There is a warm feeling about the hotel rooms and suites in the extension at Hilton Malta, which will be inaugurated soon.

All rooms have the same contemporary design, in a modern vein, by the French firm of designers Jean Philip Nuel, while the architects of the extension were Demicoli & Associates. The shape of the rooms and the general layout varies according to the architecture of the building.

Finishing is in an advanced stage, with the bedroom furniture being fitted once the carpeting has been laid. The furniture, which is imported from Austria, is finished in a walnut veneer.

Apart from double beds and fitted wardrobes, incorporating mini-bars, another key element in the rooms, is a long desk, incorporating a flat screen TV and an Internet keyboard. The rooms are all Wi-Fi enabled.

The bathrooms are kitted out according to the shape of the room. All have a shower, separate bath, separate toilet and a 'his and hers' vanity. One type of room has a stand-alone bath in the middle of the room; other types of rooms have the bath in between the two vanities; and yet another type of room has a circular bath, with all bathrooms having thermostatically controlled underfloor heating.

Engineer Joseph Restall, who is supervising works on behalf of Hilton Malta, along with representatives of the site owners, the Tumas Group, said a key development in the extension is a sophisticated room management system.

This enables the hotel to control waste of energy. "If you leave the room, the system automatically switches everything off and, before you open the door, it switches everything on exactly as you had left it," he said. This is part of Hilton Malta's environment commitment to corporate social responsibility.

The extension consists of nine floors - 110 rooms in all.

The first batch of 80 rooms are expected to be completed in two weeks' time with the rest by May.