Our Story – Recreating Tradition

Nestled in the historic village of Bushmills – home to the world’s oldest licensed distillery and just minutes from the Giant’s Causeway and Royal Portrush Golf Club – The Bushmills Inn has beautifully revived its heritage as a Coaching Inn and Mill House. Our roots trace back to 1608, the year Old Bushmills was granted the world’s first licence to distil whiskey. The oldest part of the Inn, now home to our Restaurant, was once the original coach house and stables. The main Hotel building followed in the 1820s, part of a grand redevelopment of the town by Sir Frances Workman Macnaghten. The Inn soon became a welcome haven for weary travellers journeying to the Giant’s Causeway – a place to rest and savour the whiskey that made the village world-famous. But with the arrival of the tramway in the 1890s, the Inn fell into decline and took on many lives over the next century – a boarding house, a private residence, a bicycle factory, and even a chicken roost on the top floor.

A Return to Glory

The turning point came in 1987, when extensive restoration breathed life back into the Inn. A decade later, the adjoining Mill House was transformed into 22 additional bedrooms on the banks of the River Bush. In 2009, a further expansion brought the hotel to its present stature: 41 spacious bedrooms and suites, a peaceful courtyard garden, modern conference facilities, the exclusive Still Room Cinema, and the bright Garden Room extension to the Restaurant.

Today, The Bushmills Inn is celebrated as a symbol of authentic Irish hospitality. Featured by international travel writers and broadcasters, and honoured with numerous awards, it continues to welcome guests from around the world with warmth, history, and character.