Valletta Merisi Suites

Merisi Suites is on Ursula Street, which is a tourist attraction in itself. The apartments are very clean and well organized, with air conditioning and fully equipped kitchens. There are lots of apartments, some with lovely balconies, and the building also has an elevator, a free washing machine, and a pool with a fantastic view. It's in a very nice location.

I felt safe staying here on my own, and getting around Valletta was easy from this central spot. The staff were so friendly and welcoming, and the Wi-Fi was very good, which I was glad about. The hotel's taxi driver was kind, charged fair prices, and was always available when I needed him. Great service, no complaints.

The location is really, really good, but the apartment itself wasn't great. Our ground-floor room had no view or direct sunlight, and there was a damp, moldy smell. The shower was broken, so they put up a shower curtain, which I hate, and it left the whole bathroom wet. I'd recommend it only if location matters to you more than the place you're sleeping in.

The room had some useful things: a safe, hair dryer, extra toilet paper and pillows, enough towels, and liquid soap and shampoo/body wash. The design was nice, the AC worked, hot water was always available, and the location was great. But the stay got off to a bad start and the cleaning wasn't good. We'd agreed by email two days ahead that we'd arrive between 14:00 and 14:30, and they said they'd be waiting. We got there at 14:10 and rang the bell, but nobody answered. We tried every 5-10 minutes and waited in the heat and direct sun, planning to call the number on Booking.com at 15:00. When we called, the person sounded surprised, then said someone would come. The woman arrived 20-25 minutes later, visibly irritated. She didn't greet us or apologize for the mix-up, just handed over a paper with the door and internet codes and left. The Wi-Fi password didn't work. There was hair on the top bedsheet, and when I pulled it back, I found hairs of different lengths and colors on the sheet underneath. I went to reception, but nobody was there. An American girl was waiting for a receptionist she'd arranged to meet, who was meant to call her a taxi. I offered to call one; when we did, we found out it had already been called, but nobody had told her, and she was worried about reaching the airport in time. I called the property again for the Wi-Fi password and to ask for clean sheets. The woman and a man came about 15 minutes later. She was irritated again and insisted we use the password she'd given us. We explained that none of the available networks accepted it. She checked and was surprised there wasn't a network for our room. They gave us the password for another room's network, which had a weak signal but was enough for web searches. When we asked about the sheets, she got defensive and argued they were clean. I showed her the hairs, and the man with her persuaded her to change them. The room looked nice, but it was poorly cleaned: dust on most surfaces, hair and dirt on the floor, mold in the shower, a dirty sink and unpolished faucets. There was even hair hanging from the shower faucet, and some wallpaper was torn; the mirrors were dirty too. The internet kept dropping during the first three days, then didn't work in our room for the last four, so we had to sit in the hallway to try to get online. One morning I tried to heat food in the microwave, but its cord wouldn't reach the nearest outlet. Great location, but staff need to be more attentive, the room needs a better clean, and the internet needs to work.