Hotels in Newcastle, County Down

Newcastle's accommodation runs from a grand Victorian railway hotel on the seafront to small family-run guest houses a short walk from the beach, with the choice largely shaped by whether you want golf, a spa, or simply a bed within reach of the mountains. The Slieve Donard, now operating as Slieve Donard under Marine & Lawn Hotels, remains the town's landmark property, its red sandstone facade and gardens running down almost to the beach at the foot of the mountain it is named after. Burrendale Hotel & Country Club, a short drive inland on the Castlewellan Road, offers a similar four-star standard with a spa and leisure club aimed at both golfers and families.

For something more distinctive, The Brambles - the renamed and refurbished former Glassdrumman Lodge near Annalong - offers an entire luxury house for exclusive use, with a hot tub and space for larger groups, a short drive south along the coast from Newcastle itself. Between the grand hotels and the smaller guest houses sit properties like Enniskeen Country House Hotel, set in its own grounds in the Shimna Valley with mountain and sea views, and Harbour House on the South Promenade, a long-standing family-run hotel, bar and restaurant right on the seafront.

At the more modest end, Newcastle has a good run of guest houses and B&Bs close to the beach and golf course. Golf Links House, on the shore side of Dundrum Road, combines a boutique guest house with its own restaurant and function rooms. Conlyn House, recently refurbished, sits directly on the Central Promenade with sea views from its front rooms, while The Briers, on the Middle Tollymore Road, is an eighteenth-century country guest house a few minutes from Royal County Down with its own cottage annexe. Between them these eight properties cover most budgets and most reasons to visit, whether that is a golf trip, a family beach holiday, or a base for walking the Mournes.