Works on The Imperial to convert it from a hotel to a home for the elderly have transported the iconic Sliema building further back in time to its original state as a hilltop hunting lodge about 150 years ago.

Research and old postcards, brochures and newspaper cuttings painted a picture of the property from the past that has been recreated as far as possible by the current owners of the retirement and assisted living facility that has just welcomed its first guest.

Recovered photos revealed architectural features that have been exposed, reinstated and even removed if found not to have formed part of the original building from the mid-19th century, when it stood alone on the town’s highest point, commanding views of Marsamxett Harbour, Exiles and beyond.

The front-facing stairs to the home and Maltese balconies on the two-storey façade of the scheduled property are a nod to the original design, which predates the hotel, said Sarah Cassar, managing director of St George’s Care, which also operates Casa Antonia.

Discoveries were unearthed as the renovation project progressed, said David Anastasi, the architectural and interior designer behind the project. For example, hidden stone corbels of dogs and other hunting animals were unearthed under the balconies. Meanwhile, columns on either side of The Imperial hotel’s entrance never existed, according to old photos, and were removed.

Other gilded columns in the main hall experienced another fate. They were removed until the damaged ceilings were demolished by hand and reinstated using traditional methods.

Together with the corbels, they were numbered, stored and “rebuilt exactly as before”, said Anastasi, from Forsite FS Design.

The job, which also involved architectural firm Med Design, took two years to complete.

Marrying the old with the new was a challenge: The Imperial lies on Rudolph Street, on a corner with two other roads, each on different elevations, and the three sides had to complement each other.

Hidden stone corbels of hunting animals were unearthed under the balconies

One of the first hotels, dating back to the 19th century, The Imperial had a glamorous past and welcomed a host of distinguished guests, including James Bond actor Roger Moore, Kemel Atatürk and royalty. Its clientele also included the WRENS, who were quartered in the hotel that was around long enough for its brochures to boast about the installation of electricity.

But its colonial grandeur had faded, and it had grown tired by the time it closed down in 2017.

Then, new owner Edward Vella stepped in with a mission to restore the heritage property’s 150-year-old history.

The majestic Victorian double staircase, immortalised in a Roger Moore movie shot in the hotel.

He retained whatever could be revived from the property’s past – “unlike other developers, who would not care enough to incur such costs”, Anastasi said.

Professional tradesmen were hired to carry out the restoration works, which saved large, gilded mirrors and allowed crystal chandeliers to shine again. They were purchased together with the hotel and Anastasi maintained “they fit in so well that they were probably in the original property”.

“Missing parts and requiring a total overhaul, someone else would have deemed them fit for a skip. But instead, they were restored and now adorn the residence,” he said, pointing out that all this came at a big cost and that buying new pieces would have been cheaper and easier.

The majestic Victorian double staircase in the foyer, immortalised in photos of Moore when he filmed Shout at the Devil at the hotel in the 1970s, is also intact, while the villa’s common areas have been decorated with period pieces and paintings from the late 19th century.

Old photos also revealed that some rooms had fireplaces, so these were sourced from stately homes in the UK and shipped over, Anastasi said, adding the property was intended to be the “second, or rather, the new home of the elderly for the rest of their days”.

The €30 million project also had to be commercially viable and satisfy residents’ accommodation requirements, so it includes a gym, spa and safety features. There is also a chapel, dementia wards and a mortuary.

An original U-shaped garden – a victim of the first World War II bomb to fall in Sliema and where Ataturk is said to have hatched his plan to create a Turkish Republic – has now been lowered and downsized into an internal courtyard, overlooked by rooms.

But it is being landscaped  with creepers and trees, wrought-iron benches, a pond with swans and a six-metre-tall aviary for tropical birds.

Vella also intends to plant three large trees in the corner of the property on Rudolph and St Mary streets in keeping with the name, the Three Trees, of the landmark area at the top of Dingli Street.

The home is designed to be a “lively and entertaining” residence for guests – just as it was back in the day when furniture would be pushed aside to make room for dancing lessons, according to regulars.

At this new beginning, Anastasi was touched by “testimony to how little has changed” from a 90-year-old couple whom he accompanied to visit the facility on its rebirth.

“As they entered the building, I heard the man tell his wife: ‘Hold my hand as though we are getting married again.’

“They had celebrated their wedding here 65 years ago,” Anastasi said.

“Sliema is no longer the Sliema they know. Much has been lost...”

But something in the heart of it has stayed the same.