£16.5 million golf lodge is being built next to Royal Portrush

Work has begun on a £16.5 million hotel that will overlook Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland and be open well before the 2025 Open Championship tees off.

Dunluce Lodge is being built by US company The Links Collection, which already owns two hotels at St Andrews, Scores Hotel and Dunvegan Hotel.

The firm says the 35-bedroom room luxury complex overlooking the fourth fairway at Royal Portrush will open in 2023.

The Links Collection is run by Jonathan Harper and Robert Covington Jr.

They are aiming to have the new resort trading ahead of the 2025 Open Championship, which Royal Portrush is hosting.

Image from Maxwell & Company

In a statement, they said: “We experienced and love links golf in Ireland and particularly Portrush.

“We soon realised that the nine acres would be the perfect site for a golf lodge.

“We are excited that others will have the opportunity to enjoy the same experience we did, and we can give something back to a local community that has been so supportive.”

Former Open Champion Darren Clarke is among those who have lent their support to the project.

Valor Hospitality Partners has been appointed to develop and manage Dunluce Lodge.

The US firm was set up in 2012 by Euan McGlashan as a full-service acquisition, development, management and asset company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It currently manages more than 30 UK hotels as part of an extensive global portfolio.

“Dunluce Lodge is such an exciting project given our luxury, boutique hotel experience,” said McGlashan.

Image from Maxwell & Company

“Owners, investors, Valor and the local business community will collaborate to develop this world class lodge. We expect that as many as 80 local jobs will be created.”

The former secretary manager of Royal Portrush, Wilma Erskine has been brought on board as a brand ambassador for the Links Collection.

She said: “The Dunluce Lodge development will see Valor tap into Northern Ireland’s business expertise.”

A spokesman added that Dunluce Lodge will exhibit strong ‘green’ credentials, with every effort taken to ensure harmony with the landscape.

“The existing house has a distinct and familiar form in a prominent location visible from the golf course,” explained lead architect James Maxwell of Maxwell & Company, Inverness.

“It was important that its replacement provides visual continuity using materials which evoke a domestic architecture rather than a commercial one.”

Image from Maxwell & Company

He added: “The lodge will provide the hub of the development, evocative of the original house and closest to the golf course, behind which will sit a courtyard and two-storey accommodation which enables good integration with the land’s contours. The existing tree planting will be safeguarded wherever possible to minimise the impact of development. By reinforcing the established planting within the site, we can create a sheltered garden landscape and reduce the impact of weather.”

The eco-friendly approach extends to the buildings themselves.

“All buildings are very highly insulated, requiring a minimum of heating and providing a stable thermal environment throughout the year that helps reduce energy consumption and improves comfort. Air source heat pumps are employed for heating and hot water in the health spa,” added the spokesman.

Even the construction workers are expected to display green fingers.

“We are mindful that this is an area of outstanding natural beauty,” he said.

“Minimising the impact of construction on the local flora, fauna, and residents living nearby will be a daily priority for our construction team.”