A popular hotel has new owners and a new name.

The Grange Moor Hotel in St Michael’s Road, Maidstone, has been bought by Surrey-based Smart In Hotels Ltd, run by Mark Smith, and has been re-christened The Apartell.

In Europe, there are several hotel brands with similar names, and usually the name indicates the rooms are let on a long-term lease, but that is not the intention with the former Grange Moor.

The hotel is run on a day-to-day basis by the general manager Michael Kendall and he confirmed that the new owner’s ambition was very much to restore the business to a thriving traditional hotel.

He said: “We are currently undergoing an extensive refit, with new carpets and new branding.

“All the bedrooms are getting smart TVs and there’s faster internet being installed.”

Mr Kendall, who has worked at the 38-bed hotel for 24 years, said he was looking forward to its return as a premier wedding and party venue following the completion of the £500,000 refit.

The new look for the former Grange Moor has not altered the owner’s plans to convert the hotel’s satellite site, Grange Park, a short distance down the road, into a home in multiple occupation.

Mr Smith’s planning application seeking permission to convert Grange House into a 13-bed HMO has yet to be decided by Maidstone council.

Mr Kendall explained: “The annexe was no longer viable as part of the business, but its conversion should provide affordable long-term accommodation that will benefit young professionals and local people.”

The Apartell has its own restaurant and bar and three function rooms, including a suite with the capacity for 200 guests with its own private bar and dance floor.

It is not known how much Smart In Hotels paid for the Grange Moor, but when it was last publicly advertised for sale in 2021, it was on the market for £3.25m. That price included the Grange Park extension.