Jerma Hotel checks out this weekend

Malta's most prestigious hotel in the south, the four-star Corinthia Jerma Palace, closes its doors this weekend after 25 years in operation to make way for alternative development.

The hotel, then the biggest in Malta with 700 beds, had been opened by Tourism Minister Reno Calleja in 1982. It had taken three years to build and cost Lm7 million.

The 326-room hotel and the land had been owned by Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company and is operated to this day by the Corinthia Group.

Sources said yesterday about 20 of the 100 or so employees would be made redundant. The others were absorbed by Corinthia or had accepted early retirement schemes.

The sources said the hotel had been a favourite with many repeat visitors, especially from Germany and the UK. They built strong friendships with the staff and were extremely disappointed the hotel was closing down.