A Highlands hotel on the North Coast 500 has changed hands for more than £1 million with its new owner planning an extensive refurbishment.
The Royal Thurso Hotel in Traill Street, Thurso, has been closed since last year.
The property has 105 bedrooms, a restaurant and the Invictus Bar, which was popular with locals.
The new owner is Melville Hotels, which now has a portfolio of five properties across Scotland.
Royal Thurso Hotel was marketed for sale for £1.8m but the purchase price is understood to be around £1.3m.
It was marketed for sale by Drysdale and Company on behalf of MGM Muthu Hotels.
Investment at Royal Thurso Hotel
Thomas Melville, managing director of Melville Hotels, said the hotel needs an full refurbishment which could last several years.
However, he plans to open this season after some cosmetic upgrades to public areas.
He said: “There are certain major things we need done before we can open – a new roof over part of the hotel and a kitchen.
“I am also planning to refurbish the common areas – paint every corridor, the bar, the lounge, the restaurant and bring in new curtains and other soft furnishings.
“We are starting from scratch so we also need to staff up. I’ve got 25 job interviews arranged this week and we’ll need at least 20 staff to open.
“We really want to bring on local staff. It helps embed us into the community.”
Melville Hotels growth
Melville Hotels also operates Grey Gull Hotel in Loch Fyne, Loch Long Hotel in Arrochar, MacDonald hotel in Kinlochleven and Royal Dunkeld Hotel in Perthshire.
Mr Melville said his strategy is to buy properties in need of upgrades and then add value.
“This is our fifth hotel in six years,” he continued. “We want to cover a lot of the key tourism areas in Scotland. Fort William would be a good next location.
“Generally we are buying hotels that have not been done up for a while. As my initial trade was as a builder, so we can refurbish rooms for about half the price as others. Our money stretches further.
“Next year at Royal Thurso Hotel we might do around 20 bedroom upgrades and that could happen for a few years.
“A lot of money will be spent and we will be supporting local businesses. We really want to get the community on side and hopefully they in turn will support us.”
The hotel offers single, twin, double, triple and family rooms. It also has a large car park.
Meanwhile another hotel on the NC500, at Easter Ross, has hit the market priced at £649,500.
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