decorations for a wedding, keeping a sporting team to-
gether under the watchful eyes of the technical staff and
more importantly providing security and lack of distur-
bance to other guests. Indeed, Urban Valley Resort and Spa
has been designed from the ground to be an environ-
mentally conscious resort, and has incorporated such
factors in design, layout and construction, as well as via
technology; that the Resort employs water heat pump
systems fed via solar energy is solid testimony to the
Resort’s determination to contribute to sustainability.
In reply to my answer as to whether there were factual in-
creases when operating a multi block concept, Shawn ex-
plains that the setup has economic advantages which en-
able the Resort to shut down blocks in the low season or
when group occupancy fluctuates. Shawn describes this
immediate action as contributing towards looking after
the environment as well as enabling them to remain com-
petitive, providing savings and ensuring that being able
to provide a healthy average room rate is made possible.
Shawn highlights the importance of accessibility – and
on the benefits for persons with a disability of rede-
signing a development from scratch. The team worked
closely with the Commission for the Rights of Persons
with Disability (CRPD) to ensure that every area was
accessible seamlessly, giving rightful dignity to these
individuals to feel like any other guest.
From an architectural point of view what is the theme
chosen? The style is very much a ‘resort by the valley‘
type – meaning a simple style to merge with the valley
and neighbourhood it is set in. Only one block is set
on five storeys - the rest is on four floors. The colour
scheme is based on white and grey targeting a market
age group of anything between 25 and 65 to 70 years
of age, and the middle to upper market segments.
The buildings were gutted internally mainly due to the
strict timelines and to maximise operational efficiency
in terms of planning permits. “Moreover, we did not
want to be a nuisance to the residential committee,”
Shawn continues. “We also had to change the pools
to be in line with legal and Malta Tourism Authority
parameters as well as digging out culverts to connect
our buildings – that was not something heard of forty
years ago. So now we have fibre connectivity and better
access to maintain sewage structure as well.”
How important has environmental friendliness been
during the development – Shawn goes through the
number of initiatives that were adopted – an example is
the waste material generated when digging for culverts
– most of which was reused. The Resort uses water heat
pumps powered by solar energy and all paper towels
and bathroom paper are made from recycled paper.
Urban Valley Resort and Spa can devote an entire block to a particular function without impinging upon
the core operation in any manner whatsoever.