A MULTI-million pound refit is underway at one of Canterbury's well-known hotels.

The Abbots Barton Hotel is set to reclaim its position as one of the city's best hostelries when it reopens with 50 bedrooms in April. It is undergoing a £2.8 million rebuild.

It had seen better days when bought by Angelo Sanguiseppe, but the hotelier, whose firm Castlewood Enterprises also owns the 70-room Burlington Hotel in Folkestone, was not afraid of a challenge.

"For many years little or no money had been invested in improvements, so we took the decision to gut and rebuild the interior from scratch. We will be aiming largely at the four-star corporate market," he said.

The hotel has been closed during the first phase but will be open for business during the second stage of work which will add an extra 33 bedrooms. When this is finished in a year's time the hotel will be an 85-bed venue with leisure facilities that will boast, apart from Kent University, the largest function room in Canterbury.

The running of the hotel will be a family affair with wife Maria and sons Daniel and Christian all taking an active role.

To part-finance the project Mr Sanguiseppe turned to the banking solutions service of Lloyds TSB Commercial, which came up with a loan package worth £1 million.