An application for the redevelopment of the long derelict Grand Hotel Verdala in Rabat, into a luxurious eight-storey complex, is being recommended for approval.

The Verdala project, once associated with a controversial golf course application, would include 40 guest rooms, 31 serviced apartments as well as a new block of 85 private apartments.

A decision on the outline application by the PA board is scheduled for Thursday.

Located on a ridge, the hotel had significantly altered the Rabat skyline when it was inaugurated in 1971 as a 160-bedroom five-star hotel.

It ceased operations in 1997 and was intended for redevelopment by construction magnate Angelo Xuereb.

That project included an 18-hole golf course stretching down into the valley, a proposal which prompted major controversy and opposition from environmentalists and which was finally rejected by the planning authority. An application for reconsideration is still pending.

A permit for redevelopment of the hotel was eventually issued in 2000 but the project never took off and the building fell into disrepair, becoming an eyesore.

Three years ago – two decades after the hotel stopped operating – Xuereb filed an outline application for a new 80-bed five star hotel. 

Spanning a footprint of 6,507 square metres, of which 726 are outside the development zone, the project includes shops, an interconnection with the existing Virtu Heights building and underground parking spaces for around 160 vehicles.

It comprises three blocks of seven mainly stepped storeys on the inhabited side of the site but eight floors at the rear overlooking the ridge.

The case officer has recommended the project for approval.

The hotel and mansions, which are in the foreground, from another angle as they look now. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

According to the environmental impact assessment, the new project will be less of an eyesore on the skyline than the existing building.

This conclusion was based on an analysis of 11 viewpoints: from 10 of them, the new hotel would be an improvement on the existing skyline, it was concluded.

The developer says the new proposal is up to two floors lower than the original permit approved in 2000.

On the other hand, the study flagged the loss of 726 square metres of agricultural land as unroofed terraces at ground level would encroach on ODZ land.

Another negative impact flagged by the report is increase in traffic noise especially in Inguanez and St Catherine streets.

Citing the EIA conclusions, the Environment Resources Authority said that the overall site context, previous development commitment on site and the limited range of expected additional impacts were such that there were no overriding reservations from an environmental point of view.

Submissions were also made by the Verdala Mansions Owners Association, who live in a complex also owned by Xuereb adjacent to the hotel. While noting they would benefit if the hotel no longer presented an eyesore, they expressed concern about the scale of the project and increase in traffic it would generate.

NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa is objecting on the grounds that part of the project is on ODZ land, the site’s prominent ridge-edge location would have a visual impact and archaeological remains may be present on the site.