Tourists who arrive in Malta without the necessary coronavirus documentation will be placed at the Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort in St George’s Bay after the authorities approved it as a quarantine hotel.
As the tourism season opens, a new law requires travellers to present a negative PCR test result or a vaccine certification before departing.
If, for some reason, travellers arrive in Malta without the required documents, they must pay €120 for a PCR test and €100 for every night spent in accommodation approved by the Superintendent of Public Health.
The accommodation fee does not include food, drinks or any other services.
If a COVID test is positive, those in quarantine must pay for the entire stay until they are virus-free.
Set up to cater for visitors without the necessary documentation
The four-star Marina Hotel is part of the Corinthia Beach Resort and has 200 rooms, including 10 family rooms and 11 suites each with a private balcony and view.
The hotel is best known for its superb sea views and being just a stone's throw away from St Julian’s and Paceville, the island’s nightlife scene.
Guests will not be allowed to exit their room while in the hotel, but they are fortunate enough to enjoy the view.
Corinthia Group company secretary Jean-Pierre Schembri said that the Marina Hotel has been set up as a quarantine hotel since June 1.
When trying to book a room on the hotel’s website, one will find the dates from June till September blocked, with the earliest booking available in October 2021.
“The hotel has been closed since March 2020 and has now been set up to cater for visitors to Malta arriving without the necessary documentation or mandatory tests,” Schembri told Times of Malta.
He said that the hotel operates as a ‘bubble’, following all the related health protocols and is entirely detached from other hotels in the area.
The number of guests changes daily and, as of Tuesday morning, there were 24 guests. Schembri said that guests are serviced in the hotel’s rooms until allowed to leave by the local authorities.