terrine (a variation of staple food everyone in NI eats) and an Irish Cheddar savoury choux which was raw and could have been used as a cricket ball if it had been three times bigger. I settled for the Tandoori Cauliflower - a snip at £17.95 (not) - virtually raw cauliflower smeared with a gloopy Tandoori paste served with an egg cup of something like Tsatsiki but tasteless. When I asked for the flatbread which was to come with the dish the waitress pointed to this thing sitting under the egg-cup! Literally no more than 2" in circumference and literally inedible - I couldn't get my teeth through it. I was driving so asked the waiter for a smidgeon of wine and he barely covered the bottom of the glass. At least we had a laugh. Foregoing the overly sweet dessert choices I was grateful for a Malteezer from the top of the cake my hosts had supplied. Many friends and colleagues had told me about their awful meals beforehand but never could I have imagined such awful food. I will not be back - it is pretentious snobbery at its best, overpriced, tasteless and just so disappointing. If you want a fantastic meal in Bushmills go to Mike's in The Diamond and have the most incredible Thai curry you will taste west of the Far East for about a third of the price, and attended to by...