MICHAEL Grange, who died aged 61, was the 'universally popular' general manager of the Randolph Hotel and enjoyed a successful 39-year career in hospitality.

Mr Grange was general manager at the historic Beaumont Street five-star hotel for 12 years until his sudden death earlier this month.

The hotelier was praised across the industry for his response to the devastating fire which hit the 150-year-old building in 2015 and masterminded its subsequent £6.5m refurbishment project.

The Oxfordshire Hoteliers Group described him as an unforgettable, warm-hearted and totally committed individual.

His brother Anthony said he was a 'very caring and generous' uncle and brother.

Michael Grange was born in April 1956 in Dorchester, Dorset and in his early years lived in the gatehouse of Damers Hospital in the town, where his father was a doctor.

As it happens the architect for the hospital was George Wilkinson, whose brother William was the architect for the Randolph Hotel.

When he was a young boy the family moved to Cambridge and he grew up in the city with his parents, his elder brother Anthony and younger sister Caroline.

After leaving school he went to Westminster College as a trainee on Forte Hotel's renowned graduate programme in 1978.

His first job was at London’s Grosvenor House hotel, before moving on to Brown’s Hotel, London as banqueting manager.

In 1983 he joined the Queens Hotel & Spa in Cheltenham, as deputy general manager, and three years later took up the same position at the Post House in Milton Keynes.

This led to his first general manager position at the Star Inn in Alfriston, East Sussex.

After two years he moved to the Swan hotel in Lavenham, Suffolk – where he was general manager from 1990 to 1997.

He moved several times over the next decade, working at hotels in Winchester and Salisbury and also as regional general manager for Granada – which took over from Forte – for its Bath Spa and Francis Hotels.

In 2006 he took a job in Oxford, where his sister Caroline works at the John Radcliffe Hospital, as general manager of the five-star 151-bedroom Randolph Hotel.

The Macdonald Hotels Group had acquired Granada and in running the Randolph Hotel wanted the experienced Mr Grange at the helm.

He remained at his home in Winchester but quickly became a popular figure in the city, with guests of the hotels, visitors and other hoteliers in the area.

After the devastating fire at the Randolph in April 2015, Mr Grange led the £6.5m renovation project, which was completed last year.

The hotel won the 'front of house team of the year' award at the Hotel Cateys 2015 for going above and beyond the property’s emergency plan.

Just weeks before his death he sat on the judging panel at the 2017 awards, selected on account of his successful career.

Last year the hotelier and his staff celebrated the Randolph’s 150th anniversary and a book on its history was published.

He developed a love of the city and became a director at Experience Oxfordshire – an organisation which aims to promote and improve the city and county.

He also gave up much of his time to support charities and projects across the county.

From a young age he was fascinated by travel and wrote to airlines to collect information and sought to stay in unusual hotels around the world.

He died in his home on September 17 and is survived by his mother, and his siblings Anthony and Caroline.