TWO of Droitwich's most iconic hotels are up for sale - for a combined price tag of £33.5 million.

The Chateau Impney Hotel on the outskirts of the town and the Raven Hotel in the centre have been put on the market by their owner, the Impney Group.

The grade II listed Chateau Impney is set in about 144 acres and has 124 existing bedrooms and apartments.

It has planning permission for a further 169 bedrooms and suites, and extensive exhibition and conference facilities. Its guide price is £25 million.

Its sister hotel the Raven has 72 bedrooms and is on the market for £7.5 million.

A spokesman for the Impney Group said there were more than 100 employers at both hotels.

"The interest expressed in the hotels so far is from other hotel and conference operators. I don't believe they will want to get rid of staff," he said. The properties are being sold by Knight Frank's hotels department. Dominic Mayes, head of hotels at Knight Frank, said: "The sale of these unique hotels represents a rare opportunity to acquire iconic, nationally recognised properties with significant development potential.

"Chateau Impney Hotel will appeal to a wide range of potential purchasers to include local and national investors, hotel operators and more specialist destination conference and exhibition operators.

"The Raven Hotel will attract similar purchasers as it not only occupies a superb position, but can accommodate significant conference business."

Chateau Impney was built in a classic French Renaissance chateau style in about 1875 by John Corbett, the son of a wealthy bargee from Staffordshire, as a present for his French governess wife.

The Raven Hotel, opposite the Lido Park, is believed to date from the 16th century with more recent additions.