The Salthouse completes transformation with £5 million luxury spa creating 30 new jobs on North Coast

L-R: Shannon Brown, Spa Manager, Salt Spa; Carl McGarrity, Director of The Salthouse Hotel; and Elizabeth Dillon, Guest Experience Manager, The Salthouse Hotel.

A £5 million investment has transformed one of Northern Ireland’s most distinctive hospitality destinations into a fully realised luxury wellness retreat, with the opening of a major new spa creating 30 additional jobs and completing the final phase of development at The Salthouse near Ballycastle.

The launch of the new Salt Spa marks a significant milestone for the North Coast hotel, which first opened in 2019 as Northern Ireland’s first carbon-neutral hotel and has since expanded into one of the region’s fastest-growing sustainable tourism destinations.

Perched above Ballycastle with uninterrupted views across the Atlantic Ocean towards Rathlin Island, Fair Head, the Glens of Antrim and, on clear days, Scotland, the new facility aims to combine high-end wellness experiences with the hotel’s environmental credentials.

The latest expansion brings total employment across the estate to around 140 people, underlining the growing importance of tourism and hospitality investment to the wider Causeway Coast economy.

Luxury wellness with one of Ireland’s most dramatic views

The Salthouse has officially unveiled its new £5 million Salt Spa, completing the transformation of the Ballycastle hotel into one of Ireland's leading sustainable luxury wellness destinations.

Designed to make the surrounding landscape part of the experience itself, the centrepiece of the new spa is an outdoor heated infinity pool overlooking the North Atlantic and the Antrim coastline beyond.

Inside, guests can access an extensive thermal suite featuring an indoor vitality hydrotherapy pool with floor-to-ceiling sea views alongside a sauna, steam room, sanarium, Himalayan salt room, experience showers and relaxation beds.

The outdoor wellness offering continues with two Scandinavian-style cabin saunas, four copper seaweed mineral bathing tubs and outdoor relaxation spaces designed to immerse visitors in the natural surroundings.

The treatment menu focuses heavily on natural wellbeing therapies and includes massages, facials, salt and oil scrubs, floatation therapy, seaweed mineral immersion experiences and Rasul cleansing rituals.

Premium natural GAIA skincare products are used throughout the spa, while local ingredients including natural earth salts and locally sourced seaweed feature prominently within the signature treatments and bathing experiences.

Thirty jobs created as investment continues

The opening completes the final phase of a multi-million-pound expansion programme which has significantly increased The Salthouse’s accommodation and visitor capacity in recent years.

The wider estate now includes:

• 24 hotel bedrooms

• 24 Luxury Sea View Suites

• Six eco lodges

• The Eco Farmhouse

• Two restaurants

• The new Salt Spa

The latest investment has created 30 new jobs, bringing the workforce across the site to approximately 140 employees.

Carl McGarrity, Director of The Salthouse Hotel, said the opening represents the completion of a vision that has shaped the business since its inception.

“From the very beginning, we wanted to create something that offered genuine luxury without compromising on sustainability. The Salt Spa is the culmination of that vision.

“Our location is unlike anywhere else. Whether you’re relaxing in the infinity pool or sitting in one of the outdoor seaweed baths, you’re looking out across one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in Europe. Nature becomes part of the wellness experience.

“We wanted to create more than somewhere to have a treatment. This is somewhere people can completely switch off, reconnect with nature and spend quality time, whether they are staying with us for a weekend or visiting for the day.”

Open to local residents as well as visitors

Unlike many destination spas attached to luxury hotels, Salt Spa will be available not only to overnight guests but also to day visitors.

Thermal spa access is included for guests staying in the main hotel and Luxury Sea View Suites, while specially designed day packages combining thermal experiences with lunch or afternoon tea have been introduced for local residents and visitors to the Causeway Coast.

To mark the launch, The Salthouse is offering 20 per cent off Salt Spa gift vouchers for a limited period, with additional introductory offers expected to follow in the coming months.

Sustainability remains at the heart of the project

Environmental sustainability remains central to the development and operation of the hotel.

The Salthouse continues to operate using its own renewable energy infrastructure, including a 225kW wind turbine and a 150kW solar array.

Additional sustainability measures across the estate include electric vehicle charging points, low food-mile menus, a no single-use plastics policy, CO₂ monitoring systems and the use of carefully selected sustainable building materials throughout the property.

Mr McGarrity said modern luxury travellers increasingly expect sustainability and wellness to go hand in hand.

“People want to know that they can enjoy an exceptional experience while making responsible choices. Sustainability isn’t something we’ve added on, it’s the foundation the business was built on.

“Everything we do is with sustainability at the forefront of our thinking, from the renewable energy that powers the hotel to the products we use in the spa and the local ingredients featured across our restaurants.”

The hotel’s wider visitor offering also includes two dining experiences, with guests able to choose between the original restaurant, known for locally landed seafood and seasonal produce, and more relaxed dining at The Lookout Restaurant.

Bookings for the new Salt Spa are now open through The Salthouse website as the North Coast destination enters its next chapter as one of Northern Ireland’s largest and most ambitious sustainable wellness developments.