St George’s Bay Hotel sold for €15.3 million

The St George’s Bay Hotel has been sold for €15.3 million in a final settlement on the sale of the last remaining property in the bay area, to Garnet Investments.

CH Bailey, owners of the hotel that formally occupied an entrance to Villa Rosa, announced the finalisation of the sale that started in 2009 to dispose all its properties in the area to Vic Bon Limited, later Garnet Investments.

The Cardiff-based investment company sold both Villa Rosa and Dolphin House in Paceville to Garnet for €32 million and €2.6 million respectively. Dolphin House had been used as classrooms for English language students staying at Villa Rosa before being converted into a fully-fledged English-language school for the EC company.

MORE Villa Rosa project set to obliterate historical building

Garnet, owned by property entrepreneur Anton Camilleri, recently presented plans that include residential and commercial developments on the Villa Rosa grounds and adjacent areas.

Moynihan House and Dolphin House, the two buildings proposed for demolition, do not enjoy any degree of protection. But a study by Archeology Services Limited included in the Environmental Impact Statement for the Villa Rosa development, unambiguously concludes that both buildings deserve protection as Grade 2 Buildings.

The developers have proposed the demolition of Moynihan and Dolphin Houses and their replacement with a large development block. The demolition and redevelopment of the two buildings will yield 6,010 square metres of office space, 1,800 square metres for restaurants and 2,980 square metres for a language School (2,980m2).