The Barceló Fortina Malta, a hotel located adjacent to Tigné Point in Sliema, was officially inaugurated on Thursday (today), concluding a project worth a reported €35 million.

The hotel, which first opened in 1966 as a 65-bedroom property, underwent a massive redevelopment in recent years, transforming it into a 183-room five-star hotel, covering a built-up area of 60,000 square metres. Fortina Investments Ltd is behind the hotel’s redevelopment, which had been in the making for five years.

The new Barceló Fortina Malta, as it is now referred to, will be operated by Barceló Hotel Group, the hotel division of Spanish multinational company Barceló Group. Globally, the group has over 175 hotels spread across 21 countries and has established itself as a leading global hospitality company.

It was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela, who said that it is another significant investment from the private sector that will bring added value to Malta’s tourism industry.

“It is crucial that we take the next step by continuing to improve the quality of the touristic product that our country offers,” he remarked.

Aside from its 183-room hotel, the Fortina site also contains 60 designer luxury apartments, a public open space, a retail area over two levels, an office block, parking facilities, as well as other services. Additionally, the hotel also features a number of modern luxury amenities, such as a wellness space complete with a spa, a gym with an indoor heated pool, a newly built stylish lido with two restaurants and a chill-out bar, as well as fully equipped bars and restaurants within the hotel.

The development has prompted debate, as the developers illegally extended the hotel’s lido into the sea. Government eventually gave the go-ahead for the development to continue, and it will now also contain pontoons for yachts.