Lm9 million Sliema hotel to open next year

After four years of hard work, the new five-star hotel, The Palace, right next door to The Victoria hotel in Sliema, is in its final structural works and will open its doors next summer.

This city hotel, a Lm9 million investment, will "repeat the success of The Victoria retaining its individuality and uniqueness, but stressing service, quality and location," Claire Xuereb, general manager of The Victoria hotel, told The Sunday Times on Tuesday.

It has been a long journey, from The Victoria to the 200-year-old Palazzo Capua, in all its majesty and splendour, through to The Palace, yet another classical hotel, but urban and luxurious, with a design-driven concept.

"The Palace targets mainly the corporate segment. At the same time we want this hotel to be very functional and bursting with activity," explained a dynamic Ms Xuereb, daughter of entrepreneur Anglu Xuereb.

The 156-room hotel will have a fully equipped business centre with a range of conference facilities and meeting rooms, supported by the latest technology, to suit all business needs.

"In keeping with tradition", The Palace also has a central courtyard. The round structure of the building "gives the hotel a sense of warmth and gatherness".

Designed by architect Martin Xuereb, with the help of Hirsch Bedner & Associates, who carried out the initial layouts, The Palace was planned meticulously from start to finish.

Various artist's impressions and professional designs hanging in Ms Xuereb's office feature the hotel's distinct lobby adjacent to a beautiful atrium, which makes the hotel look truly grand.

Right at the hotel's entrance is Talk of Town - an upclass café where guests can meet and socialise in the heart of Sliema, combining fashionable dining, exquisite food and an array of fine wines to create a vibrant and distinctive ambience.

Talk of Town will have an original design, with tables and chairs belonging to different eras "allowing us to cater for different guests at different times of day".

The TemptAsian Lounge, situated on the top floor of The Palace, with truly magnificent views of Sliema and the Grand Harbour, offers a fusion of Asian cuisines in a tropical and relaxing Asian-themed setting - "a combination of minimalism and romanticism".

The Tabloid, the hotel's main restaurant "adds an avant-garde feeling and is part and parcel of the whole theme, classy but cosmopolitan". It will be a versatile venue offering contemporary Mediterranean cuisine in a stylish and modern setting. Guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner, selecting from a well-chosen buffet or à la carte menus.

Eleven types of rooms, designed on classic lines and combined with elegant furnishings, with luxurious themed suites all combine to offer an ultimate hotel experience.

In addition "we specialise in quality service, thus offering a whole range of services, including those of a personal butler if the need arises".

Modern yet refined, classical but luxurious... The Palace is a fusion of different moods with one concept - catering for the independent traveller seeking alternative elegant and trendy accommodation and wanting to live the full character of the local experience.