Respected local hospitality professional Fabien Vella has announced his appointment of Hotel Manager at Meliá Hotels International in Malta, as the firm enters the local market.

It will be introducing four new hotels during the course of the next two years, with the first – Hotel Mistral Affiliated by Meliá to open late this year.

Another three – Hotel Ratton Affiliated by Meliá, Hotel Constance Affiliated by Meliá and ME Malta – are expected to open their doors next year.

Taking to social media, he celebrated the achievement and detailed the opening of the hotels.

Meliá Hotels International is a major international hotel chain. It was founded in 1956 and has since grown to count more than 380 hotels in 40 countries in its portfolio.

Mr Vella will bring over two decades of hospitality experience to the role, having entered the industry as Front Office Manager at the Golden Tulip Vivaldi in 1999.

In 2001, he joined Hilton Malta, where he would remain for nearly 16 years, serving eventually as Director of Sales.

Leaving the Hilton, he served a short stint as General Manager at the Waterfront Hotel before leaving in 2017 to take the same position at prestigious Valletta hotel Domus Zamittello – where he served for over four years.