CC BUSINESS
Corinthia Palace: New milestones for award-winning hotel With the news that the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa has won the top local accolade at the recent World Travel Awards 2019, this five-star establishment has reconfirmed its place among Malta’s very best destinations. Here, General Manager Adrian Attard talks Jo Caruana through what guests and stakeholders can expect from the months to come – including the highly-anticipated re-launch of the Athenaeum Spa.
C
orinthia Palace Hotel & Spa is a legendary property in Malta. As one of the very first five-star hotels on the island, it has been regarded as a destination of excellence for over 50 years – and that legacy was recently underlined further when it was announced the winner of the World Travel Award 2019 for ‘Malta’s Leading Hotel’. The award was the top accolade given to Malta at the international ceremony, which took place at the Belmond Reid's Palace in Madeira. “It is a huge honour to receive an award that sets out to recognise the very best that the global travel industry has to offer,” says General Manager Adrian Attard, who travelled to Portugal to receive the award. “It was won by every single member of the team at Corinthia Palace, each of whom works tirelessly to create special and memorable experiences for our guests in Malta. At the soul of Corinthia Palace lies a legacy of 51 years, built upon uplifting the lives of our guests and our staff, and I am honoured to be able to take this legacy forward at what is certainly an exciting time for the hotel, as well as the international Corinthia brand as a whole.” And ‘exciting time’ is no understatement. The award comes at a milestone moment for Corinthia Palace, as the hotel gets set to
36
complete a substantial renovation process that includes new back-of-house services and machinery, a soft upgrading of the rooms and suites, the launch of the new executive lounge, and an upgrading of the lobby. Phase three of this programme will be the re-launch of the Athenaeum Spa as Malta’s foremost spa following a multi-million euro investment that will be completed in October. “The Athenaeum originally opened in the early 1990s and has always held a very special place among the Maltese as one of the first real spas to open on the island,” Mr Attard continues. “Today we are in the process of reimagining it and recreating it for the 21st century, with a product line and treatment experience that exudes luxury, but which is firmly rooted in Maltese nature. We look forward to unveiling it to our guests in October.” Achieving the accolade of Malta’s Leading Hotel also underlines the Corinthia Palace’s food and beverage offering, with a set of fivestar dining options that includes The Summer Kitchen (which has recently reopened for the season), Villa Corinthia, Rickshaw, Orange Grove and Caprice Lounge. Once again, Villa Corinthia is also proving to be one of the island’s most popular luxury events venues for extraordinary weddings and other occasions. The hotel has also solidified its reputation as an excellent choice for meetings and
conference business on the island, whether local or incoming. The Corinthia Ballroom is a large, flexible event space for up to 300 guests, renowned for its state-of-the-art technology offering and superior facilities. The Villa Corinthia, of course, is the ultimate destination to impress – whether for dinner or an extra special event. The venue also provides high-end private dining for anything from two to 50 guests, and is celebrated for its classic service, contemporary food, striking décor, and unwavering attention to detail; it is both an exceptional and practical option whether your guests are local or international. “Beyond that, there has been the development of the soft side of the business,” Mr Attard continues. “Namely the consolidation of our in-house Uplifting Lives programme, which sits at the heart of our culture – a culture rooted in the positive, open and creative characters of our team.” After all, Corinthia Palace is known to be the spiritual home of Corinthia Hotels International – a now global brand that started right here, in Villa Corinthia, in the 1960s. “That means a JUNE/JULY 2019