Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort 5 Star Hotel St. Julians Malta

Island Hotels Group has invested over $ 1.3 million out of a total investment of $ 26 million at the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort to make it a property which will not infringe on the local services to an extent that such a property normally would. Following is a description of the equipment installed and the systems undertaken within the Resort which make it an environmentally friendly place to stay.

First of all, The Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort Malta was built on 38,000 square metres of land. The amount of land covered by the footprint of actual building was however limited to only 10,000 square metres of the allocated area for the actual building of the property. The rest of the land was utilised for landscaping and preservation of two ecological zones measuring 5,000 square metres. Currently these two zones are being properly sign posted with the names of all the local fauna that exists which is typically only found by the sea on the Island. A special walkway will also allow guests of the Resort to walk around the area and appreciate this fauna without damaging it in any way.

In addition to this the lido of the Resort was developed in a way that all rocks cut out of the land to form the pools were re used around the pools to create all the necessary walls. In this way if one looks at the property from the sea the lido is hardly noticeable and the area looks as if it has not even been touched.

When planning the interior design of the Resort the owners wanted guests to feel that they were in Malta. Apart from designing the property to benefit from the open views of the sea, the property was designed so as to allow as much natural light in as possible. Natural light and open windows can in fact be found in all areas of the Resort including traditional back of house areas such as the main kitchen, the staff canteen and the staff changing rooms.

Just as importantly all around the property genuine Maltese antique furniture has been used as an integral part of the décor. In this way a small part of the local culture is introduced to each hotel guest while this prestigious furniture can be retained in pristine condition despite its age.

Local iron works, wood work, aluminium work and marble works were also used throughout the property thereby promoting other local industries and ensuring that the multiplier effects on this multi million dollar investment remain and grow within the local community.

The Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort produces over 45,000 gallons of water a day for its own use through an on site Reverse Osmosis Plant. The property is therefore self sufficient and pulls practically no water at all off the national system. With the recurrent problems of water shortages on the Island the positive effect of such an investment is obvious.

In addition to this the property is also using a Dual Drainage System whereby water from the baths and wash hand basins within the guest bedrooms is filtered through a waste water treatment plant and pumped up for use in the toilet flushings. In this way the water is used twice. Any excess water produced is then stored and used for irrigating within the gardens of the Resort. Additionally all rain water catchment areas have been designed so as to achieve optimum levels of water collection.

The Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort has also been installed with what is now the largest Solar Energy System on the Island. The solar energy panels are located on half of the roof area of the property and are set to provide over 25% of the energy required to operate the hotel. In this way the Resort again puts considerably less pressure on the national grid while making use of the most abundant natural resource that we have – the sun. This advantages to the Island become more important when one considers the problems that have in the past been encountered on the Island in the area of provision of electricity due to being overloaded by industrial requirements.

Further electrical savings are made through various devises within the property such as balcony door cut off switches, which automatically turn room air conditioning units off if the balcony door is opened. Room energy savers at the entrance of each guest room are operated with the room key card and energy saving bulbs are used throughout the property.

Another area of efficient use of energy is the main kitchen. The excess steam generated from the boilers of the Resort has been diverted so as to run three of the highest electrical consuming items in the kitchen. In fact the main dishwasher and the boiling pots in the kitchen all run on steam again leading to a reduction of energy consumption and utilising an otherwise wasted resource. The kitchen is also steam cleaned once a day using a special outlet that comes directly from these boilers thereby allowing for efficient and effective cleaning without waste and with considerable less use of detergents due to the high cleaning power and heat of natural steam.

In order to control and monitor all of the above the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort has also installed a Building Management System, known as BMS. Through this building management system one has full control of all the above mentioned equipment from a desktop computer. From this computer one can monitor how efficient everything is working, how much energy is being saved etc. This system is used on a continual basis to ensure that waste is eliminated from the operation and that all plant is working at an optimal level with minimum impact on the environment.

The management system goes to the extent of controlling external lighting through light density sensors that switch the lights on and off according to the density of natural light. In this way energy is optimally controlled and moves away from conventional timers or human memory. When it gets dark outside the lights come on and when the sun begins to come up the lights go off, automatically.

All the above initiatives would be half way measures, however, if the operational aspect of the Resort was not driven in the same way. Hence, in addition to the above, the management of the property operate a 24 point environmental plan.

Driving directions and Map location of the Baypoint Hotel in Malta