Five-star hotel in Balluta expected to open next year

Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech yesterday toured works at Le Méridien St Julian's, a five-star hotel under construction at Balluta Bay, which should be opening its doors in summer 2004.

Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts owns and manages Le Méridien Phoenicia in Floriana. Its new hotel has 286 rooms, each having sea or country views, bringing Le Méridien's total number of rooms in Malta to 418.

Built on the grounds of the historic Villa Cassar Torreggiani, the Balluta hotel's design is intended to draw from the distinctive architecture of the surrounding area.

The classic 18th-century villa is itself being turned into five lavish suites with the most modern interior facilities, and is expected to be a unique attraction in Malta.

The hotel's conference centre is spread over 1,600 square metres, accommodating up to 315 delegates, and its atrium-style leisure and spa centre is already shaping up.

The minister congratulated Bajja Investments Ltd, which is investing Lm14 million in the construction of the hotel.

He also used the opportunity to give a few figures connected with the five-star sector, saying their number had risen to 13, offering 5,040 beds, with other properties under construction.

The number of guest nights spent in five-star hotels until October of last year increased to 798,359 - 8.41 per cent of the total.

In 1998, 486,486 guest nights (6.25 per cent) were spent in five-star hotels, while in 2001 the figure had increased to 905,172 (8.18 per cent).

Dr Zammit Dimech said the occupancy rates in five-star hotels were also encouraging. They were the first to report a sharp decline after September 11, and the first to recover.

Occupancy rates were 66 per cent in 2000, 67 per cent in 2001 and 68 per cent in 2002, with the best quarter last year being the fourth. Much of the growth in tourism during the last three months of 2002 was related to short-stay five-star business, the minister suggested.

Dr Zammit Dimech said the conference and incentive sector had generated over Lm18 million for the economy in 2001. The lucrative niche market represented about 60,000 visitors a year - four per cent of arrivals.

The directors of Bajja Investments Ltd, Vincent Camilleri and Charles Polidano, said they were pleased to have secured the services of Le Méridien, with its reputation for high standards of service.

Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts joint chairman Juergen Bartels said Le Méridien's current portfolio included 135 hotels - 41 in Europe and 18 in the UK alone - with 36,000 guest rooms in 56 countries. It has 30,000 employees, 900 on sales.

He said that many of Le Méridien's 400,000 loyalty customers would be using the St Julian's hotel. As many as 18,800 travel agents' employees are offered a two per cent commission as a strong incentive, he said