Downtown Hotel

“A lovely hotel to relax and enjoy Victoria/Rabat and meander gently around Gozo.”

SUMMARY – This review is based on my holiday at the Downtown hotel in January 2019. This was my second holiday at this hotel. Downtown hotel is a lovely base for exploring Gozo's capital (known for a long time as Victoria and now also known by its original name Rabat; I'll use Rabat in this review)… more

SUMMARY – This review is based on my holiday at the Downtown hotel in January 2019. This was my second holiday at this hotel. Downtown hotel is a lovely base for exploring Gozo's capital (known for a long time as Victoria and now also known by its original name Rabat; I'll use Rabat in this review). LOCATION – Downtown hotel is conveniently close to the centre of Rabat. The Citadel, Rundle Gardens, bus station, several bus stops, the main square (Independence Square, also known as it-Tokk) and lots of shops are within an easy stroll from the hotel albeit with an uphill walk to some of them and even more of an uphill walk to the Citadel. It is so nice to be able to meander around Rabat or the Citadel after dusk (remember that my visit was in January) and have only a short walk back to my hotel rather than have a 20-40 minute walk to a hotel in a nearby town. Staying at Downtown means that I can meander around Gozo without necessarily having to tackle a hill of any sort. ROOM – I had a third floor room at the front of the hotel. Its balcony butted up to a wall which gave me comfortable shade for the important task of drinking tea and coffee. My room had one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in. The mattress label says that it was a semi-orth mattress made down the road in Xewkija by Carefree Furniture. It had “08-18” written on the label and I wonder if this means it was manufactured in August 2018. On top of the mattress was a memory foam topper made in Spain. My room had a fridge, television with remote control, a kettle, cups, tea, coffee, milk and sugar, free wi-fi and a room safe. My room was cleaned and serviced to a very good standard. I previously stayed in a room at the back of the hotel. Rooms at the front look onto an urban landscape (a sports hall, college and a couple of roads). Rooms at the back have a countryside view and, at night, the distant twinkling nights are probably those on the south coast of Sicily. The rooms on the front of the hotel get more sunlight than the rooms at the back. DINING ROOM – This is on the ground floor at the front of the hotel and has a door opening directly onto the terrace at the front of the hotel. I reckon the dining room can accommodate 100+ people which is good going for a hotel with only 40 rooms. Breakfast offers both hot and cold food. I was happy with the choice of food on offer. I was very happy that I could take my cup of coffee and a croissant onto the terrace and enjoy them slowly while planning my activities for the day. I have to say that my planning often needed several cups of coffee and croissants before it was completed. DOWNTOWN CAFE – This is adjacent to the dining room and was often busy (and was full several times when I called in for a meal). I was on bed & breakfast terms and had several evening meals at the cafe. They were excellent quality and not (even by my standards) expensive. STAFF – All the staff were courteous, friendly and helpful. I was impressed with one of the dining room staff who picked up a crate of crockery and, when the handle had broken and crate and crockery hit the floor, promptly apologised for disturbing our breakfast. ARCHITECTURE – The hotel looks modern. Its ground floor has reception, the dining room, Downtown cafe and a large play area for children (I think there are other play areas at this hotel). a popular cafe and the dining room. Its first floor is offices. Its second and third floors are guest rooms. A couple of rooms on each of these guest floors are internal rooms (so no balcony or window onto the outside world). There is a rooftop pool deck but it hasn't been open during my visits (in January, remember) to the hotel. I nearly forgot the basement. Downtown hotel has a basement in which you will find a 10 pin bowling alley (this may be unique on Gozo) along with a bar, food, a DJ and karaoke aimed to give you an entertaining time.

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“Value for money”

The accommodation was very clean and good quality. The value for money was high. The staff were helpful and very pleasant. The overall impression was spoiled by the food in the restaurant, although the menu looked enticing. The issue was that the food was always not hot - the breakfast buffet ha… more

The accommodation was very clean and good quality. The value for money was high. The staff were helpful and very pleasant. The overall impression was spoiled by the food in the restaurant, although the menu looked enticing. The issue was that the food was always not hot - the breakfast buffet had very good choice but was lukewarm at best - perhaps the food containers need to be heated from below. Also the food ordered from the menu for lunch or dinner never arrived hot - again either lukewarm or tepid -and at the prices stated, should have been of restaurant quality. Portions were very generous (too much for me) and they need to find a way for the food to be delivered from the kitchen (on a different floor) to stay hot. The serving staff did offer to send it back but there was no confidence that anything would be different.

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“Recommend for families with children.”

As we had mixed feelings about the place, we thought that we should try it out for ourselves. In fact, we must say that the people are very welcoming, the room with bathroom was spotlessly clean! Breakfast was very good, as after all it is a 3 star hotel. They have a huge play area for young kid… more

As we had mixed feelings about the place, we thought that we should try it out for ourselves. In fact, we must say that the people are very welcoming, the room with bathroom was spotlessly clean! Breakfast was very good, as after all it is a 3 star hotel. They have a huge play area for young kids which one does not find available in other hotels. Will go again sometime!

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“Comfortable and good location in Victoria, Gozo”

Easy walking to the Citadel and the main square, Il Tokk. Comfortable rooms and a great spread for breakfast. There is a little terrace out front for a pre dinner drink. Friendly staff - ALWAYS a smile!