The hotel, situated in the heart of Lisbon – just 10 minutes away from the airport and another 10 from the city centre – reopened its doors earlier this year, after a 14-month renovation programme, to be in time to host a number of teams that took part in the Euro 2004 championship.

The official opening was carried out last Tuesday by Dr Fenech Adami, whose presence at the ceremony was his way of keeping his word, given to Corinthia when he opened their luxury hotel in Libya. Also present for the opening, which included a concert led by Maestro Brian Schembri, was Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo.

In his brief address, Dr Fenech Adami highlighted the importance of the project, saying that the opening of the Corinthia Alfa was another success for International Hotel Investments and also for Maltese entrepreneurship.

For many years, the Maltese were known as traders. “But the Corinthia example shows that the Maltese can do well in investment, too,” he said.

Earlier, IHI chairman Alfred Pisani had given a brief history of the hotel, which was originally built by German developers as a four-star complex in the 1980s. IHI bought the property in August 2001 and developed it into a five-star hotel, expanding the number of bedrooms from 430 to 517.

The hotel has now become an important business centre in Lisbon, which has progressively joined the international route of conferences. Corinthia Alfa has the largest conference centre in five-star hotels in Lisbon – a total of 3,000 square metres spread out over 17 rooms and a total capacity of 1,400 people.

The hotel is the only one in Lisbon that is able to receive 500 people, providing high-quality lodging and a conference room with enough capacity for everyone in comfort. The hotel also provides programmes of mental and physical relaxation and renewal for conference attendees, offering them the opportunity of extending their stay to enjoy a deserved rest after the event.

With this facility, the Corinthia Alfa has entered strongly into the field of meetings, incentives, congress, events (MICE) services, dedicated to the organisation of conferences and business meetings, by offering the right infrastructure and conditions that are essential for the success of such ventures.

The hotel has also introduced an improved accommodation concept in Portugal – the Executive Club, a concept of a “hotel within a hotel”. This offers superior services to those whose intention is to combine work and leisure in the utmost comfort.

Located on the top floor, the Executive Club offers a luxury business centre that incorporates two meeting rooms, high technology audiovisual equipment, wireless Internet access, multi-media facilities and mobile phones, just to mention a few of the facilities available.

Corinthia Alfa also boasts a health club which offers several options specially designed for the well-being of guests. An area of relaxation in the health club’s swimming pool has been created to help

control daily stress and it also has a rest centre, saunas and different types of massages.

The five senses room, for example, allows guests to enjoy aromatherapy (smell), relaxing music (hearing), massage (touch), light therapy (vision) and exotic fruit (taste).

The hotel has two restaurants, the Tipico, which offers all the specialities of Portuguese cuisine, and the Sete Colinas, which offers a variety of international buffets.

There is also the Tempus Lounge Bar, the ideal place for relaxing to the sound of chill-out music.