A PROMINENT Lakes hotel, which was offered for sale at £1.4m, has been bought by the owners of Zeffirellis cinema in Ambleside.

The 19th century Ambleside Lodge, which has 18 en-suite letting rooms and stands in two acres of grounds, was sold to Derek Hook, his brother Raymond and their sister Dorothy.

Ambleside Lodge was built in 1875 as an Army general’s residence and originally named Rothay Holme after the River Rothay.

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It later became office accommodation for the local council and National Trust before being refurbished to provide luxury bed and breakfast accommodation in 1997.

The hotel was sold on behalf of owners HMD Services Ltd by Colliers International.

Haydn Spedding, associate director at Colliers' Manchester office of Colliers International, said: “The acquisition of Ambleside Lodge represents a significant purchase for the Hook family who are already carrying out significant improvements to the property.

“This is one of a number of recent sales by Colliers International following a busy and encouraging summer of trading and many of these transactions are expected to complete before the end of 2015.”