Works on Valletta’s Embassy Complex new hotel to start in January

Valletta will soon have its largest hotel as works on the Embassy Complex are slated to start on 7 January, the company running the building said.

The four-star hotel will be located on the top six floors of the complex and will have 81 rooms. A pool and breakfast area will be built at roof level and the hotel will also have a central courtyard.

The hotel entrance will be on Strait Street.

The project is expected to be complete in 2019 and will also see the cinema halls shifted to the floors below ground level.

The company said cinema attendances increased constantly over the past four years, which prompted it to retain the theatres in the new project.

The complex will also have two floors of commercial outlets.

The project was approved in February 2018 by the Planning Authority.

The building will retain its current height and external structure and the main design of the facades will remain very similar, apart from the introduction of windows.

Bettina Azzopardi, managing director of the Embassy said the project was a large investment prompted by the demand for more hotel rooms in Valletta and an improved cinema experience.

“The company is investing funds and resources to create a modern and comfortable environment to meet today’s demands of a vibrant city such as Valletta. The project will also create new employment opportunities in the hospitality and entertainment industry,” Azzopardi said.

The building which has a footprint of approximately 850sq.m. was used as a hotel in the 19th century until it got partially-destroyed during an air-raid during World War II.

It opened as a cinema in the 1950s and in 1999 it was re-built as a shopping and cinema complex.