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MT 30 July 2017

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 JULY 2017 Events 45 The Phoenicia Malta, the Grande Dame of Malta's luxury hotel indus- try, has reopened under new man- agement after a painstaking refur- bishment that left little change from €20 million. Gordon Campbell Gray, the debonair and energetic founder of Campbell Gray Hotels, which now manages The Phoenicia, told Mal- taToday: "The Phoenicia will be run to the highest of standards and will hopefully, like our other hotels, be a worthy member of Leading Hotels of the World." Gordon Campbell Gray has won many awards includ- ing Hotelier of the Year, Leading Legend Award and Outstanding Contribution to the Hotel Industry, amongst others. The Phoenicia Malta is the only luxury hotel in Malta to meet the rigorous standards set by The Leading Hotels of the World. The Leading Hotels of the World, is the prestigious luxury hospitality or- ganisation representing the world's finest hotels and resorts consist- ing of 375 luxury hotels around the world, an outstanding luxury hotel collection. The Leading Hotels of the World offers all kinds of one- of-a-kind luxury hotels, resorts and spas. Requirements for becoming a member of The Leading Hotels of the World stipulate that a hotel must meet exacting standards of ex- cellence in all areas affecting guest comfort, convenience and well be- ing. Upon successful completion of a rigorous application and inspec- tion process, only the most eminent hotels are accepted for admission. The Phoenicia Malta embarked on a careful and sensitive restora- tion and refurbishment programme under the guidance of Peter Young design with Mary Fox Linton and supported by local architects AP. The restoration of this acclaimed heritage hotel was conducted over 18 months to ensure every detail of the restoration programme was approached with careful considera- tion to detail as specified by Gordon Campbell Gray. The enigmatic Gordon Campbell Gray says,"It is very important to emphasise that I have always been an advocate of inclusivity. I never like Hotels to feel exclusive! I like them to feel welcoming, friendly and I want everyone who visits whether it be to stay, have lunch, a drink or a cup of coffee to feel su- perbly welcome, relaxed and realise that coming to The Phoenicia is fun and a hopefully a lovely experience." He continues, "We want eating at The Phoenicia to be relaxed and about fun as well as a delicious expe- rience whether it be having lunch or dinner on the terrace in the Phoenix Restaurant, having tea and a sand- wich in The Palm Court, a relaxed pizza or salad in Café Phoenicia (opening soon) or a drink in The Club Bar." Talking about the unique foot- print of land below the Valletta bastions where much of The Phoe- nicia sprawls, Campbell Gray care- fully outlines how the breath-taking new pool deck has been sensitively teased out, he says, "There is no question that hav- ing seven and a half acres of garden is indeed very special and we have and will continue to develop the gardens. The pool deck has been completely re-designed along with the new infinity pool and of course continues to offer one of the most beautiful of settings for peace and tranquillity with its stunning views while overlooking the Marsamxett Harbour." He adds, "The Bastion Bar, our new pool bar has been rebuilt and shortly we will be serving dinner by the pool on certain evenings." So what drove the internation- ally acclaimed hotelier to devote so much time and attention on The Phoenicia Malta? Campbell Gray is quick to answer, "It has always been a dream of mine to restore a grand hotel, to keep it grand while at the same time have it feel smart and slightly contempo- rary and absolutely right for now. I chose Peter Young Design to work with me on the philosophy and de- signs as they have in conjunction with Mary Fox Linton worked with me extensively on various projects in the past. They were involved most recently with Le Gray in Beirut and are currently working with us on one of our new hotels, The Machrie on the island of Islay in Scotland. It is so great working with familiar people as it makes the creative pro- cess so much easier and we have an instinctive understanding of what we wish to achieve" But is this all that CampbellGray Hotels has in mind for The Phoeni- cia? Gordon shares his strong feel- ings for the Malta property, "My vi- sion for the Phoenicia is very clear. I want it to be restored to its former glory and reputation and to be known not simply as a great hotel in Malta but to reach a much wider and more international audience and ultimately be recognised as one of the great hotels of the world and thus attract a truly exciting interna- tional clientele, many of whom have yet to discover the magic of Malta." Mr. Campbell Gray has recruited some new faces to help deliver the kind of service demanded by Lead- ing Hotels of the World and also recognises that he is blessed with a veteran core group who know the hotel and its guests intimately, "We are very fortunate to have a won- derful team, many of whom have been at The Phoenicia for many many years and we also have new members of the team, all of whom are highly dedicated to look after our guests. We stamp that on eve- rything and it is our company phi- losophy: ULTIMATELY IT IS ALL ABOUT SERVICE" The last word goes to Charles Azzopardi, the veteran General Manager and friendly-face who has re-purposed his team with 18 months of intensive training to deliver a far superior service, "The Phoenicia Malta has always evolved to stay distinctive and relevant, moving with the times and adapt- ing to the changing needs of today's traveller. We have a rich and colour- ful history and are about to begin a new chapter in our on-going story with a sensitive restoration that will enable us to continue to offer what our guests expect and value." For further information, see www. phoeniciamalta.com or www.face- book.com/phoeniciahotel, or call 2122 5241. The Phoenicia Malta reopens just in time for the best summer in 70 years International hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray explains Malta's allure as a "magic" island in the Mediterranean Poolside at The Phoenicia The Phoenicia Malta has re-opened under the management of Campbell Gray Hotels and as a member of 'The Leading Hotels of the World' Cisk Lager launches responsible drinking campaign Throughout the peak summer weeks, award-winning beer Cisk Lager is taking to the beaches as part of a responsible drinking campaign aimed at making con- sumers better aware of how to enjoy beer in an informed and re- sponsible way. BeerWatch, Your Lifeguards for Responsible Fun, is a team of life- guards who will be sharing useful tips with Cisk consumers spotted at Malta's popular beaches main- ly through the distribution of a leaflet which lists facts related to beers and responsible drinking. The leaflet also includes a cou- pon for a free bottle of water and Cisk-branded sunglasses are giv- en out to everyone who redeems their coupon. In addition, as an extension to this initiative, a Cisk Beer Hut will be set up at the Farsons Beer Fes- tival, which runs until 6 August at Ta' Qali National Park, where consumers also get informed with key facts about responsible drink- ing and also be in with a chance to win a BBQ every day throughout the 10-day festival. Cisk has this year teamed up with eCabs who will also be at the Farsons Beer Festival and will be offering €10 off their taxi bill to anyone who presents the Beer- Watch flyer distributed at the beach. Karl Bondin, Beers Brand Man- ager at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, said that through this initiative, the brand was encouraging con- sumers to be beer aware. "BeerWatch, Your Lifeguards for Responsible Fun, is an innovative campaign aimed at educating beer drinkers and enabling responsible drinking," he said. "We are very excited about the positive feed- back we have received so far and look forward to engaging with as many people as possible through- out this campaign." This initiative is supported and endorsed by the Malta Sense Group. Cisk is brewed, marketed and distributed by Simonds Farsons Cisk plc. www.cisk.com or www. facebook.com/cisk. A team of lifeguards will be sharing useful tips with Cisk consumers spotted at Malta's popular beaches Student environment report takes top international honour with help from HSBC Water Programme Young Environment Reporters (YRE) Jessica Schembri and Sami- ra Axiak's emotionally-charged plea to save every last drop of water on the Maltese islands has placed second in the international YRE Competition. The report, 'Water in the Mal- tese Islands: Every drop counts', was based on a water-conserva- tion project at the duo's school, Maria Regina College Second- ary School Mosta, which was fi- nanced by the HSBC Water Pro- gramme – Catch the Drop. The Maltese entry competed against entries from 33 countries. Win- ners were announced during a ceremony held in Denmark. Another entry from Malta was a report, 'Drying up our future?', by Emma Degabriele a student at San Anton School. Malta's third and last entry was in the video cat- egory and featured the grey water system in Malta. The filming ex- pense for this video, titled 'Save every drop' was borne by HSBC. Entries to the YRE International Competition are coordinated in Malta by Nature Trust – Founda- tion for Environmental Education (FEE) Malta. Audrey Gauci, the YRE Malta coordinator said: "The support offered by HSBC Water Pro- gramme – Catch the Drop helps the students disseminate their work through school websites, blogs, social media, and on the international stage. This is a part- nership that has been in place since 2014 and one that we are keen on continuing to expand into the future." YRE is an international pro- gramme that encourages students to conduct journalistic investiga- tions on environmental issues and report to the local community via articles, photos and video clips. In addition to the support of YRE, the HSBC Water Pro- gramme – Catch the Drop cam- paign also supported the Learn- ing About Forests Programme (LEAF) with a grant of €500 to help Nature Trust – FEE Malta implement a tree planting project in various schools and localities.

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