Staff at a popular Ayrshire hotel are set to lose their jobs as bosses announced a round of redundancies whilst they shut for refurbishment.

The Marine Hotel in Troon, which overlooks the Royal Troon Golf course, will shut in January 2022 for work to beging on the upgrade.

A new spa and gym will be included as part of the development. Rooms will be upgraded and two new dining areas are to be created.

Due to the scale of the work to be done, bosses have decided to shut the hotel for the duration of the refurb after having said initially they would remain open throughout the period.

And as a result, staff have been told that they will lose their jobs, with the positions to be readvertised when the Marine reopens.

A spokesperson from the hotel said: "Marine Troon will close in January 2022 to complete planned refurbishments on the property.

"While we originally intended to remain open during renovations, we ultimately concluded that the scope of the planned work would prevent us from delivering the quality of experience that our guests expect. 

"Renovations will be comprehensive encompassing common spaces, food and beverage concepts and a portion of guest rooms. 

"Redundancies will be made during this closure period and recruitment will take place in preparation for reopening later in 2022."

Last year, the hotel was purchased by American investment firm, Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners.

The Open Championships have been held at the Royal Troon Golf course on nine occasions. The most recent of these was in 2016 and was won by the Swede Henrik Stenson.