25 - 31 January 2001

When small is really beautiful

Suzanne Zammit Tabona, chairman of the Xara Palace Hotel, explains to Blanche Gatt how the Xara Palace Hotel was awarded membership of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux association of hotels

Family-run hotels retain a certain inherent charm; the idea that you have an actual host or hostess looking after you can add immeasurable value to a sojourn in a hotel. And when the family running the hotel is as passionate about it as the Zammit Tabonas are about the Xara Palace Hotel, it can prove to be a magic formula for success.
For the Xara Palace, a glorious 17th century palazzo in Mdina,
the conjurer’s wand has just been wafted over it. Relais & Chateaux, an association of 426 prestigious, independently-owned hotels and restaurants in 43 countries, has recently awarded the Mdina establishment with formal membership.
I spoke to chairman, Suzanne Zammit Tabona, just a few days after the international president of the association, Regis Bulot, came to Malta to announce the Xara Palace’s membership of this world-wide network of quality hotels.
“We are very excited about being given membership of Relais & Chateaux,” said Suzanne. “There are only 426 establishments in the world who have been accepted as members of this organisation, and they are all old palaces or castles or stately homes or farmhouses that have been converted into something unique. These hotels are described as ‘small and exquisite’, with a room average of 30. The association bases its selection of members on what it calls the ‘five Cs’: courtesy, charm, character, calm and cuisine.”
Membership of Relais & Chateaux also grants the Xara Palace Hotel membership in the recently-formed Luxury Alliance, which brings together the members of The Leading Hotels of the World and of Relais & Chateaux. The two organisations encompass the majority of the world’s most luxurious hotels, and through the Alliance they pool their competitive resources and advantages, designed to strengthen brand awareness at a global level.
The Leading Hotels of the World lists some of the world’s best-known, palatial hotels among its 340 members in 74 countries, including the Crillon and the Ritz in Paris, Claridge’s and the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London, the Principe di Savoia in Milan and the Peninsula, the Pierre, the Plaza and the St Regis in New York City.
“When we opened the Xara Palace in 1999,” commented Suzanne, “our dream was to become members of Relais & Chateaux. We had stayed in many Relais & Chateaux hotels around the world before we even thought of opening our own hotel, so when the opportunity to acquire the Xara Palace came up, we immediately made membership of this association our goal.”

Acquiring the Xara Palace itself was a dream come true for former Mdina-dweller Suzanne. “As I was born and bred in Mdina,” she explained, “I always wanted the chance to own a property there. So my husband Joe and I were always scouring the market for something suitable. Then, just as we boarded the plane at Luqa on our way to South Africa, we saw the Xara Palace advertised in the in-flight magazine.
“Of course we knew the property, which was a guest house already, and we immediately got the idea of turning it into a small but very special hotel. As we were off on a three-week trip, our first thought was panic that, after having waited so long for the right property to come along, we might now miss the chance because we were away. So my husband made some quick calls, and by the time we reached Heathrow Airport, we had shaken hands on a gentleman’s agreement with the previous owner!”
This was in 1996; three years of hard work and intense dedication later, the Xara Palace Hotel re-opened to the public, with Suzanne’s son Justin, now managing director, at the helm of day-to-day operations.
“But with Relais & Chateaux you can’t just say I want to be a member and that’s it,” she continued. “Usually a hotel must have been established for at least three years before it is considered, and then it is up to them to send anonymous inspectors to see whether the place fits in with the very strict criteria for membership.
“In our case, we opened in May 1999, and in July of 2000 Relais & Chateaux informed us that they had already sent these anonymous inspectors, and invited us to join. Apparently, the French Ambassador had written to them some time before to recommend us and we were very lucky that they came, they saw and we conquered!”
The Xara Palace, with its imposing 17th century architecture, and long history of use, first as a nobleman’s home, then as an RAF mess during the war, and finally as a 26-room guest house, certainly offers an interesting candidate for Relais & Chateaux membership. But other elements are equally pivotal in the decision-making process.
“We have only 17 suites,” said Suzanne, “which is important, because they must be small hotels. Every suite is done up individually, each one has a different size and shape, and is furnished with genuine antique furniture and decorated with original paintings by Maltese masters and international artists. Everything is very personalised, including service, and every guest is an individual for us, never just a number.
“Quietness is another important criteria, as is cuisine. And these are all things we focus a lot of our attention on. In the restaurant, for example, we use only fresh ingredients and produce. We have a farmer in Bahrija who actually supplies us with baby lambs, for example, as well as another for gbejniet, vegetables, and so on. All these factors are extremely important for Relais & Chateaux and will have held a lot of weight as they made their decision.”
The news of this membership
obviously came as a very welcome surprise to the Zammit Tabona family and the Xara Palace Hotel. “But it is also a very good thing for Malta,” added Suzanne. “We are now present on the Chateaux & Relais website, and anyone looking for a hotel carrying this extremely prestigious stamp of approval will come across the Xara Palace Hotel, and Malta. Our island has so much to offer, so much more than just sun and sea, and this kind of thing gives us a channel through which to communicate this to the rest of the world.”
Xara Palace Hotel clientele have been mainly French, English and American visitors up to now. Some business is generated through travel agents, others through direct bookings. With just 17 suites, there are never more than 34 guests at any one time in the hotel. “We have 51 staff looking after our guests,” continued Suzanne, “though this includes staff in the restaurant and trattoria which are both open to non-residents. Next week the entire hotel is being taken over for the board meeting of an international company, the second time this com-pany has used our hotel.”
Occupancy rates for the Xara Palace have been steady at around 60 per cent year-round since they opened, Suzanne told me. However, since November, when the hotel first appeared officially on the Relais & Chateaux website, bookings have already started going up. “We had thought that we would be much quieter in summer than in winter,” said Suzanne, “but in fact, our occupancy levels stayed the same.
“Of course our membership of Relais & Chateaux will have an impact on them – bookings from the website have already started coming in, and as travel agents learn that we are now Relais & Chateaux they will start directing clients with that kind of taste, for small, elegant, not necessar-ily expensive, hotels, towards us.”
Relais & Chateaux membership could raise the Xara Palace Hotel’s profile on the international scene, which, in turn, it could mean added exposure for Malta’s image as a cultural destination. As Malta’s tourism industry faces one conundrum after another, an unsolved situation continues year after year, with not many solutions offered.
Two thirds of our tourists visit Malta during the summer months, putting enormous strain on our infrastructure, labour market and services. If we could begin to attract visitors who seek more than just a week in the sun, we would be on our way to a solution. The Relais & Chateaux Xara Palace Hotel, though tiny in capacity by itself, could be showing us all that theirs may be the path to follow.