AN ASHFORD hotel is closing for three months under a £2 million scheme that will create jobs and make it a top business and conference venue.

The Holiday Inn, on the A20 near Ashford, will close on September 30 and re-open on January 6 to enable the work to be done without disruption to customers.

Hotel general manager Mark Walton said that when the hotel re-opens, 30 new positions will be added to the existing 20-strong team.

He said: "We have made a conscious decision to completely shut down the hotel to allow the builders to get on with this dynamic project."

He said: "All of our existing team will be kept on during the closure to assist in the project: painting, decorating and landscaping are just some of the tasks to be undertaken and we will be recruiting at least another 30 people prior to reopening."

Centre Island Hotels (CIH) bought the Holiday Inn, Ashford, earlier this year. The company, founded in 1995 by Simon Matthews-Williams, owns several hotels in the Liverpool area.