Domus Zamittello is a boutique hotel located just within the City Gate of Valletta in Malta.  We stayed there for eight nights from August 20-28, 2022. As you might know, I always prefer to stay in boutique hotels over big name chains, and honestly, in Valletta, there is pretty much only boutique hotels, so there were a ton to choose from.  Some of the surrounding cities like Sliema and St. Julians have Marriotts and Hiltons, but I am super glad we ended up staying in Valletta and at Domus Zamittello.  

First, the location of the hotel was absolutely perfect.  Since we rented a car, and you can’t park within the city walls unless you are a resident, you have to park at a garage a couple hundred meters outside the city gate.  MCP car park, technically in Floriana, costs about 10 Euros a day and is a clean and safe place to leave your rental car.  After a long day of touring around and driving on Malta’s crazy roads, you do not want to have to walk too far to your hotel, so having your hotel just a few blocks inside the city gate was key.  It is also about 2 blocks from St. John’s Co-Cathedral, 1 block from the MUZA gallery, 1 block from the Archaeology Museum, and close to just about anything else you want to do in Valletta.  It is also right next to the open-air Opera House, so if there is a concert going on (and rehearsals) you can hear it from the terrace and in your room.  When we were there, there was a big James Bond themed concert happening on the Friday, so we enjoyed listening to all the Bond theme songs being rehearsed all week.  

The staff at the hotel were always available and always friendly. We didn’t get a run-down of recommendations in Valletta or Malta upon check-in, which I usually enjoy, but our week was pretty planned out already anyway, so it wasn’t necessary.  The hotel lobby is truly lovely, and has a courtyard in the middle of it with comfy chairs and a view of the balconies, windows, and doors to the rooms above.  In the mornings, the roof of the courtyard was open letting in the warm air, but it was closed in the afternoons when the a/c was pumping.

We stayed in one of the suites called the Manduca Suite, since I was traveling with my husband and college-aged stepdaughter.  The suite was relatively large, especially for European standards, and gave us plenty of room to spread out.  On the main floor is what is usually a sitting room, but they had set up the fold-out couch for our daughter.  There was also a full bathroom on the main floor that actually had a larger vanity and larger shower than the bathroom upstairs.  The color scheme was light, creamy, and relaxing. There was a personalized welcome note on the desk, which was a nice touch.

Up a flight of stairs was the primary bedroom, with a very large bed which was probably about a foot wider than a normal king sized bed.  There was a closet for clothes, a flat screen TV on a stand and a very small bathroom.  The vanity did not have much space on it, and the shower was about 3 feet by 3 feet, but had a rain-shower which was nice.  The bed was very firm, which is typical in Europe, but the linens were really nice and luxurious.  The creamy and calm color scheme continued upstairs as well. They originally had feather pillows on the bed, which I absolutely despise, but I asked if they could switch them out, and that same day it was done.  

Oddly, there was no turn-down service.  While they did have cleaning service that did a thorough job daily, there was no service in the evening to turn down the bed, close the curtains, etc. which I have come to expect at higher-end hotels.  This place is NOT cheap, and so I expected a bit more elevated service in the housekeeping department. This was probably the only missing detail during our stay.

We had breakfast included with the room, and it was really excellent.  You ordered a la carte every day, and the service was good.  I had a delicious croissant almost every morning. They had continental options like yogurt and fruit, as well as hot options like omelettes and an English Breakfast. They also made good coffee and served it quickly!  

Some random details included excellent WiFi service in the room, as well as really good a/c which was 100% necessary because it is pretty warm and humid in Malta in the summer.  Check in and check out were a breeze.  We also used their laundry service since we were there for so long, and our clothes were returned within 24 hours fresh and clean. I just love the smell of freshly laundered and pressed clothes that I didn’t have to do myself! 

Finally, there is a lovely terrace overlooking the open air Opera House and Parliament Building (both of these boasting some pretty cool architecture), as well as Republic Street, the main drag in Valletta.  There are loungers up there as well as tables with umbrellas.  The umbrellas didn’t do a super great job in the heat of the afternoon, and honestly they should really get a large sun sail or something like that up there, which would make it more pleasant in the summer.  Nevertheless, we still went up there to check out the views with a bottle of Prosecco one afternoon, and we definitely enjoyed ourselves.

I would recommend this boutique hotel if you are staying in Valletta, and especially if you are renting a car and plan to go out to see more of Malta due to the proximity of the hotel to the city gate, not to mention all of the other attractions around Valletta.  The location is totally primo, and is worth the price.