Preluna Hotel gets its twin

The Planning Authority has approved a 138-room, five-star, 15-storey hotel on the site previously occupied by the Astra Hotel in Sliema.

The new hotel is just a building away from the Preluna Hotel, Malta’s first-ever high-rise building.

The new development is proposed by the owners of the Preluna Hotel and involves the addition of 43 more rooms than those approved in a 2020 permit for a four-star hotel.

The site in question is on a corner between Triq it-Torri, Triq L. Graham, and Triq Milner, with the main entrance being along Għar id-Dud.

The development will be stepped down towards Milner Street which still includes a row of elegant traditional townhouses.

The new hotel will include an underground car park on two levels, bars and restaurants at ground, first, and roof levels, 138 guestrooms from the second floor up to the 15th level, and a pool at roof level.

Although the development rises to a similar height as the one approved five years ago, it now covers a larger footprint along Milner Street.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had registered its concern about the considerable massing of the proposed development, which directly abuts a row of townhouses of cultural heritage value, and had requested photomontages showing the impact of the development from various viewpoints.

Two photomontages were submitted – one from Triq it-Torri and one from Milner Street. However, the second montage barely includes the neighbouring row of houses.

Despite basing its assessment on this limited visual study, the Planning Directorate concluded that the development respected the surrounding context, and no further consultation with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage was deemed necessary.

The hotel development benefitted from three extra floors over and above the height limitation applicable to the Sliema front, thanks to two different policies – one allowing hotels in the development zone two extra floors and another in the local plan permitting an additional floor for hotels.

Din l-Art Ħelwa had objected to the development, warning that it would impinge on both the visual and social amenity of the densely built urban area. It also questioned the applicability of the hotel height policies to this site.

However, according to the case officer who assessed the development, the siting of the proposed project offered “a significant opportunity in terms of visual and architectural gain since it provides legibility within the area it is located.”

Moreover, to minimise the visual impact of the proposed development, the developer reduced the built-up area at the upper levels to provide an adequate transition.

“By reducing the building volume at these levels, the impact of the development has been reduced, thus mitigating any potential blank party walls that would have been created on this part of the development.”