Andreas Panayiotou’s Ability Group has brought the Hilton Group in to manage it’s Dunblane Hydro hotel in Scotland.

The 206-bedroom hotel, bought by Panayiotou in November last year, will be managed by Hilton under its Doubletree brand.

The deal heralds a debut in Scotland for the Doubletree brand.

Multi-million upgrade

The Dunblane Hydro, which was set in ten acres of gardens will now receive a multi-million upgrade, believed to be around £10m, before opening under the brand in 2010.

The hotel is the second Doubletree that Hilton has opened with Panayiotou following the Doubletree Cambridge Garden House in Cambridge. It was the first Doubletree Hilton to open outside the US.

Hilton currently runs eleven hotels in Scotland and announced plans earlier this year to develop an £18m, 175-bed hotel at Aberdeen airport.

Ability, which bought the hotel from a joint venture between Starwood Capital and Scottish entrepreneur Maurice Taylor, is planning to grow a E4bn (£3.16bn) Europe-wide portfolio of hotels, offices and shopping centres by 2010.

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