A FAMILY-run business has celebrated ten years of running a popular seafront hotel by giving it a £250,000 makeover.

The Kingscliff Hotel, in Kings Parade, Holland-on-Sea, has now been run by Surya Hotels, part of the Flying Trade Group, for a decade.

To mark the milestone, the hotel has undergone an extensive makeover, creating a contemporary but locally-inspired destination hotel and dining experience.

The project has seen significant structural changes to create a large open lounge space complete with sofas, fireplace and chic soft furnishings.

The redesign, with bi-folding doors leading to the gardens, has been installed to create a "sophisticated" dining space, which can also be used for weddings and afternoon teas.

Suki Dulai, chief executive of the Flying Trade Group, said: “We continue to invest into our portfolio of hotels to ensure we are giving our guests the best possible offering in the area.

"We have worked extensively with local designers and contractors which helps the local economy to boot.

“We’ve trialled new concepts for this refurbishment and upgraded the specifications in preparation for our refurbishment of The George Hotel in Colchester which is due to start work shortly.

"There's natural wood flooring, mixed with mosaic tiles, soft subtle soft furnishings against bold colours walls and garden walls.

"We’re thrilled with the results."

He said that "culinary excellence" is also on the menu, with locally-sourced produce helping to create dishes from seabass with Vietnamese noodles, crispy sticky pork, king prawn linguine to mango and lime brulee.

The trendy, contemporary bedrooms also feature sea views with luxury king-size beds, comfortable arm-chairs and work stations with access to high speed complimentary WiFi.

The Flying Trade Group took over the Kingscliff Hotel in 2009 and it was the purchased as part of the Surya Hotels portfolio, which also includes The George in Colchester, as well as The Mill Hotel in Sudbury and the Dukes Head in Kings Lynn.

The group also runs Harwich-based Surya Foods, one of the largest suppliers of world foods in the country.