There is an accent on design and pure art in the refurbished St Julian’s Bay Hotel, Balluta, which re-opened last month. The 85-room former Miramare Hotel has been leased by Davide Vernice, whose Rome-based group of companies also operate the St Paul’s Bay Hotel (formerly the Bugibba Holiday Complex), apart from other hotels in Rome.

The St Julian’s Bay Hotel will be home to more than 150 works of art by Italian artist Aldo Bernardini, who has been living in Malta since November and working on these original pieces. There are works in recycled glass and resin, apart from a large number of paintings on canvas in acrylics and mixed media.

Bernardini has been working up to 20 hours a day producing around two and a half paintings each day – all for the love of art. “Davide’s father asked me to do this as a favour to him; I do not sell my works but give them as a gift to those I like,” he said.

The works are Bernardini’s view of Malta, both abstract and figurative, but he has been inspired by artists spanning generations to produce these works of art. Each corridor has at least four paintings and there are also paintings that will be hung in the bedrooms and in the restaurant, apart from wood sculptures and other works in glass and resin in the entrance area.

General manager Mark Camilleri said one of his major partners in the refurbishment was Domestica Ltd, whose joinery department responded to the particular needs of this project, furnished all 85 bedrooms and also supplyed and installed the parquet flooring in the offices and cabinets in the hallways.

Each room required the fitting of a thick back panel on which two beds were fitted, apart from wenge wardrobes with a touch of black glass, a chest of drawers, a minibar unit, a main door and a bathroom door. Lift cabinets and door surrounds were also supplied.

“Domestica respected our time frames fully and even delivered the work earlier than expected,” Mr Camilleri said. He is looking forward to a busy summer, with a lot of direct bookings coming in daily from Sweden, France, Germany and even Russia.

“We will not be having students staying in this hotel. This is a city boutique hotel right on the promenade. The location is ideal. We have Wi-Fi in the public areas, there is a 40-person meeting room and we have two restaurants and a coffee shop.”