Vallettastay - LOVELY HOUSE

We loved nearly everything about our stay and would absolutely come back. Our second-floor room, the third floor by US standards, was amazing, with one of Malta’s familiar little balconies. The building is around 450 years old, and there’s a lovely sheltered patio in the middle, surrounded by buildings with the sky visible six stories above. We visited over Christmas, and Valetta was covered in more Christmas lights than I’ve ever seen. Getting there was the hard part. The hostel’s address and its different location weren’t explained clearly, so our driver dropped us and our bags at the wrong place. I’m disabled and use a walking machine, which made hauling everything up and down Valetta’s steep streets unpleasant. There’s no lift either, so I had to crawl up and down the stairs. Still, the room and the rest of the stay made it worthwhile.

The room was cheap and had character, but there were several hassles. The company has two buildings and never made clear which one we needed, even in the email with the stay instructions. Half of that email was crossed out, so I couldn’t tell which directions to follow. I didn’t see any of the owners at check-in or check-out. The water wasn’t drinkable, and they provided just one bottle. They also didn’t replace the sheets during our two-night stay. The double bed had two separate blankets.

The price is reasonable, but it’s frustrating that you can’t switch on the bedroom AC. Cooling the entire apartment from the kitchen just so the air reaches the bedroom feels like a huge waste of energy.

There may not be another hostel in Valletta, but there wasn’t any staff around from Friday through Monday. The beds are very narrow, the street is extremely noisy, and there were lots of mosquitoes at night.