MORE staff will be needed at one of the district's most luxurious hotels after refurbishment works are complete.
A £15m investment - which will close Matfen Hall for five months - is geared at 'improving the guest journey'.
The Walwick Estate Group-owned hotel has already seen £10m pumped into restoring its historic Great Hall and improving its entrance and suites.
A new bar and terrace have also been created as part of refurbishment works.
Phase two will see the creation of a new dining space, a state-of-the-art kitchen and the addition of two lifts, costing £5m.
A new cloakroom and restrooms will also be developed during the closure from November 4.
A consultation over jobs is now halfway through, head of commercial development James O'Donnell told the Courant. He said he hoped they'd be able to keep redundancies to a minimum and welcome back staff when operational again, as well as recruit for more positions.
Staff will be relocated to sister venue Walwick Hall Hotel and Spa, at Humshaugh, and Chesters Stables luxury suites - where possible.
James, who has been at the hotel for around two months, explained how the works will create a resort-like feel at the Grade II listed hotel and give people a reason to not only come to Northumberland but to come back. Over half of current guests are from the North-East.
The house, which had long been part of the Blackett family, opened as a hotel in 1999 with 31 bedrooms.
In 2004, a major expansion programme resulted in the number of bedrooms increasing to 53. Spa and leisure facilities were also created.
Now, plans will take the hotel from 53-bed to 70 with hopes of expanding the spa and golf offering in the future.
The estate's golf services will remain open throughout the development work and the hotel will reopen at Easter.
Last year, Matfen Hall faced a huge backlash when they told couples they must pay £10,000 extra or face their wedding being cancelled.
In a U-turn, the hotel apologised and reversed its decision to hike prices of dozens of pre-agreed weddings.
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