THE Crieff Hydro hotel group is preparing to open its doors again on July 3.

The family-owned company will reopen its self-catering lodges at Crieff Hydro in Perthshire on Friday July 3, with the hotels in the group following on Wednesday July 15, in line with Scottish Government guidance on the easing of lockdown conditions.

As well as Crieff Hydro, the company will begin trading again at Peebles Hydro, Murraypark Hotel in Crieff, and three hotels in the West Highlands - The Isles of Glencoe, Ballachulish Hotel and Kingshouse Hotel.

News of the reopening comes after the group revealed earlier this month that it was launching a redundancy consultation process with 241 staff in August. The business saw bookings wiped out after its hotels were forced to close in March under lockdown measures to halt the spread of Covid-19.

READ MORE: Crieff Hydro rocked by redundancies as virus crisis rips through Scottish tourism industry

The group, which employs around 1,000 staff across its hotels, hopes the process will ultimately lead to less than half of the 241 posts being cut.

Chief executive Stephen Leckie said today: “As a family business we’ve been looking after families since 1868 and whilst we are enduring some of most challenging times, we are delighted to be given the green light to start welcoming self-catering guests from Friday 3 July and further hotel guests again from Wednesday 15 July.

“Staycations will be a welcome return for many of our guests and our family of hotels really make the best of what Scotland has to offer: fabulous settings, open countryside and plenty of room to enjoy some cherished family time in the great outdoors.

“We’ve utilised this time to refresh our facilities with repairs, deep cleans and fresh licks of paint, and we’ve elevated the food and beverage offering across the portfolio with several new menu items. We’ve also enhanced our cleaning protocols and upskilled our teams with specific training and PPE (personal protective equipment) to ensure the health and safety of all our team and guests remains a top priority.

“We’ve kept in contact with our database and conducted a survey receiving more than 14,500 responses. It was clear people were keen to be back enjoying all we have to offer and we’ve taken all their feedback on-board, and it’s fantastic to say it’s finally time to welcome you all back.”