Marine Hotel Ballycastle

Evita took wonderful care of us and our pup through dinner and drinks in the evening. She was attentive, accommodating and so friendly, which was really refreshing. We had a fantastic stay here, and Bonnie even got her own steak dinner and welcome pack. Very dog friendly.

This was the worst hotel service I’ve ever seen. We came to Northern Ireland for Valentine’s weekend, arriving just after 3pm on the 13th. The couple ahead of us had trouble paying by card, and while they sorted it out we overheard staff explaining the parking system. The hotel owns the old car park, which is free for residents, while everyone else has to pay and provide their car registration. When we checked in, we gave our name and paid, but got no other information. We missed breakfast on our first morning because nobody told us it ran from 8-10am or where it was. We were told it was our own fault, and I suppose I must take accountability and remember every hotel’s breakfast runes. We could also have got a parking fine if we hadn’t overheard the earlier conversation and asked where to enter the registration. First crisis averted. Then, while showering in our room, the water pressure cut out mid-stream. I can send four videos of it falling to zero and randomly kicking back in. Nobody came to check after it was reported. That evening, while we were in bed together, our door opened and two random guests walked in. The hotel had given two strangers access to our room. Dangerous and unacceptable, especially if it had been a single woman on her own. Who cares about security and privacy at the Marine Hotel Ballycastle? The other guests went to reception for a new room, then we got a call about what had happened. They offered a drink as an apology. We don’t drink alcohol, so we asked for tea. Did any tea appear? No, we were ignored. We suspect they gave our apology tea to the guests who came into our room. It kept getting worse. The shower didn’t work, we hadn’t been told about breakfast times or parking, strangers had entered our room and no apology tea arrived. Then we were overcharged £5.18. We know it’s only £5.18, but it compounded everything else. I can send my card statement and the booking total on booking.com if they dispute that. At reception, the manager gave us more apologies and said the £5.18 would be reimbursed, as if it were a favour. As of 19/02/2026, that hadn’t happened. She offered us a meal at the restaurant that evening, but we didn’t want to spend any more time there than necessary. It was Valentine’s Day and we had a reservation at 19 by Katherine Carr, which I would recommend if you’re ever in the area, so we declined. The manager asked for my personal email to address the issues, which we gave her. No message ever arrived. At checkout, she said she’d email and explained she was part-time and would do it Monday. It’s now Thursday 17:00, and I’ve still heard nothing from her. To top it all off, they cancelled our room card, so we couldn’t get back into our room. Bravo, Marine Hotel. Feel free to reply and point out anything you think is false or incorrect, and we’ll happily provide evidence. Happy Valentine’s Day! In short, we got no information about parking registration or breakfast hours, the shower had no reliable pressure and nobody checked after it was reported, two strangers entered our room, the promised tea never arrived, we were overcharged and not reimbursed, the manager never emailed as promised, and our room card was cancelled so we couldn’t get back in.

We weren’t told where breakfast was or what times it ran, so we missed the included breakfast on the first day. At check-in, we got no information at all. We could also have received a parking fine if we hadn’t overheard another conversation about entering the car registration. During the evening over Valentine’s weekend, random guests came into our room because it had been assigned to more than one guest, a massive breach. They said they’d send tea as an apology, but it never came. The shower pressure was awful and cut out completely. We were overcharged, but finally got that money back a week later. I spoke to the manager, who made a list of the issues and promised to email and apologize, but never did. I don’t recommend staying here.

The room had a lot of road noise, and I’m still traumatised by a £12.50 glass of wine. On the plus side, the bites on my legs and back are getting better.