La Valletta Malta Lounge

This is a great little lounge with plenty of space and good runway views, including an outstanding balcony.

There is a large selection of top quality food and drinks, including Maltese favourites such as Cisk beer, pea cakes and Ftira.

Malta La Valletta lounge review

For its size, the Air Malta lounge at MLA punches well above its weight. You may not be expecting much, but actually the Air Malta lounge puts much larger airlines to shame.

Although nominally tied in to Air Malta, from where most of its passengers come from, the lounge is actually independent, and used by many other airlines, such as British Airways and Emirates. You can also buy your way in for 29euro per person.

Accordingly if you are on Air Malta as a business class passenger, you must collect an invitation at check in. However, HSBC Premier customers gain access just by waving an ATM or Credit Card (No access for guests).

The La Valette Executive Lounge has a very nice atmosphere and friendly staff, although it is in effect just a small box.

There are windows along the far wall that overlook not much at all. However there are plenty of nice comfortable brown leather sofas which are nice and squishy, and low glass coffee tables. There is a small aquarium in the lounge, while in the far corner is glass box that is the smoking room.

All in all it is a great lounge with a very nice atmosphere and very friendly staff, lots of comfortable seating with nice main room and smaller areas that give some privacy.

Food

Food in the lounge is great. In the far corner, right beside the receptionist, there is a food counter, with sandwiches under the Perspex dome. Beside this is a heated cabinet with hot cheese rolls and pastries.

In the fringe beside it are more rolls and cheese, plus some Maltese specialities, and sandwiches in packets (however, there is a sign warning you not to take them out of the lounge and onto a flight). On the central bar are more snacks, with fruit (apples, and pineapples), small muffins, biscuits and nuts.

Bar

The bar is equally good, with the usual alcoholic beverages. There are 15 spirits in bottles high over the bar, then on the bar top there are two bottles of red, and in the fridge below are two bottles of white. Both of these wines are Maltese, and should be avoided - Maltese wine is definitely an acquired taste. Beer is a bit harder to trace in the lounge: there is the unusual Cisk Maltese beer in cans, and very unusually, Hopleaf Pale Ale. Both of these are brewed on the island. There are plenty of mixers and in the fringe too. On the counter top are bottles of water, and in the box beside them, plenty of tea bags.

Business Facilities

There are five computers with free internet access along the nearside wall, under the five clocks with world time. There is a printer. The lounge is a (free) Wifi hotspot, but is a bit iffy, so you're better off using the computers provided.

There is one TV screen which is usually held on Sky News. There are newspapers, but not many of them: there are just five, in a rack stuck to the central wooden pillar. Only one of these is a UK newspaper, and it's generally the Daily Express.

Bathrooms

Toilets are inside the lounge, but there are no showers.