AX Rosselli

Please read this before you consider to book this hotel. Before you read this review, please note that my husband and I went to this hotel for our post-wedding honeymoon and paid around EUR 350/night for what we expected would be luxurious. I normally never write such scolding reviews and always try to highlight the benefits of a place, but this was really the worst experience possible for us.

Originally, we booked a 4-night stay at Rosselli's after staying the previous three nights at Xara Palace in Mdina (which was absolutely excellent!). We came to Malta for our honeymoon together with my husband after Location of Rosselli's is directly in Valletta city centre, so count on a sleepless night if you are facing the street side. I am not sure what exactly it is about this hotel, but the vibe was off from the moment we walked in - we felt that there was a bad atmosphere. All staff are Indian male, and apart from the hotel manager who is French we haven't seen anyone who would be Maltese, so it feels like you are in India instead of Malta which is a bit strange.

We only ended up staying one night out of the four and left in the morning as soon as it was possible. For us, the biggest problem was the room - the hotel staff knew we were on our honeymoon, and even despite being given this information, gave us a literally black room which looked like it was for a funeral (incl. black flower wallpaper). Because of the noise from the street, there are three layers of doors and any light is blocked off, so the room appears windowless. I do have to say that the room was quite big, but that didn't in any way make up for the fact that it was dirty - in fact the worst we've ever been. We oftentimes stay at quite humble Airbnb's, but we've never experienced such a filthy room - we actually think this was health hazardous. The first thing that hit us upon entering the room was a strong, sewer-like damp smell. At first, we couldn't really identify where the smell was coming from as it was heavily covered with air refreshener, but the longer we stayed in the room the more uncomfortable it was getting. There were 2 couch-like chairs covered in light stains and when I took my sandals off, I could feel dirt and crumbs getting stuck to my feet - upon inspecting my feet I saw that the soles were completely black as well, so I am sure that houseekeeping haven't hoovered nor mopped the place. Probably because they thought we wouldn't be able to tell because of the black stone floor. I immediately put on flip flops and from that moment felt like not touching anything. Regarding the smell, we couldn't really identify where it was coming from; in the end we concluded it was partly the shower and partly the air conditioning, combined with some mildew/mold that was already sitting on all surfaces in the room since the room was basically windowless and not naturally aired when cleaned so the dampness just stayed in and could never escape. What really finished us was when we noticed at around 11 p.m. that the toilet brush (that hadn't been used until then) was entirely covered in dried up feces from whoever was staying in the room before us. My husband tolerates a lot and was willing to put up with the smell because he was worried we wouldn't get a refund, but after I told him about the toilet brush even he said that this is unacceptable and that we need to leave. PS: Please note that I complained about the smell and the dirty floor upon about an hour of our arrival and was told housekeeping would be sent to our room 'right away'. When we returned in a few hours, front desk told us they 'sprayed more air refreshener in our room'. I wish I was making this up.

So, in the end, because it was nearly midnight, we had to stay the night because we knew we couldn't bring this up with the front desk because they wouldn't do anything about it. Next morning I called Fabien, the hotel manager, who met up with us in the lobby, offered his apologies and told us we can either get a different room or go to another property and be refunded for the remaining nights. We knew we didn't want to stay because our experience was already tampered with and we knew we wouldn't be able to relax.

To end on a positive note - we did get a full refund for the remaining 3 nights and 50% off for the first night we stayed there, and they kept our luggage for the day before it was time for us to transfer to a different hotel. They do have nice coffee served in the lobby as well (latte art and everything). It's a real shame we weren't able to have a positive experience because we came to the hotel based on positive reviews we read. They do make good cocktails also on the rooftop, but please note that the pool is more like a big bathtub and says its capacity is 4 people, but it was already a bit crowded when it was just me and my husband (both small and thin people). We really appreciated that the hotel refunded us and acknowledges our bad experience, but we still had to inform other travellers (especially those looking for the perfect hotel in Malta for their honeymoon) about our negative experience. We are not writing this review to tarnish the hotel, but in hopes that this honest review will be picked up and no one else will have this experience. You only get one honeymoon so it better not be like this.

This hotel just was not 5 star. What was wrong? And why did I not complain while I was there? I don't know. It wasn't like me not to. Firstly, the atmosphere when you arrived was cold and unwelcoming, not because of the staff but it just didn't feel good or welcoming. Perhaps it was too snob. The switches for the lights were not organised and we were always looking for which switch did which light. There were not enough electrical plugs either. And not one for the bathroom. Not a separate light in the WC. Coffee maker made a horrible noise. The frig was not cold enough. The stocked tea and coffee was not the same every day... I usually had to ask at the desk. Not the same accessories put in the room every day either. I think there was not a check list for the staff. For the price they charge, breakfast should have been included. Room really needed a fix it job. The joints in some of the tiles were coming out and the WC wall needed repainting. The roof top pool was open but was cold! I expected a heated pool for the cooler months. The good things; great sheets, towels and soap, cream and shampoo, soundproofing windows, the staff was very kind and serviable I did write a review on the hotel site and they replied and certainly did not offer any compensation or perhaps a free night at a future time. Too expensive for what we got or not to get a more satisfactory reply