A DATED hotel that ‘desperately needs refurbishment’ will be transformed into a four-storey Hilton.

The Oxford Mail can exclusively reveal that the prestigious hotel chain is taking over the multi-million pound makeover of Abingdon’s Oxford Abingdon Hotel.

Formerly a Four Pillars, the hotel in Marcham Road put in plans last October to demolish part of the current building and build a four-storey block, housing a new restaurant, bar, meeting rooms and additional 83 bedrooms.

Yesterday the Hilton revealed it had agreed a franchise with the hotel’s owner, Coldunell Ltd, to take over the plan and turn the building into a ‘Hilton Garden Inn’.

In a statement it said the existing 67-room hotel will ‘undergo a comprehensive redevelopment’ including 150 guest rooms, function rooms and a gym.

It said the Hilton is expected to open in summer 2018, adding: “The existing hotel will remain open throughout the extension works, and current bedrooms will be fully renovated when the new wing is complete.”

Vale of White Horse District Council approved Coldunell’s planning application earlier this month, with officers hailing it as having ‘clear economic benefits for Abingdon’.

In the application, architects said the current bedrooms were ‘ ‘tired and of their day, desperately in need of complete refurbishment’.

The hotel will be called Hilton Garden Inn Abingdon Oxford and was welcomed yesterday by Abingdon Town Council leader Mike Badcock.