The Osborne Hotel

I stayed three nights at the Osbourne, chosen for its location near the bus station. The staff all spoke English of varying levels. Front dest staff were all friendly and knowledgable but I found the dining area/kitchen staff to be abrupt and rude. The breakfast was reasonable with both basic hot and cold available along with the usual cereals and juices, and always room to sit down. Visiting in August the air conditioning worked well and the room on the fourth floor clean and tidy. the bathroom had an ancient shower/bath tap system but it worked ok, and the tv had a limited amount of channels available, BBC news and the rest in Italian. Luggage storage available if you need it, the Osbourne is about 5 minutes from the bus station and 10 minutes from the Valletta harbour views in Upper Barakka Gardens. There is a small swimming pool on the roof but it closed early in the evenings which we found was the time we really wanted to get in and relax....

Unique Quality: Near to bus station and any Valletta location.

Directions: Near bus station.

I did not want to stay in a concrete block, however luxurious.

I did not want to stay in the built-up drink-and-party-all-night areas of Malta.

As a single traveller, package deals (usually based in those very areas) are not good value for me.

Using Valletta as a base suited me, and the Osborne was within my budget (there is not a massive amount of choice in Valletta, to be honest). And I was very pleasantly surprised.

It's a very old building (at least, on the site of one...probably only the underground parts are original) and became a hotel in the 1800s. There are five floors of rooms and two lifts. I chose a 'standard' room: a bit cheaper, and without the extra bits and pieces the renovated 'superior' rooms offer.

My room was on the third floor. A view of the side-street and building opposite only, but that was not problem...it was far too hot to open the shutters (good ones) let alone the windows! Twin beds (quite narrow, proper singles), a wardrobe, a dressing table, a teeny-tiny television high up. Bathroom with bath, hand shower and proper shower. Clean, simple, perfectly adequate for my needs. Good air conditioning (presumably it would be equally good at heating in the winter). A wall-safe is available for a small daily charge.

I chose to have breakfast daily. The breakfast room/restaurant is pleasant, with a variety of hot dishes, cheese, cold meat, rolls, preserves, cereals etc. Coffee and juice from machines, but both perfectly acceptable. I especially enjoyed the chunks of water and canteloupe melon. I did not eat in the hotel, but the restaurant seemed to be quite busy at lunchtimes and in the evenings. There is a bar area too, pleasant to sit in, with daily newspapers available and internet access (3 euro per hour in August 2009).

On the 6th floor there is a stunning view towards Fort St Elmo from on of the public rooms (the hotel hosts conferences, meetings etc) and a rather useful small roof terrace. Not only does this offer somewhere for smokers other than stnding in the street outside, it also provides a shady area in which one can spend the hottest hours of the day (and I did). There are a few sun loungers, a couple of tables, and a very small 'splash pool'. Not big enough to swim more than one stroke, but absolutely ideal for just cooling off before returning to one's book or sun-bathing. Part of the pool also has whirlpool/jacuzzi jets.

Staff were generally pleasant and courteous, although one was somewhat dour.

One oddity is that one is given a postcard with one's room number and name, which one is supposed to present in order to get breakfast/the room key. I did not realise this, and was caught out when eating breakfast on my third morning. Not that it mattered: I just played 'dim'. :-)

So.....this is a clean and pleasant hotel, ideally situated for exploring Malta (about 7 minutes walk from the bus station), very quiet (little traffic during the day and hardly any in the evening) and within easy walking distance of all Valletta's sights, restuarants, clubs and pubs. Furnishings may be a bit old-fashioned (I think the 'superior' rooms are probably not) but I was very satisfied with it.

Directions: Walk from the bus station through the arched entrance to the city, then take the second left. The hotel is on the right, almost at the end of the road.

Taxis will drop you off at the door, obviously.

great location.very nice bar and restaurant,reasonably priced.friendly staff.rooms on 1st and 2nd floor have been renovated.we were on the 3rd floor which is a bit tired looking,also mosqitoes in the room were quite bad.pool area on roof quite tired looking also,but great views.

Unique Quality: views from roof superb.nice bar and restaurant.bottle of maltese wine for 7 euros,that cant be bad

Directions: just off main street

The Osbourne is a pleasant Hotel with friendly helpful staff.

Its location is very useful if, as we did, you wish to tour and see the sights of Valletta.

On the down side there is only a small plunge pool on the roof terrace and this will get very crowded with other guests during the very hot summer months.

Unique Quality: The roof terrace gives a great view of the city. T

he Osbourne's unique appeal though is the age and history of the building and its location. for exploring the wonderful city of Valletta

Osborne hotel is situated in the building that looks outside like the any other nice Maltese house with it´s balconies and window shutters. It used to be an inn for the knights back in the olden days. But nowadays the Hotel Osborne is an elegant and nice holiday home. And there´s a jacuzzi on the roof!