In September 2020, Accor opened their first hotel in Malta. The Mercure St. Julian’s features 113 guest rooms, a restaurant, bar and rooftop pool. Having been open for just over a month by the time we arrived, we were curious to check it out.

Mercure Malta St. Julian’s Location

The Mercure Malta is located in the town of St. Julian’s. From the airport you have a couple of options. You can either take the X2 bus from the airport, a taxi, or use an app such as Bolt or eCabs.

To get to the hotel we opted for the X2 bus which cost €2 per person. In hindsight this wasn’t the best option. The bus is slow. Very slow. Even though the hotel is just over a 10km journey from the airport, it took a good hour. On the plus, the bus stop is a couple of minutes walking distance from the hotel.

Learning from our mistake, we went back to the airport from the Mercure Malta St. Julian’s using eCabs. It’s an app similar to Uber or Cabify. For this we paid just under €12 and it was a much better option than the bus. At the airport, we visited the La Valette Club Malta Business Class Lounge, which I’d recommend.

As for the location, it was good. You’re around a 10 minute walk from St George’s Bay and there are plenty of bars and restaurants nearby.

Arrival

We arrived at the Mercure Malta St. Julian’s at about 1pm. I was initially told that an early check-in was not possible. Since the hotel wasn’t full, and I am an Accor Gold member I found this slightly disappointing. It was swiftly resolved though, and an early check-in was possible.

When I made the booking online it was possible to confirm the reservation with my AMEX card. Upon trying to do a pre-authorisation for the stay, my card was repeatedly declined. I was eventually told that the hotel doesn’t accept AMEX. It was a slightly strange experience. Since this is apparently the case I don’t know why it was an option online.

I was given the Accor welcome drink voucher without having to ask, and apart from the issues with payment and the initial denial of an early check-in it was a fairly fine experience.

Accor Status Recognition

As mentioned, I was given a welcome drink voucher. I believe I was also upgraded from a Standard Double Room to a Superior Double Room. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the difference between the two room types is. For all intents and purposes the room was what I would expect from a Standard Double. I cannot think of any reason why you’d pay any extra for this room.

Despite it being a supposed perk of Accor Gold Status, the hotel did not offer any welcome gift. Not even a solitary apple. Since the welcome gifts offered are often disappointing anyway, it’s not a huge thing, but it showed a lack of effort.

The Room at Mercure Malta St. Julian’s

Unfortunately, things did not start well. The bathroom had not been cleaned properly and there were hairs in the shower left from the previous guest. As we planned to head out to get something to eat anyway, I asked at reception if they could ask for housekeeping to rectify this while we grabbed lunch. It was slightly surprising that a brand new hotel was already having issues with cleaning.

Upon returning to the room the hairs had not been removed. To be fair, this did seem to be taken seriously when I again went to reception. The manager dealt with the matter and ensured it was rectified. He also offered us complimentary breakfast for the duration of our stay. This was good service recovery.

The room itself was fine. The interiors have been well finished, and are to a high standard. The room was equipped with a kettle and mini fridge. The mini fridge had two bottles of complimentary water. These, however, were not replenished during the stay.

The bed was, as you’d expect, extremely good. The room was also well soundproofed. The bathroom, excluding the cleaning issue, was extremely good with a large rain shower. The amenities (shower gel and shampoo) were also of a much higher standard than the usual mercure ones, which was a positive.

To my surprise though, the hotel does not offer any amenities such as a dental kit if requested. I was told I’d need to pay €1 for this. In an Ibis I understand it, but at a 4-star hotel like a Mercure, I’d expect this to be offered on request.

There was a small balcony, however, this was pretty useless as there was no furniture. I believe some balconies on the other side of the hotel do have furniture though.

Bars and Dining at Mercure Malta St. Julian’s

At the present time the Mercure Malta offers a restaurant which is open just for breakfast. There is also a bar which is apparently open 24 hours, and has a dedicated bartender until 10pm. The bar is located in the main lobby area. It was slightly sterile, although to be fair these aren’t normal times, so I wouldn’t have expected it to be a hub of activity.

We just used the bar to obtain our welcome drink. It was possible to use this for soft drinks as well as beer and wine. I was given plastic cups so I could take the drinks to the rooftop pool area.

Although we didn’t originally plan to take breakfast, we did on two mornings due to the fact we were offered it on a complimentary basis. The quality was mediocre, but the staff managing it were very good and the restaurant space is very nice. The set-up appears designed for a self-service buffet concept, but obviously that it not possible at the moment.

Instead, you were required to queue at the buffet area behind a tensabarrier. The staff then plated the items you requested. I am not convinced this is the best way to manage things. As the breakfast was never particularly busy, it’d have been far better to offer some sort of table service. It’d have avoided guests having to queue, and would have been a more relaxing option.

The options were standard. It included a continental selection as well as some hot options. The quality and variety wasn’t anything amazing. If I am honest, I wouldn’t be inclined to pay the €12 per person charged for breakfast.

Leisure

Perhaps the main reason to stay at the Mercure Malta is the rooftop swimming pool. This was a genuinely nice space and a great place to relax. You can also enjoy great views of St. Julian’s and the marina.

We were staying in early October. The weather in Malta was in the mid to high 20s, however, the pool was freezing. It’s a shame it isn’t heated for use outside of the main summer months.

When things are back to normal and during the summer, it could potentially be crowded. The pool is small, and the area around it isn’t large either. I can envisage it being difficult to get a sunbed during peak season. This said, the rooftop area does have space for more chairs, and perhaps during the summer more will be available.

I was quite surprised they haven’t thought about some sort of bar provision by the pool. If you want something to drink, you currently need to go down to the ground floor, go to the bar, and then take it back up to the rooftop.

In the summer, it’d perhaps be good if they did something like the Novotel Sevilla. Here they have a makeshift bar by the rooftop pool. It actually works really well and is a nice feature.

Recommended?

We paid €160 for three nights. At this price, the Mercure Malta represented good value. I’m not sure I’d return here if I was in Malta again, however.

The issues with cleaning weren’t acceptable. Especially given the current environment. Accor status recognition was mediocre, and while the rooms are nice, there wasn’t anything amazing about them.

Regardless, it’s still nice that there is now an Accor option in this part of the world.

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