Sidmouth seafront hotel sold

A hotel on Sidmouth seafront has been sold after 50 years of ownership to an as-yet-unnamed "overseas investor".

Hotel Riviera, a Grade II listed Regency building on Sidmouth Esplanade, was put up for sale with a guide price of £3.5m last year.

Owners Peter and Dena Wharton will now start their retirement.

The four-star hotel offers 26 en-suite bedrooms, an AA Two Rosette restaurant, a Regency bar, function suite and outside terrace.

The building was first constructed in around 1820, and was once a terrace of three-storey houses called Marine Place.