A 500-Year-Old Palazzo Has Just Become Valletta’s Newest Boutique Hotel
If walls could talk, Valletta would be absolutely exhausting. Five centuries of Knights, nobility, wars, reinvention and the occasional questionable addition have left the capital with rather a lot to say, along with a growing collection of hidden and decidedly not-so-hidden boutique hotels occupying some of its most historic buildings.
The latest is Romègas, a new five-star boutique hotel set inside a restored 16th-century palazzo, with just 22 rooms and suites, a rooftop pool, two places for cocktails and quite a serious collection of Maltese art. Part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ L.V.X. Collection, it joins the growing crop of luxury boutique hotels in Valletta while keeping things deliberately intimate.
STAY
The palazzo is connected to Mathurin Romègas, one of the Knights of the Order of St John and a prominent figure in Malta’s 16th-century history. Rather than attempting to scrub away five centuries in pursuit of generic hotel luxury, the restoration has kept the building’s original character firmly in the room.
High ceilings, limestone and traditional architectural details sit alongside warm timber, terrazzo, bespoke furniture and decidedly contemporary touches. The result feels less hotel dropped into old building, more rather elegant Valletta residence that happens to have room service.
With only 22 rooms and suites, Romègas is deliberately intimate. There are Classic and Superior rooms, balcony rooms and larger suites, with no attempt to turn the palazzo into something it was never designed to be.
ART
The art is particularly interesting.
Rather than treating local art as a decorative afterthought, Romègas commissioned original works from 13 Maltese artists, including Matthew Attard and Rebecca Bonaci, created specifically for the hotel and responding to the building, its history and its relationship with Valletta.
The collection runs throughout Romègas, effectively turning the palazzo into a quietly evolving showcase of contemporary Maltese creativity. In the bedrooms, large-scale works hang against soaring historic proportions, while rich fabrics, cane detailing and darker woods keep things comfortably on the grown-up side.
It gives the place a personality beyond the usual tasteful cushions and strategically positioned coffee-table book.
EAT
Food gets considerably more than the standard hotel-restaurant treatment.
Caviar & Bull Valletta has made the palazzo its home since opening last month, bringing Marvin Gauci’s latest venture and a selection of the restaurant’s signature favourites into the historic setting. It’s a substantial and rather chic part of the whole affair, with the restaurant occupying the ground floor and spilling into the internal courtyard.
DRINK
Caviar & Bull is handling the drinks too, with its mixologists behind the cocktails across the hotel.
Upstairs, the rooftop terrace and pool overlook Valletta’s rooftops, with a cocktail bar designed for drinks as the city changes gear towards evening.
Downstairs, the internal courtyard offers the more all-day proposition: cocktails beneath the skylight, surrounded by historic stone walls, without needing to wait for sunset to provide the theatrics.
Five centuries of history, contemporary Maltese art, serious food, rooftop cocktails and a pool above Valletta. For anyone sizing up the boutique hotels in Valletta, Romègas has made a rather convincing entrance.
Bookings are now open for stays from September.
Romègas Hotel
41–47 Old Bakery Street
Valletta
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