The Rosselli – AX Privilege is the first 5 star hotel in the capital city ­– Valletta. It was built in the first decades of 1600’s, where the noble Pietro Rosselli, together with his wife Alusietta Massa and son Maruzzo lived in the palace at Merchant Street Valetta. Today this beautiful building has been renovated to impeccable standards as the 5-Star Hotel Rosselli – AX Privilege. Halmann Vella was entrusted with this project to supply, fabricate and install hundreds of square meters of marble and terrazzo slabs.

Rosselli is a hub of fresh architectural details, exposing guests to the perfect combination of new versus old. From restored Carrara marble flooring and Bardiglio marble borders, to the newly added water-jet cut ‘Rosselli’ brass insert in Alexander Grey marble at the entrance and the fine bamboo textured Carrara cladding for the reception desk are some of the show-stopping features found at the entrance. Rosselli’s concept revolves around 6 well thought-out sets of themed rooms, each furnished with distinctive features which render the suites bold, beautiful and elegant. Such as the use of made to measure Nero Portoro terrazzo slabs flooring with patterned brass inserts in the Maruzzo and Alusietta suites. The whimsical Bianco Carrara terrazzo flooring and wall cladding in the Mezza Croce rooms. To the expansive Carrara clad walls in the bedroom and spa facilities of the Don Pietro executive rooms. The outstanding 3 Herons suites and their colorful marble carpets represent a modern take on the traditional cement tiles. The ‘Kannizzata’ of Nero Marquina and Carrara marble carpet in the Sixteen 34 suite is also another feature worth mentioning.

The lift architrave is a work of art in itself, featuring large slabs of Silestone White Arabesque quartz embellished with terrazzo solid door ornamental elements. Common areas, such as the lounge spaces and lift lobbies were also designed in a flawless manner. 80mm thick terrazzo slabs railing were installed around the loggias at level 1 and 2 which complement the large Carrara floor slabs on the bridges at every level and the patterned marble/terrazzo carpets installed on the floor.

With a brilliant brief for ‘Rosselli – AX privilege’ and a client with an eye for detail, Forward Architects found the perfect balance by merging altogether the classical Renaissance architecture, with the contemporary use of traditional finishes to provide the guest with a good balance of luxury and practicality.

Photos by Fredrick Muscat and Jeremy Debattista.