A LANDMARK hotel which was devastated by a fire which destroyed its top two floors and roof is set to fully reopen in the new year, creating an initial 30 jobs.

The King's Hotel is undergoing a £7.5m refurbishment following the blaze, which was one of the biggest in Darlington's history, and the expansion will more than treble its number of bedrooms from 26 to 90. The move will see the hotel re-branded and become part of a national chain.

Recruitment for staff is now underway, and the owners, Newcastle-based Cairn Hotel Group, announced they will also be recruiting another 60 jobs at the nearby Holiday Inn Darlington, which was formerly The Scotch Corner Hotel.

The King's Hotel which is owned by Cairn Group, has only been partly operational since the fire on August 15, 2008.

The blaze, which saw 11 fire stations from across the North-East scramble crews to tackle the fire, started in a cupboard on the fourth floor at 12.30am. Although police treated the fire as suspicious, its cause has never been determined.

The majority of guests and staff were taken out of the hotel within minutes, but firefighters had to re-enter the burning building when it emerged that two Chinese tourists, who were staying in the town as part of a coach tour of the UK, were stuck in a room, metres from where the blaze started.

The Cairn Group, which owns 20 hotels across the UK, has recently opened the 179-bedroom DoubleTree at Newcastle Airport, creating 140 jobs. The company opened the former Imperial Hotel in Jesmond under the Holiday Inn brand earlier this year.

It is also close to completing the renovation of Holiday Inn Darlington, on the junction of the A1 and the A66 near Darlington.

The hotel was established in 1939 and built on the site of a 16th century coaching inn. The £3m refurbishment has turned the hotel into a four-star venue with 91 bedrooms, an Italian restaurant, cocktail bar and new spa facilities.

A spokesman for the company said: "We are looking to recruit a great number of staff across our North-East hotels at all levels.

"The heavy investment we've made in hotels around the region means we are able to create a substantial amount of employment opportunities.

"And we are confident that there are likely to be more jobs created as other ventures move forward."

Jobs available include hotel managers, back office workers, bar and restaurant staff and for those with experience in purchase ledger and payroll.

The company is looking for both full time and part time staff and anyone interested is asked to email their CV to jobs@shnl.co.uk and with job they are interested in, and the location, in the subject line.