It is with regret that I write this review, keeping in mind that my husband and I have rented approximately 20 houses/apartments in Europe (and several in the United States). In fact this is the first negative review I’ve ever written. I did address these issues personally with the owner. Also of note, there are 3 apartments in the building, all owned by the same person. I had issues specifically related to the one on the second floor and the penthouse.
I’ll note the positive aspects first, to be fair to the owner of the property. The location is excellent for Valletta, it’s quite easy to access metro to explore the island and the ferry for Gozo. The size of the apartment is generous and the check-in process was excellent with John, who is a kind person with great knowledge of the area. Also, the private transfer I set up through Paul was reasonably priced and convenient. We paid a little over 800 euros for 6 nights.
As to the negative issues: I was chilly on our first night (reservations for 6 nights in apartment #2) so I went to get the blanket out of the wardrobe and it smelled so awful (mildew is what the staff decided it might be) that I immediately closed the wardrobe and couldn’t use the blanket. I decided to turn on the heater (combined AC unit), I first hit AC trying to figure out the remote, then turned on the heat. The heinous odor caused me to dry heave and move all of my belongings out of the room, so as not to cause them to stink. I aired out the room as best I could at 3am and put on my street clothes and socks to try to sleep. After a night of not sleeping, I wanted a hot shower. The shower head was literally hanging from the wall, no way to keep it mounted. I got myself wet, turned the water off, lathered up, then turned the water back on to rinse. Not the way I wanted to start the day after such an awful night.
I sent a message to the owner around 11 and did hear back from him. At one point he wanted pictures, so we ended our sight seeing and returned to provide pictures of the shower (and other minor things). I then began looking for a hotel to move to or another Airbnb. My last text to the owner at 3 was not responded to until at 5 pm I advised him that I was looking for a place to move to and noticed he had an apartment available in the same building. Why this wasn’t immediately offered to us, I don’t know. I asked if we could move to it so that I didn’t have to get a taxi and move across town. He did get back to me in the promised 30 minutes and set up a staff member to get us into the other apartment. I do want to mention the owner, John, was always cordial in his communication and professional.
While I’m appreciative of being able to move into the other apartment, there were also issues such as mold in the water filter, one roll of toilet paper for 6 nights, 1 sheet of paper towels, the bed was the most uncomfortable we’ve encountered with sheets that are all balled up and won’t stay on, so you have to get out of bed every time you turn over to put them back in place, there was food particles left in the kitchen utensil drawer, the glassware looked like it was dirty but was just so scratched up or something that it just “looks” filthy and actually isn’t. I pulled out the blanket (which didn’t smell) but was covered in stains and rough pillage. No clean duvet cover to put over it. The chairs up on the rooftop hadn’t been washed in ages, so I never did get to enjoy the beautiful view while relaxing in the chairs.
I write this in hopes that the owner will inspect his property personally so as to provide a better experience for his customers, and ultimately run a successful business.