British tennis player Andy Murray recently bought a £1.8 million, or $2.7 million, luxury hotel near his Perthshire home, reported The Daily Mail.
The U.S. Open champion and Olympic gold medalist is the proud owner of the Cromix House Hotel, which is located in Kinbuck, which is just a few miles away from where he grew up in Dunblane, Perthsire. The hotel is a Victorian mansion that has strong ties to his family. In 2010, his brother Jamie, also a tennis player, was married there.
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The 25-year-old Scot is looking to renovate the hotel before the 2014 Ryder Cup that takes place in Gleneagles, which is 15 miles apart -- probably planning to operate the hotel during the tournament.
The mansion was built in 1874 for Arthur Hay-Drummon, the son of a Scottish peer, and was graced with a 1903 visit from King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in 1936.
The Cromlix House remained in the Hay-Drummond family until 1971.
It's surrounded by green landscape on a 2,000-acre estate that includes 14 bedrooms, four fishing lochs and two mineral springs, reported The Mail. Two other bidders were also interested in buying the mansion and estate.
Murray has already gotten a head-start with the business, hiring Albert Roux, a famed French restaurateur and chef who was the first restaurateur in the United Kingdom to garner the exceptionally rare three Michelin stars. Murray anticipates the new restaurant and business will add 40 jobs to the local community.
"I am pleased to have acquired Cromlix House and look forward to securing its future as a successful business," said Murray in an interview with The Daily. "By re-establishing Cromlix as a leading luxury hotel at the heart of the Dunblane community we will be able to attract new visitors to the area, create a number of new jobs and focus on supporting other local businesses."
