Review: Cavalieri Art Hotel, St Julians, Malta

A few weeks ago, on a Sunday, Joe and I were just getting ready to spend the day at the beach with some friends, when the electricity shut down in our apartment- not our block, just us. We couldn't fix it, the power company weren't any help and our landlords didn't think they'd manage to get hold of anyone until Monday at the earliest. We both needed power, you know for hot water, internet and so on, so rather than stay the night in a cold, dark flat we booked into the Cavalieri Art Hotel in St Julians for the night as it was super cheap; just €38 for the both of us.

Check-in

Firstly, the name 'Art Hotel' is a bit much. I don't know if that's actually a thing, or they just added it themselves, but the only reason I could see for it was a few paintings exhibited in the entrance hall. So, then, check in was a bit stressful. There was a kids party going on in the cafe below and it was utter chaos- there didn't seem to be any structure or organisation to the party, they were just running riot up and down the stairs, around the entrance, around the pool, screaming at the tops of their voices. Whilst we were trying to check in we had to shout to be heard by the ladies stood just feet away from us.

Then check in took absolutely ages, I'm talking around at least 20/30 minutes (possibly more, I wasn't counting), with no explanation as to why. 4 different people got involved, checking our details and what not and, as we had a day at the beach planned, we really didn't have time to be waiting around for no known reason. {I did email the hotel later about this and it was explained that the reservations department don't work on a Sunday and as we booked via a booking website, the reception weren't able to find our booking very easily, even though we forwarded them the confirmation mail. I think it would have been less frustrating if they'd just explained this to us at the time, but the lovely people I emailed did apologise for this.}

Room Problems

Eventually we got our key and headed on up to the room, only to find the door wide open and the cleaner ONLY JUST GOING IN. Rather than being polite and apologetic she just kept stating 'I'll only be 30 minutes. Come back in 30 minutes'  and sternly telling us "I had 11 departures today!" which wasn't really rude, but it was clear from her tone that we were an annoyance when it wasn't our fault the room had been marked as 'cleaned' and given to us and we didn't have time to wait around even longer, we had a day to be getting on with.

We went back to the Cavalieri Art Hotel desk to ask to change rooms and a very helpful gentleman came up with us this time to be sure, and when we arrived the room was cleaned, but only just, and was still sopping wet. I think he took pity on us at this point and very kindly gave us a free 'upgrade' to a sea view room. This room was clean and ready for us to get into, and we very much appreciated the upgrade.

Room Decor

The view from our sea facing room at the Cavalieri Art Hotel was amazing, but the room itself was quite disappointing. The decor is very old and looks quite tired and cheap. The room was absolutely huge, with two double beds, a small balcony, a wardrobe and a bathroom with a bath.

But, the bathroom handle had come off and rather than being screwed back on, had just been left on the sink. The bathroom was quite grotty with long hair on the floor and a shower that had seen better days.

Sea Room View

The view was absolutely perfect from our room. You can see the whole of Spinola Bay in St Julians with crystal, bright blue sea during the day and golden lights illuminating the water at night. You can also see the sun rising behind the buildings if you wake up early enough (I did especially, but it was a little too cloudy, boo!).

Wifi Didn't Work

The final nail in the coffin was the fact that the hotel wifi didn't reach the 'upgrade' room, so I had to spend most of the evening sitting on the floor outside in the hall way to get some connection. I'm not joking, I was sitting in the public corridor, ON THE FLOOR, in my pyjamas just so I could connect and do my work. This is me, sitting on the floor in the hallway!

Breakfast

Hotels in Malta are suuuper cheap during winter, so our (already reasonable) €38 for the night also included breakfast which we were surprised with. It was what you'd expect for the price though, the cooked food was pretty much cold, the bacon was bizarre and the pastries were literally just a mouthful.

Overall, I feel like we got much more than we paid for at the Cavalieri Art Hotel in St Julians, Malta, without a doubt, however we did not get what was advertised. I'm not sure how the hotel got it's 4 Stars as the rooms really need an upgrade, the hotel staff and processes need to be much better organised and even the pool area just looked tired and sad, although to be fair it's not the time of year when you'd be using it. For a cheap night in Malta during winter, I'd absolutely recommend the Cavalieri Art Hotel in St Julians, but don't expect 4 Stars, don't expect working wifi and definitely don't stay there during summer when the rooms are going to probably cost x10 as much.

{Please note, after posting a picture of the view on Instagram with the caption that I wouldn't recommend the hotel, a staff member got in touch with me. I was able to tell them everything I said here and they were very understanding and apologetic. We have been offered a Sunday lunch each on the house, which we'll hopefully make use of soon so I can report back on that too!}