The Malta Tourism Authority has approved a second quarantine hotel, the three-star Sliema Hotel on the seafront, following a call issued after the Marina Hotel St George’s Bay was approaching full capacity earlier this month.
A spokesperson for the MTA said the new hotel, run by ST Hotels, has 70 rooms.
Anyone arriving in Malta without an approved vaccine certificate or who is unvaccinated will be charged at least €1,400 per room for a 14-day stay in a quarantine hotel.
The accommodation fee does not include food and drink or other services.
Those who fail to complete the mandatory quarantine period face a fine of up to €10,000.
The quarantine measure came into force after the government eased its ban on unvaccinated travellers, reversing a decision to only allow vaccinated visitors into the island.
Maltese residents entering the country without a vaccine certificate must apply for permission to avoid paying the hefty bill to quarantine in a hotel.
Children under 12 and those with a medical reason for not taking the vaccine are exempt and are allowed to travel using a PCR test taken no later than 72 hours before arrival.
If any tourist tests positive prior to leaving Malta, having arrived with all the necessary documentation in place, they will not be asked to pay for the quarantine accommodation.
Four properties had applied for the call issued by tourism authority earlier this month, after the four-star Corinthia Marina Hotel started to approach full capacity.
Since then, however, the number of guests at the Marina has dwindled significantly... on Monday morning there were 116 occupied rooms of the hotel’s 200, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the Sliema Hotel started to be used for quarantine purposes on Wednesday last week.
To apply as a quarantine hotel, a property must be licensed, up to date with arrears and with no pending enforcement issues.
“A central location is preferred. The hotel should be located in one parcel of land and internal rooms should be less than 50% of inventory, a minimum classification of a 3-star and the number of beds not less than 70,” the spokesperson said.
The Sliema Hotel website shows that the earliest booking available now is in October 2021.