The Bastion is, flat out, one of the best AirBnbs we have ever stayed in. So many amazing things about it that it is hard to know where to start.
Let's start with the pool and terraces. They are INSANE. The pictures cannot do justice to how how beautiful it is up there. You have amazing views, lots of different places to sit on the main, upper, and lower terraces. And the pool is so refreshing and mind-blowing that you are swimming on top of the ancient city wall. So surreal. And private, on top of all that.
The kitchen is FULLY stocked and everything worked flawlessly.
There are tons of great places to hang out inside. The main living room, the office off of the kitchen, and, most fabulous of all, the upstairs living room next to the pool. We were four people and we all had space to get some private time when needed.
The bedrooms are all great too! Everyone slept wonderfully.
And, most importantly for hot days, all the bedrooms, living rooms, the kitchen, and the office each have their own mini-split AC units that work GREAT!!!
Karina was great at answering any and all questions over text and the property manager Jo came over, welcomed us, and gave us tons of information about the house (including how to work the speakers around the pool so we could listen to music outside) and things to do in Malta. She was so sweet, helpful, and kind.
The beautiful front door is a big photo spot for tourist visiting the city. When you head out during prime hours you often end up photo-bombing someone. But the walls are stone and the door is solid, so you don't hear them while you are inside.
I always love when people leave recommendations of things to do in their AirBnb review, so here are mine: There are lots of great places within walking distance of the Bastion. Inside the city walls in the nearest square is a great gelato place. For morning coffee and pastries we walked to Bar One Café. I loved their iced coffee/latte. For a nice dinner inside the city walls our favorite place was Trattoria AD 1530. For a FANCY dinner we went to De Mondion, which was crazy good. Just outside the city walls in Rabat (still an easy walk) we also had a wonderful dinner at Root 81 looking over the farms around the city. The awesome owner told us tons of great info about the food and farms in the area. And a great story about how the whole Michelin Guide got started.
Inside the city walls my favorite museum was Palazzo Falson. On top of the Palazzo is Gustav Café which has amazing sandwiches for lunch.
One more: one of my favorite outings was going to Oh Yeah Malta on the north side of the island and renting a motor boat which we used to go to a place called Smugglers Cave (see the map they give you when you rent the boat) for snorkeling and swimming in the crystal clear waters. We also used the boat to check out the Blue Lagoon but it was OVERRUN with people so we went back to Smuggler's Cave.
I was so sad to leave and come back home. I want to go back to Malta ASAP and stay at the Bastion again!!! Thanks Karina and Jo!!