The company which took over three major hotels in Lochaber and Oban has revealed plans to invest £5million in them over the next five years.
The firm said the cash injection at the Isles of Glencoe Hotel and Leisure Centre, the Ballachulish Hotel and the Oban Caledonian Hotel would also create new “quality” jobs.
In February of this year, the properties were taken over by Crieff Hydro Ltd under a deal brokered by its managing director, John Jennett, who lives in north Argyll and built up the hotels in the 1990s.
They are now operated under the management of Crieff Hydro Ltd as part of a joint venture with the hotels’ owner, Colin Johnston.
Mr Jennett, who was also the last chairman of HIE Lochaber, was keen to talk about the plans for the new acquisitions following a recent report that their previous operator Akkeron Hotels – later renamed Rosford Management – had debts of more than £4.5million when it went bust earlier this year.
The company operated eight hotels, including those taken over by Crieff.
Mr Jennett said the Glencoe, Ballachulish and Oban hotels were all four star establishments when they were sold in 2006.
However, he claimed that since then they had become “neglected assets”.
Mr Jennett added: “We are now trying to piece this business back together.
“There is a tendency for larger hotels to be a bit like these have become, and for them to be group-orientated and managed remotely.
“We are going to invest £1million per year on improving them over the next five years and we want to offer a genuine personal service that is rooted in the local area.
“We would expect to be increasing the workforce by about 25% over five years and also improving the quality of jobs.
“We want to build up a long-term customer base of people who can’t wait to come back.
“There are a lifetime of different things to do here so the real challenge is trying to invest ourselves in the area and point people to all the activities that are available.
“Just having a few leaflets in the lobby is not enough.”