The owners of a seafront hotel have vowed to spend £5 million to bring it back to its former glory.

The Sackville Hotel, in Kingsway, Hove, has suffered from underinvestment by more than a dozen owners in the past 15 years.

Its current owners have submitted plans to refurbish the inside and outside of the hotel.

If the plans are accepted by Brighton and Hove City Council, the turquoise exterior of the hotel would be painted cream to fit in with the Regency style of the area.

The ground-floor and lower ground-floor extension would be demolished and the third floor converted into four residential units.

A new six-storey rear extension would be built to form five residential units and the hotel would gain a gym with swimming pool and spa room, new lifts and staircases and new marble floors.

Once the work is complete, the hotel's owner hopes the 45-room hotel will rival the Grand and Metropole.

Manager Carole Tilbrook said: "It's about getting the Sackville back to its former glory and making it one of the city's premier hotels again.

"It will be a complete makeover and the insides will be brand new.

"The owners can see the potential in this hotel."

She said they wanted the hotel, which employs 20 staff, to regain its five-star status.

The last time the Sackville sported five stars was in the Sixties.

Miss Tilbrook said: "It was a really grand hotel then, but there has been a combination of lack of investment and too many owners, which have changed 16 times over the past 15 years.

"They let it get run down and it needs extensive refurbishment."

The work, if it goes ahead, is expected to take about six months.