Swanky boutique hotel in Birgu goes for €4.1 million

A luxury boutique hotel in Birgu has been sold for €4.1 million just over three years since it opened for business

Initially built in 1565 the palace was a beneficiary of sustainable tourism funds prior to its transformation
Initially built in 1565 the palace was a beneficiary of sustainable tourism funds prior to its transformation

A luxury boutique hotel in Birgu, the Palazzo Vittoriosa, has been sold for €4.1 million by the Dutch couple who acquired the building and renovated it, just over three years since it opened for business.

The 16th century palace was renovated by Jessica and Remco Slik, who received €85,000 in EU grants for the renovation, but put the boutique hotel on sale in July 2014, just 18 months after opening for business in December 2012.

Initially built in 1565 and unused for decades prior to its transformation into a tourist asset, the palace was a beneficiary of sustainable tourism funds. But the hotel appears to have attracted little custom.

The sale, made earlier in May, was made to Belgian entrepreneur Patrick De Pauw.

Couple Remco and Jessica Slik turned the Birgu property into a goldmine
Couple Remco and Jessica Slik turned the Birgu property into a goldmine

The house at 55 and 56 Hilda Tabone Street was originally acquired by the Sliks for €535,755 in May 2009. The renovated property earned the Sliks a profit of €3.6 million over five years.

The former Malta Tourism Authority chief executive, Josef Formosa Gauci, had said the EU money would have to be paid back if the property were to be sold as a residence. “What we would now need to look into is in what form the property is going to be sold. At the end of the day, the owners were given the grant for the restoration and opening of a top-end hotel. The scheme was not given to them in order to fund a private residence or sell it as such.”

MaltaToday understands that the hotel was in part sold to De Pauw’s company Peacock Ltd – set up in December 2015 – for €200,000 in consideration of the movable items in the hotel.

If the property is sold as a residential unit, then the owners would need to pay back the grant they received in its entirety, but if the hotel is sold as a going concern with the purpose of the property remaining the same, then the new owners would need to take on the responsibility of the agreement themselves.