The beloved Savoy Hotel in Gzira is on the waiting list to get some much-deserved TLC following a fire that broke out within the derelict building last week. Squatters have also taken over the historic building – a problem that reportedly dates back nearly a year.

Alex Montanaro, CEO of Exalco Group which has majority ownership of the Savoy Hotel, told Times of Malta that plans to restore the building have been in the works, but is currently in a drawn-out legal battle with minority co-owners. The company claims that the building continues to degrade as these minority co-owners are holding out for exorbitant amounts. And before this gets sorted, plans (which will be sensitive to its historic value) to restore the building will, sadly, remain at a standstill.

“We want to preserve the old Savoy; God forbid it’s damaged,” Alex Montanaro told Times of Malta. “We’re not trying to build any high-rise flats: we want to do something Sliema and Gzira will be proud of because it’s a landmark building.”

The CEO said that following last week’s fire, the company will be looking into adding more security, including bricking up entry points and potentially installing CCTV cameras.

In its heyday, the Savoy Hotel at the top of Rue d'Argens was a prominent hotel, boasting magnificent views of the Sliema promenade. In later years, the area was built up and nowadays, the historic site is in a dilapidated state.