A Highland hotel which is one of the oldest in Scotland has been sold for a figure believed to be in excess of £1.8 million.
The Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown counts both the present Queen and Queen Victoria amongst its previous guests.
Quite uniquely, the historic C-listed town centre building situated in The Square is home to an England-based wildlife and birdwatching club.
The 51 bedrooms are spread over four floors in the building, which dates back to 1765.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had an incognito stay on the night of September 4 1860, arriving by horse-drawn carriage from Balmoral Castle.
The present Queen visited during the 1960s, but didn’t stay overnight.
It has been sold by a Bird and Wildlife Watching Club (BWWC) which is based at the hotel and has its own lecture and meeting room there.
Furnished to a four-star standard, the hotel also includes a spacious bar, restaurant and lounge.
Over the years, the club successfully upgraded and refurbished the property.
The new owner is an undisclosed overseas buyer, with the Grant Arms Hotel said to be their first leisure business acquisition in Scotland and the UK.
They intend to undertake phased enhancements to the hotel that are sensitive to its historic character.
Alistair Letham, a hotel consultant with Graham + Sibbald, said: “The sale of the Grant Arms Hotel, a truly stunning town centre hotel located in the Highlands of Scotland, easily accessible to some of Scotland’s most attractive destinations, signals the continuing demand for good quality hotel businesses in popular locations.
“The business at the Grant Arms, while well established, has significant scope to develop further, capitalising on its recent 4-star status.”
As well as some beautiful scenery, the area around Grantown offers legendary hillwalking, mountaineering, skiing, golf, fishing, mountain biking and wildlife watching.
The Cairngorms have four out of the five highest mountains in the UK.
The region is also part of the world-famous Speyside Whisky Trail, and there are many internationally-renowned distilleries within close proximity of the hotel.
The sale price was not disclosed but Graham + Sibbald were inviting offers over £1,850,000 for the Grant Arms Hotel.
