Hotel Phoenicia upgrading project given green light

The Hotel Phoenicia, one of Malta’s oldest tourism properties, has been given planning permission by the Malta Environment and Planning Authroity to develop additional bedrooms and to carry out restoration and rehabilitation works to the nearby stables.

This permit also allows works to be carried out to upgrade the hotel, its surrounding grounds and the area of St John's Ditch.

The Mepa board agreed that the proposed changes to the rooftop level of the hotel would significantly improve the overall aesthetic design of the existing hotel.

The major work attributed to this project would be the construction of two wings on each of the two main sides of the hotel and the restoration and adaptation of the stables in St James Ditch to accommodate a total addition of 82 new guest bedrooms.

Given that the project cannot provide sufficient parking spaces, the board imposed that the hotel owner pays over €109,000 to the Commuter Parking Payment Scheme (CPPS).

The CPPS was initiated by MEPA in 1994 to allow developers who are unable to provide the required parking facilities for their projects, to contribute towards a fund that would later be used to finance the construction of car parks and the provision of facilities related to the local public transport infrastructure.

The Phoenicia Hotel was built partly on the place-of-arms just outside Valletta's Main Gate and forming part of the City's fortified landfront. Plans on building the Phoenicia Hotel commenced in 1935 under the watchful eye of Architect William Bryce Binnie. During the Second World War, the site was hit by enemy action with major damage being caused to the east section of the building. The hotel was officially opened in 1947.