The Embassy Complex in Valletta is set for an overhaul after the Planning Authority unanimously approved plans to convert it into the city’s only four-star hotel.
The 82-room hotel will take up seven floors currently occupied by retail outlets and cinema screens, with a reception and commercial area on the ground floor and a pool and breakfast area at roof level.
Entrance to the hotel will be from Strait Street, while entrance to the commercial premises will remain on St Lucy Street.
The cinema is expected to be moved to another part of the complex, below ground level, at a later stage.
Plans for a hotel at the complex, which was built in 1999, have been afoot for some time, the PA already having approved a smaller boutique hotel over three floors four years ago.
The developers had originally sought to add two extra floors to the six-storey building, which is already one of the highest buildings overlooking Marsamxett Harbour, but this was turned down by the authority.
Internally, the main structure will be retained, but all partitions and floors will be totally replaced
The newly-approved plans will stick to the current height, with a slight increase offset by the removal of services from the rooftop.
Project architect Martin Xuereb said during the hearing that the overall visual profile would be reduced.
According to the Planning Directorate, which had recommended the case for approval, the main design of the façades is envisaged to remain identical, with the exception of the introduction of windows.
Internally, the main structure will be retained, but all partitions and floors will be totally replaced.
The directorate concluded that no additional parking provision would be required as the change from a shopping mall with cinemas to a hotel would not create an increased demand.
Valletta has seen a blossoming of hotels in recent years. The PA received 11 new applications for boutique hotels, guesthouses and other forms of tourism accommodation in Valletta last year alone, according to information tabled in Parliament.