91Èȱ¬

Tributes have been paid to Scottish hotelier Ken McCulloch, who has died aged 76.

He is known as the founder of the Malmaison and Dakota hotel chains

Born in Glasgow in 1948, he began his career as a commis chef in the kitchens at Malmaison restaurant at Glasgow's Central Hotel and Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

Alongside his wife, designer Amanda Rosa, he transformed Glasgow's Cavendish Hotel into One Devonshire Gardens where he held a Michelin star in 1996.

Mr McCulloch went on to create the Malmaison Hotel Group, with his first site in Edinburgh in 1994.

He moved to Monaco, and with wife Amanda partnered with racing driver David Coulthard to buy the Abela Hotel, transforming it into the Columbus Hotel.

In 2004, he founded Dakota Hotels before returning home to Glasgow in 2009.

In an interview in 2017, after the opening of a new Dakota in Glasgow, he told 91Èȱ¬ Scotland News: "In my world I strive to make my hotels and restaurants a little bit better every day. That is my focus.

"A Michelin star can only help that but it should not be taken literally. It should be kept in perspective."

Paying tribute, Harry Murray, president of the Hospitality Professionals Association said: "Ken was one of the most successful creative and consummate hoteliers of the past 35 years.

"He created hotels and brands with total focus on guests, his attention to detail was inspiring."