For the 100K Vacay team challenge, my goal was to find a Hyatt hotel that was cheap to book with points and yet offered great value compared to cash rates. More importantly, I wanted this Hyatt to be in a great vacation destination. I found all of this at the Hyatt Centric Malta. Malta is an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea boasting a fascinating history, well-preserved old towns, excellent food, endless things to do, gorgeous ocean views, and crystal-clear waters.
Hyatt Centric Malta Bottom Line Review
Overall, I was very happy with the Hyatt Centric Malta. The rooms were stylish and comfortable, the elite benefits were excellent, and the staff provided great service. My one complaint is about the location. The hotel is situated in the town of St. Julian’s, adjacent to the Paceville party district. If you’re into late-night clubbing, then this location would be perfect for you. For access to all the other things the island has to offer, I think staying in Valletta would be a better option (Silema would also be good, as there’s a cheap and easy ferry that runs from Silema to Valletta). Additionally, while the hotel is within an easy walk to St. Georgie’s Bay, the hotel is surrounded by buildings that block any chance of ocean views from the guest rooms.
- Price: Hyatt Centric Malta is a category 2 Hyatt, which means that the points-per-night cost for standard rooms is 6,500 off-peak / 8,000 standard / 9,500 peak. I paid 6,500 points per night.
- Value: Very good. Off-peak cash rates during my stay came to $215 per night, but I paid 6,500 points per night instead. That resulted in a very good 3.3 cents per point value. I suspect that peak cash rates are far higher and that the value of points, even at 9,500 points per night, will be excellent.
- Location: As described above, I wasn’t thrilled with the hotel’s location in St. Julian’s. There were no ocean views (except from the poolside bar), and it was relatively far from the island activities I was interested in. On the plus side, the hotel’s entrance is located at the end of a short, dead-end street, making it very easy to get in and out of rideshare cars, as there is no traffic to contend with.
- Room: I used a suite upgrade certificate to upgrade to a standard suite with a balcony. I was very happy with almost everything about the suite. It was stylish, roomy, comfortable, and it even had an extra half-bath (that’s not very common in standard suites). The only thing I didn’t like was that the balcony overlooked nothing but buildings and a construction site.
- Parking: Free for guests. I didn’t have a car with me, but the hotel’s website says “The hotel has an underground car park available to guests with 30 spaces available. Parking is complimentary to guests and patrons.”
- Resort/Destination Fee: None
- Internet: Excellent
- Service: Excellent
- Turndown service: Yep! Each evening I found two chocolates and the TV remote on my bed. I don’t know why they wanted me to watch TV during my stay — I never did.
- Dining: For breakfast, the hotel’s restaurant offers an extensive buffet (including both local and western foods) and made-to-order omelets. It was excellent. I didn’t try lunch or dinner at the hotel.
- Spa: There is one. I didn’t try it.
- Fitness Room: There is one. I didn’t try it.
- Hyatt Globalist Benefits:
- Welcome Amenity: The hotel welcomed me with a plate of suites, a bottle of prosecco, and bottles of still and sparkling water.
- Suite Upgrade: I used a suite upgrade certificate to upgrade to a standard suite. If I hadn’t used the upgrade certificate, I don’t think I would have received a complimentary upgrade upon arrival, as all the suites were sold out when I was there.
- Free Breakfast: Yes, the hotel offers complimentary breakfast in its restaurant to Hyatt Globalists.
- Club Lounge: Yes, Hyatt Globalists receive complimentary access to the hotel’s club lounge, which offers pre-dinner snacks and drinks every evening from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.
- Late Checkout: Yes. I didn’t use it, but the person who had my suite before me did request a 4 PM late check-out. I know this because my suite wasn’t ready when I arrived, and this was the reason why.
- Other: I was impressed that the hotel had a loaner room available when I arrived, as my suite wasn’t yet ready.
- Would I stay again? Probably not, but only because of the hotel’s location. Next time I visit Malta, I’d rather stay in or closer to Valetta.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Great value for your Hyatt points.
- Excellent elite recognition.
- Excellent breakfast buffet.
- Club lounge offers a very good assortment of pre-dinner snacks and drinks each evening.
- Great location for late-night club hopping.
Cons
- The location isn’t ideal unless you are into shopping, and late-night clubs.
- No ocean views.
- The club lounge can get uncomfortably crowded.
Image Gallery
Hyatt Centric Malta Suite
Hyatt Centric Malta King Room
Hyatt Centric Malta Common Areas
Hyatt Centric Malta Restaurant
Hyatt Centric Malta Club Lounge
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What a complete waste of points – and your rare opportunity to travel to someplace cool. It’s really foolish to let the use of points drive you to stay in some awful location, like this one. I’d much rather pay real money and stay where I would rather be. You couldn’t pay me to stay in St. Julian’s.
The hotel is also a member of Amex FHR. That may sound like a poor usage of the $300 credits but if, like me, you are struggling to find a good usage for the credits and your only other viable options are places that are $600+ a night then this doesn’t sound so bad.
I stayed next door at the Hyatt Regency Malta last year in September and found the hotel’s area lively but lacking in the charm of Valetta. I discovered that the reason Valetta has such a low population is due to incredibly stringent building codes that don’t allow someone to renovate most buildings and install elevators or garages, for example. Without modern amenities a lot of companies just aren’t interested in developing, which explains the paucity of chain hotels within Valetta.