A £4 million revamp begins in March on York's most prominent hotel.

Each one of The Park Inn's 200 bedrooms is to get a facelift at a cost approaching £20,000.

Public areas within the eight-storey Ouse-side hotel, such as the Courtyard bar and brasserie, are also to be refurbished.

Every single bedroom window is to be replaced, which should brighten the look of the city riverside landmark both from outside and within. Bedrooms will be equipped with plasma screen televisions, air conditioning and big power showers.

Work will take place two storeys at a time in order not to disrupt guests - and the project should be finished by the start of the conference season in August.

Jonathan Meehan, general manager of the three-star hotel, which boasts a health and fitness club, plus 12 meeting rooms accommodating up to 400 delegates, believes that the end result will be a modern look which will create "the best sleep in town."

The big investment was portended back in April 2006 when the Rezidor Hotel Group took over the running of what was the York Moat House from Jefferson Hotels on a 25-year lease. Rezidor rebranded the York building as part of its three- star Park Inn brand in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Also in the Rezidor portfolio are the five-star Regent Hotels and four-star Raddisson SAS chain worldwide.

Kathy Heaton, sales manager for the York Park Inn, said: "We are all thrilled that work is about to begin.

"It really should make a difference from the outside too, with all those gleaming new PVC windows."

The announcement is the latest in a series of big investments in the hotel industry in York.

Last November, the four-star, 44-bedroom Hotel Du Vin opened its doors after a £9 million project to convert a stylish two-storey Grade II listed building on the corner of The Mount and Scarcroft Road.

In addition, the three-star Churchill Hotel, in Bootham, has more than doubled its capacity - from 14 to 32 bedrooms - after a £1.5 million investment, which also saw the refurbishment and extension of its Westminster, Blenheim and Chartwell Rooms.