In 1972 we bought this beautiful 19th century hotel which overlooked the sea and fronted on to North Berwick Golf  Course. It was still catering for a traditional market but was the only large hotel close to the world famous Muirfield. We refurbished the entire hotel and aimed for a sports orientated market – squash courts were built and a function suite added and we became popular with both a younger customer base with professional golf tournaments and a more traditional golf audience by attractive tours in  conjunction with similar hotels. Being only 30 minutes from Edinburgh we also drew the annual Edinburgh Festival crowd. After six years we sold the Marine Hotel to an international hotel group which developed it further for their overseas incoming tourist markets.