An illegal hotel called the Damiani has been operating in Bugibba for years without either a licence from the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) or a permit from Mepa to change the use of the block of flats into a hotel.

The owners of the ‘hotel’ even went so far as to build an extra storey on top of the existing block as well as adding a roof pool to the property without a Mepa permit, and the building has never been certified by the MTA as being fit for accommodating tourists.

When The Malta Independent on Sunday went to the Damiani to ask the hotel’s director and co-owner Carmen Portelli about these illegalities and whether the ‘hotel’ is licensed, she refused to comment and invited this paper to send her an email. She also threatened to call the police to her illegal hotel if this paper did not leave the premises immediately.

Transport Malta board member a co-owner of illegal hotel

One of the other co-owners of the illegal hotel is Mark Sammut, who is a member of the Transport Malta board. As of last year, he was also acting as a consultant to the Ministry of Health and was one of the main authors of the John Dalli report on Mater Dei.

This newsroom asked a Ministry spokesman whether Dr Sammut is still one of their consultants, but no reply was forthcoming.

A number of other companies owned Dr Sammut and Carmen Portelli give their registered address as ‘Room 5, Hotel Damiani, Triq il-Hgejjeg, Bugibba’. One of such companies is Mall Systems Ltd, a company that has bid for government tenders in the past in the health sector. Another of the companies registered at the illegal hotel co-owned by Dr Sammut is Cursor Ltd, which has been engaged in IT-related work by the Transport Ministry.

The third owner is a Pierre Lofaro.

The ‘three star’ illegal hotel

The Damiani audaciously advertises itself as being a three-star hotel on its website, even though no certification has been obtained from the MTA. The block of flats cum hotel also displays a Trip Advisor certificate of excellence in the reception area.

An application was first filed in 1996 to construct a fourth floor to replace the existing washrooms, a fifth floor and a swimming pool at roof level. Mepa rejected the application, saying that the height of the proposed building exceeded the maximum height limitations for the area.

Nevertheless, construction works appears to have gone ahead, and the block is clearly one storey higher than the adjacent buildings.

An enforcement notice was slapped on the block of flats a year after the construction plans were turned down. In 1997, Mepa flagged several breaches on the first, second and third floors, the construction of a fourth floor instead of washrooms and the construction of a fifth floor including a swimming pool without a permit.

The case is said to be “pending direct action” on the part of Mepa, although 17 years have passed since the breach was first identified by the planning watchdog. On top of these illegalities, the ‘hotel’ even has a loading/unloading zone spanning several parking spaces right outside its entrance.

The ‘hotel’ owners had appealed the original MEPA decision to turn down the application for the pool and additional storey, but the appeal was rejected by MEPA in 2001. In May 2013, the owners filed a new application with the planning authority in order to try and sanction the illegalities.

Legal action being taken against the ‘hotel’ – MTA CEO

Newly-appointed MTA CEO Paul Bugeja said legal action has been taken by the Authority against the operators of Damiani and a court case is ongoing. He also said that the owners have filed an appeal with the Tourism Appeals’ Board regarding the same property and are awaiting a final ruling.

According to the Board’s website, the appeal was set to be heard over two months ago on 26 June. No decision has yet been uploaded onto its website.

Malta Hotel and Resources Association President Matthew Pace called on the authorities to be more expedient in the way they deal with such illegalities.

“Any illegal operations hinder both competition and potentially the quality standard of our tourism product,” Mr Pace told The Malta Independent on Sunday.