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An Indian tourist was so disappointed by the standard of three Highland hotels that he is spending £9million to buy them.

Sanjay Narang, 56, a millionaire from Mumbai, visited Inverness-shire on a hiking holiday with his sister Rachna.

Their experience of the hotels they stayed at in April last year, and the food on offer, left a bad taste in their mouths.

Despite freezing temperatures in overpriced rooms with no heating or hot water, and microwaved meals — which Sanjay labelled “atrocious” — he decided to spend nearly £3million on Letterfinlay Lodge in Spean Bridge, Craigard Guest House in Invergarry and the Cluanie Inn in Glenmoriston.

The hotelier and entrepeneur is now set to spend double that again to refurbish and rebrand them.

Sanjay decided on the move weeks into the holiday despite the below-par hospitality they were shown. He said: “It was -7C one day and there was no hot water in the hotel.

“I called downstairs and the manager said, ‘The boiler has not been working since last Thursday and the guy can’t come to fix it till next week’.

“They were charging us £120 a night and there was no hot water.”

As for the food on offer, Sanjay added: “It was universally atrocious. The soup of the day was always lentil. The hotel had six microwaves and one cooking ring in the kitchen.”

Top chefs are being brought in to create new menus.

Renovations are expected to be finished by April and rooms are expected to be priced between £200 and £300 in peak season.

Rachna is responsible for redesigning the interiors and believes there’s more to Scotland than what’s depicted in Hollywood movies and TV series like Outlander.

She said: “We don’t want to be cliched. We want to celebrate great Scots and we’ll have pictures of Alexander Graham Bell, Carnegie and others in our corridors.”

Sanjay added: “People say, ‘You’re crazy, why are you spending so much money in the Highlands?’

“We just want showcase the natural beauty of this place by offering comfort and hospitality.”