The Snop House

The Snop House

Morning at The Snop House starts on a covered wooden galleria balcony, coffee in hand, overlooking the square where Our Lady of Victories Basilica anchors daily life in Senglea, one of Malta's Three Cities across the harbour from Valletta. The six-room guesthouse occupies a former Labour Social Youth Club on the hill above the square, renovated by a French couple, a former banking lawyer and a publishing entrepreneur, who opened the house during Valletta's year as European Capital of Culture. What separates it from other guesthouses along the Grand Harbour is that no two rooms tell the same story: Timouzokro traces Malta's marine history, Sylolpasso conjures the island's megalithic temples and the Hypogeum, Azideber is built around the Maltese cross and spring flora, and Magepimo takes its colour from the ochre stone of the Azure Window. A totemic sculpture by Burkina Faso artist Siriki Ky stands in the house as a reminder that this was furnished by collectors, not decorators. Guests can walk the old shipyard streets to French Creek, take the boat across to Valletta, or settle into the library with the free Wi-Fi; staff move between English, Italian and French without pause. This suits travellers who want Maltese history at close range and are happy in a house with only six rooms; it will not suit anyone bringing children under 12, since they are not accepted, or anyone who prefers the anonymity of a larger hotel. A destination fee of 0.50 per person nightly applies, and late arrivals should call ahead for entry instructions. The reward is a room, and a balcony, that exists nowhere else in the Three Cities. A six-room guesthouse in Senglea where each bedroom is themed after a piece of Maltese history, from megalithic temples to the Azure Window, inside a renovated former social club near the Grand Harbour. Under-12s aren't accepted, but adults chasing Malta's Three Cities up close will find few addresses this considered.