A 19-bedroom hotel once owned by the founder of Saga has been put on the market for £1.2 million.

The Grade II-listed Rhodesia Hotel in Clifton Crescent, Folkestone, dates back to Victorian times and played a key role in the town’s history.

The seaside venue became a holiday hotspot for retirees after being bought in 1948 by Sidney and Margery De Haan – the parents of Sir Roger, who is currently transforming the town’s seafront.

Sidney marketed the Rhodesia as the ideal location for the over-60s looking for a coastal getaway.

The idea quickly proved popular – with thousands of visitors filling hotels in Folkestone and elsewhere along the Kent coast – and ultimately developed into the creation of one of the county’s biggest employers.

Now more than 70 years later, estate agent Reeds Rains are selling the five-floor Rhodesia, which is “in need of updating”.

The imposing building is located on a corner plot a stone’s throw from The Leas. Every room is said to have a sea view.

The property is being sold with “vacant possession” – which means it must be empty on the day of completion.

The Rhodesia was the starting point of Sidney De Haan’s success.

Capitalising on the popularity of coastal getaways which he had sparked, he started a business called The Old People's Holiday Bureau. It was renamed Saga Holidays in 1968.

His travel empire opened offices in Folkestone to handle the growing demand and employed hundreds of local people.

It quickly became one of the county's top employers and fastest-growing businesses.

Sidney and Margery had three sons – David, Roger and Peter.

Sir Roger De Haan – who was knighted in 2014 – took over Saga in 1984 when his father retired, and then ran the company with his brother Peter for a further twenty years before selling up.

Over the past two decades, Sir Roger has spent a huge chunk of his fortune on sparking an arts-led regeneration of Folkestone, including buying the town’s harbour for £11 million.

The harbour arm - owned by the businessman’s Folkestone Harbour Seafront Development Company (FHSDC) - is now one of Kent’s premier tourist attractions.

Nearby Tontine Street and the Old High Street have been transformed into the “Creative Quarter”.

He also heads the firm building the luxury Shoreline Crescent flats in Marine Parade.