Grand seaside hotel in Rothesay saved from administration

Originally built in 1843 on a hilltop overlooking Rothesay, the Glenburn Hotel opened as a classic grand seaside hotel in 1892

Scotland's first ever hydropathic hotel has been sold after it went into administration last year.

The Glenburn Hotel on the Isle of Bute opened in 1892 and overlooks the town of Rothesay.

The 134-room hotel has been closed since November 2020 because of the pandemic, with staff initially being placed on furlough.

It has been sold to the hotel group Bespoke Hotels for an undisclosed sum.

Bespoke Hotels owns 90 hotels in the UK, 23 of which are in Scotland.

'Competitive bidding'

The hotel was one of a number opened in the late 1800s that offered hydrotherapy, where hot and cold water is used for a range of body treatments in hot tubs and plunge baths.

The Glenburn was extensively refurbished in 2016 and used to have regular trade with package holiday businesses.

Joint administrator Stuart Robb, of FRP Advisory, said it was "one of Scotland's most prominent hotels with a long history stretching back to its opening as a grand seaside hotel in 1892".

The selling agents for the hotel, CDLH, said there had been a "competitive bidding process" prior to the final sale.

Haydn Fentum, Bespoke Hotels chairman, added: "We hope to reopen the hotel very soon and have exciting plans to invest in the business and create new jobs and will be announcing our recruitment plans in due course".