The Phoenicia Hotel will be undergoing extensive refurbishment, estimated to cost €15 million, which will include the upgrading of its 136 rooms and the restoration of its facade.

The five-star hotel, located at the entrance of Valletta, will be closed between November and March.

The hotel will also get new rooftop sky suites and outdoor infinity pool, re-landscaped grounds and terraces, health club and spa, a gymnasium and indoor swimming pool. The ballroom will be refurbished and there will be investment in a new energy efficient plant.

The works will be carried out by CambellGray Hotels, a hotel chain owned by designer Gordon Campbell Gray. Mr Gray said the philosophy behind the renovation of the 1939 hotel was about “restoring it to its original grandeur while at the same time making it feel like now and, therefore, more relevant to the current international traveller.”