A landmark hotel which has been welcoming guests for 150 years has closed its doors.

The Lansdowne Place hotel in Hove has made around 20 full-time members of staff and a number of casual staff redundant.

David Glover, director of Max Hotels (Dudley) Ltd, which owns the property, said the venue will be converted into serviced apartments.

Mr Glover said the 150-year-old hotel will undergo a radical trans- formation which will see the hotel’s existing 84 rooms trans- formed into 60 suites. He said the hotel would be transformed in an “extensive refurbishment” to create the first facility of its kind in the city.

Most of the newly-created rooms at the hotel, built in 1854, will be two-bedroom suites with additional living space. Last year, the owners of the Lansdowne Place put the Royal York Hotel into the hands of the administrators. A buyer is still being sought for the property in the Old Steine.

Mr Glover said: “I went into the Landsdowne hotel on New Year’s Day and told the staff that the hotel will be closing with immediate effect. “We have not had to cancel any weddings or functions at the hotel. “There will be no food or beverage offering and no restaurant when we reopen in three to four months’ time, so we will need fewer staff.”