A Fife hotel which closed abruptly leaving a string of disappointed staff and customers is reopening under new management.
The Strathearn Hotel in Kirkcaldy closed in May last year, with staff given just a few hours notice.
It has lain empty after failing to sell when previous owners Bruce Tavern put it up for auction earlier this year.
The previously-popular Victorian venue finally has new owners and is due to open in December.The news has been hailed as fantastic for the town and follows a flurry of activity to tidy the increasingly overgrown gardens.
In an announcement on Facebook the new owners said: “We are delighted to confirm that the Strathearn Hotel is now under new ownership and will be reopening early December 2016.
“We have a lot of work to do between now and then, however our first job is to recruit a head chef/kitchen manager.”
The 22-bedroom hotel was originally put on the market with a guide price of £425,000.
It was described as being in excellent condition and benefiting from ornate cornicing with a timber staircase and a coloured and leaded stained glass window.
The handsome B-listed building in Wishart Place occupies a prominent spot overlooking Ravenscraig Park.
It was built for industrialist James Wishart and his family in 1901 but was converted to a hotel between 1936 and 1945.
It was a popular venue for weddings until it suddenly closed its doors leaving couples heartbroken. Some had paid up-front for their big day only to be left with no venue and no money.
Bruce Taverns said the leaseholders were in so much debt they had no choice but to close the hotel down.
Local councillor Lawrence Brown said: “Anything that comes to Kirkcaldy east has got to be good. It’s got to be good for the whole of Kirkcaldy actually.
“I’m hoping they make a good go of it and it produces local employment.”
