One Of Malta’s Best Rated Accommodations On Booking.com Doesn’t Actually Have A Permit
A new guesthouse in the Wied Għomor valley of Spinola is proving a massive hit among tourists, notching a 9.7 rating on the popular Booking.com travel search engine to become one of the best-rated accommodations on the island.
And it’s easy to see why. Situated a stone’s throw away from the centre of St Julian’s, the adequately-named ‘The Valley’ is also secluded from the hustle and bustle of the town, essentially offering tourists the best of both worlds at very reasonable prices.
However, there’s a catch. While The Valley has been in operation for a few months, since May according to Booking.com, it hasn’t yet been approved as a guesthouse by the Planning Authority.
Two dilapidated buildings used to stand instead of the guesthouse but the PA approved their conversion into a villa in May 2017, right before the general election, after the owner provided evidence that they were used as residences in the 1980s.
No sooner was the building approved as a villa than its owner Karl Camilleri applied to convert it into a guesthouse. The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) opposed the plan, arguing that the earlier applications to convert the ruins into a villa had been mere stepping stones leading to the guesthouse proposal.
“This piecemeal development outside the development zone, including this proposal, have a cumulative effect on similar developments outside the development area,” it said.
The St Julian’s and Swieqi local councils, as well as environmental NGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Din l-Art Ħelwa and Nature Trust, all opposed the development but it was recommended for approval by the Planning Authority’s case officer last month.
“This application makes a mockery of the PA system,” St Julian’s mayor Albert Buttigieg said. “PA is just a rubber stamp entity.”
And with the guesthouse already in full swing, the Planning Authority will convene tomorrow to take a decision on whether it should continue operating. Will the case officer’s proposal be accepted or will one of Malta’s best-rated accommodations soon be no more?