더 콜리지 부티크 호텔 인 발레타

My daughter Jemma and I stayed at this boutique hotel for five nights recently. The building dates back to the early 1600's, so it is very authentic. Our room (the Erskine) was small but adequate, although there was only a trickle of water coming through the tap in the washbasin in the bathroom. We were going to mention it to reception in the morning as it is only open between 8am-8pm and we wanted to go off and do some sightseeing. On the first night, we returned to our room at 10.30pm after a meal out, and all the power went off when we put our card in the slot. My daughter 'phoned the number on the card we were given, and a lovely lady came out, fiddled with the trip switch and power was restored after a couple of attempts . She showed Jemma where it was just in case it happened again and promised to sort it out next day. We also mentioned the water problem and she was very apologetic. After a delicious breakfast, we headed out for the day. When we returned, everything was sorted (a faulty water pump was the culprit) and the receptionist told us they were upgrading us to a bigger room by way of apology, and that they would move all of our things for us the following morning whilst we were out. Next day, as promised, we were taken next door to the luxurious Hatley suite, the largest of all their suites where our things had been carefully put away. It extended over 2 floors, had it's own independent entrance and was absolutely stunning, so we were delighted. The staff at the hotel were unfailingly helpful and friendly, and I would definitely recommend a stay here.

I'm a bit torn writing this review. The hotel itself is lovely and Maja was very welcoming and friendly. The reason I've given an average rating is not totally the fault of the hotel. On arrival, the reception was closed due to us arriving late, I knew this was the case so no issue as I had the code to get into the reception area and collect the room key. The written instructions stated that inside the envelope should be the key, and a card for the lights etc in the room. There was no card, so, not sure if I left reception, that I could get back in, I called the number on the letter. I was told the card should already be in the room. Ok, fine, I'd just like that clearer before the cost of an international mobile phone call had to be made. The room itself was lovely, a living area downstairs, with the toilet and the bedroom and bath/ shower upstairs. All good. The first nights stay however, was a bit of a nightmare. There's very large building works going on next door, that we weren't made aware of, these are going to be long term by the looks of the building. I'm not sure that the hotel were aware of them starting either? Overnight, there was a door left open and with the breeze, was banging very loudly ALL night, then the builders turned up very early the next morning and added to the noise. To be fair to Maja, I did hear her go out and have quite the discussion with the builders as she didn't seem happy about the noise either. On speaking with her in reception after, explaining that we really didn't get much (any) sleep, she apologised etc and mentioned that we wouldn't be charged full price for the nights stay. Now, this is where I have a bit of an issue. We totally understood that it wasn't her fault and she tried to sort it out the best she could, but, if your going to offer a refund, full or partial, then you should make sure you give it. I haven't had any refund back or any further contact from anyone at the hotel. The following few days were much better, the builders did seem to start later, but during the day there was still much noise. It just meant that we had to stay away from the hotel for the whole day, not a major issue as Valetta is so lovely. Overall, it could be a brilliant place to stay as the location is great. Maja and her small staff team do seem to be trying very hard to make the hotel the best it can be. But just check how the building work is progressing and how it may effect your stay before booking.