Downtown Hotel

This review is based on my holiday at the Downtown hotel in January 2020. This was a package holiday on B&B terms booked through Chevron. WHY I LIKE THIS HOTEL – It has a lovely location close to the centre of Rabat/Victoria. It is very easy to sit on the terrace or balcony, drink a nice cup of coffee, relax and let the world pass by. My rooms have always been comfortable and pleasant. This hotel is a good base for leisurely walking around Gozo. Will I return to Downtown? Definitely. LOCATION – Downtown is on a sloping side road close (gentle uphill walk) to the centre of Rabat/Victoria. I made lots of trips to both Rundle Gardens and the Citadel. (If the steep street up to the Citadel is a bit challenging then do try the alternative route via Triq Mro Giuseppe Giardini Vella which leads to a gate into the lowest part of the grass landscaped area in the ditch). In theory my walks are easier than when I stay at a hill top or sea level hotel but in practice the easier the walk then the further I am tempted to walk. A sports hall and a school or college campus are close to the hotel; in my opinion noise from them is not intrusive. ROOM – I had a room on the south side of the hotel which meant that my balcony was pleasantly warm in the winter sunlight. My room was comfortable, had plenty of storage and had a mini bar stocked with drinks and nibbles. My room had a double bed (I didn't note if the mattress was a double or two singles) with a memory foam topper (very comfortable). My room had two bedside tables, a desk and chair, television, fridge, wardrobe and a suitcase table. POWER – There were two sockets high up on a wall. There were two sockets behind the television (one for the kettle and one unused). The television uses a European Schuko socket. There was one bedside socket. STORAGE – There was plenty of storage for my needs. The desk had a drawer. The two bedside tables each had a drawer and cubby hole. There were two shelves and a safe in the wardrobe. There were two coat hooks on the wall close to the wardrobe. LIGHTING was good. My room had a light over the desk, a light at each bedside, a light on one wall and a light in the ceiling close to the room door. HEATING – I didn't need to heat or cool my room. TEA, COFFE AND MINI BAR FACILITIES were provided which meant I usually spent longer than intended in the morning on my balcony leisurely drinking a cup of tea or coffee. The mini bar was stocked with a good assortment of drinks and nibbles. BATHROOM – This was nicely laid out with a bath that incorporated a wall–hung shower head. There was a wall–hung hair dryer. The bathroom was lit by a light above the mirror. WI–FI – No problems whatsoever with the wi–fi in my room. ROOM CHANGE – Rooms on the south side of the hotel overlook the road (see ROOMS – NORTH OR SOUTH SIDE? below). Traffic noise is usually unintrusive but this year was different. A fault with the balcony door meant it could not close completely and the small gap was letting more traffic noise into my room. I went to Reception to ask if another room might be available and two minutes later I was moving to an adjacent room. DINING ROOM, BREAKFAST, COFFEE SHOP – Cooked breakfasts are the norm at Downtown and there was usually a choice of at least three styles of egg (e.g. boiled, fried and scrambled) plus tomatoes and toast etc.. The choice was a bit less for cereals and salads. There was a copious supply of pots of yoghurt. The hot drink machine produced a very good range of hot drinks. My favourite was its cup of black coffee which invariably accompanied me and a croissant (or two) onto the terrace to watch the world (you've guessed) go by. The hotel seemed to have a good passing trade in breakfasts (rather than breakfasts being the reserve of hotel guests). The dining room is at the left front of Downtown. A coffee shop (or is it a cafe or pizzeria or bar?) is adjacent to the dining room. This coffee shop is popular with local people which I reckon is a good sign. I had a couple of evening meals here. The quality of the food was excellent, prices were modest and the service was very good. There was a pleasant 'atmosphere' of people chatting and eating. STAFF AND SERVICE – The standard of service all round (dining room, cafe, reception and housekeeping) was excellent. The housekeeping ladies cleaned my room to a very good standard and were very helpful with local knowledge about shops, cafes and suchlike. I was impressed with the prompt service when I asked to move to another room. THE BUILDING – The slope of the side road means that the front left of the hotel is slightly above pavement level and the front right of the hotel is around 3m above pavement level. A terrace runs along the front of the hotel. As with my room's balcony the terrace was a lovely place to drink coffee and watch the world pass by. There is a roof terrace but I believe it is closed in the winter season. The hotel does not have any grounds of its own but that's not a problem given that Rundle Gardens are close by. ROOMS – NORTH OR SOUTH SIDE? The south side overlooks the road and the school campus and sports hall. Noise wasn't intrusive by my standards except when (as described above) my room had a faulty balcony door. The south side is, of course, the sunny side and my balcony was a lovely place to drink coffee and relax a while. The north side overlooks green countryside, Tas Salvatur hill and Marsalforn. The twinkling lights in the distance are, I believe, on the south coast of Sicily. The north side does not get much sunlight so in summer its rooms are probably comfortably cool. In winter the room heating (based on my one stay in a north room) is very effective. If you are uncomfortable with 'open' balconies (i.e. with railings) then you may like the north balconies which have solid walls.