Almost five months after opening its doors to guests, The Saint John boutique accommodation in Merchants Street, Valletta is fast becoming the capital city’s favourite stay, both among locals and tourists. The official inauguration of AX Hotels’ latest project took place in September but the boutique’s first guests were welcomed prior to the opening night. Swiss youngster, Mr. Flavio Huber will be remembered as The Saint John’s first guest as he opted to choose the new elegantly converted hotel for his seven-night stay in Valletta last August.

Although other guests booked their stay before him, Mr. Huber’s last-minute booking ensured his status as the first guest to stay at the newly converted 17th century Valletta townhouse. Mr. Huber, who resides in Zurich, was given top treatment with the management pulling out all the stops; refreshments and a personal welcome by the directors and management, including Ms. Claire Zammit Xuereb, AX Group Hospitality Director. The Saint John’s first ever guest was impressed by the beauty and the indulgence of this place, describing it as “fashionable, chic and very artistic.”

Hospitality is “superb” and staff are “friendly and extremely efficient”

This boutique accommodation is also garnering online interest and chatter from international bloggers who are envisaging that The Saint John will be Valletta’s most popular stay during this significant year for Malta’s historical city, as it is celebrating the prestigious title of European Capital of Culture for 2018. An online article, written by the editor and CoFounder of one of the largest travel blogs in the world, LuxuryTravelDiary, Claire Endean-Cance described the hospitality at this newly converted place as “simply superb” and “the staff are friendly, knowledgeable and extremely efficient.”

Ms Endean-Cance was mostly impressed by the style and character at the new boutique hotel saying that, “the décor gives you lots of wow-moment that will have your Instagram twitching as soon as you arrive! There’s a cool, industrial vibe, a lot of the spaces are open-plan with an incredible attention to detail in the finishing and retro touches which are very nicely done.”

Another leading global travel blogger, Carmen Edelson, Founder and Senior Editor of Carmen’s Luxury Travel, defined The Saint John as “an inviting place to come back to every night. Their surroundings are inspiring thanks to productivity enhancing colour schemes, contemporary, energizing designs and comfortable furniture throughout the boutique place. There is definitely an element of sophistication here and a wonderful combination of styles that work perfectly together.”

In her recent online blog, Ms Edelson also commented on Valletta’s newly Gastropub Restaurant, Cheeky Monkey, which was described by the blogger as “trendy and fun” and is just next door The Saint John. “In the few days that I stayed at the boutique accommodation, I ate regularly at The Cheeky Monkey restaurant. The food was fabulous and they offered a nice selection of choices. My favourite dishes were the mushroom gnocchi and the Caesar salad with chicken.”

Ms. Edelson concluded her article by describing her experienced hospitality at The Saint John as “high quality” and she “fell in love with Malta even more. There is no doubt I’ll be staying here next time I plan a trip to this special Mediterranean Island.”

The Saint John is popular with European and American tourists

To date, besides being immensely prevalent amongst Maltese people, the AX Hotels new boutique place, has been also popular with tourists coming from Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States of America. The Saint John is equipped with the state-of-the art technological amenities and it’s well-defined as a smart boutique accommodation by its unique style, innovation, and luxury that compliments the historic capital city of Malta.

“Our goal is to continuously improve the quality of service we offer to our guests. Undoubtedly, the feedback received so far overwhelms us. We are offering an innovative concept in the local hostel and lodging industry and we are proud of what we are doing. The Saint John is the only one in central Valletta offering full business and corporate services and two modern equipped conference venues,” said Ms Zammit Xuereb.

The Saint John is part of AX Hotels and so members of their loyalty program AX Plus can take advantage of a range of benefits.