Airbnb Apartments Review: Marsalforn Bay Gozo

REVIEW

Accommodation: Spacious Seafront Apartment

Location: 43 Triq Santa Marija, Marslaforn Bay Gozo

LOYALTY PROGRAM or DEALS USED

Qantas Frequent Flyer Airbnb

Research and Booking

After spending some time in Zebbug and doing some power sightseeing… Paul and I were looking to relax in nearby Marsalforn Bay. And, we were hoping to find an apartment with ocean views so we could enjoy the incredible scenery.

So, if you saw our review of the Airbnb accommodation we stayed at in Xlendi… you’ll see the breathtaking views we had when we stayed there. To see our review of the Xlendi apartments, CLICK HERE.

So again, we decided to see what was available on the Airbnb website… via the Qantas Airbnb booking site.

That’s because as Qantas Frequent Flyer members… we would get 1 point per $1 spend with Airbnb bookings. So, why not rack up some points, we thought?!

When Paul and I were looking at Marsalforn apartments, it was towards the end of the Summer peak season. Even so, a lot of places were still booked out.

Yet, we did find a place with the title of, Spacious Seafront Apartment. Then, as we were looking at the details of the apartment, it was suitable for us.

Then, after a few enquiries with the host, who was quick to respond… we booked it in.

So, for a 6 night stay in this accommodation with Airbnb, it cost us AUD $500.10 (about 310 Euros). Plus, it had sea views, which looked beautiful from the photos on the website!

The Location

Our Airbnb apartment was in Marsalforn Bay on Triq Santa Marija. So, this is a major road that wraps around the bay, and we were wondering if it would be noisy. We’ll let you know about that soon.

Yet, it was a stone’s throw away from the rocky beaches… as well as many restaurants. Plus, there are several supermarkets and other shops within easy walking distance.

I’ll go through in more detail about what’s around this apartment soon.

So, here’s a travel MISTAKE I did… and I wanted to share it with you so it won’t happen to you. In fact, it’s a little embarrassing considering how often we travel!

So, when we got to the Gozo Ferry Terminal at Mgarr… we had pre-booked a taxi to pick us up.

Then, as his pricing was good and he was friendly… we decided to book him again for our short trip from Zebbug to Marsalforn Bay.

To find out more about using the Gozo Ferry and transportation, CLICK HERE.

So, the taxi trip from our Zebbug accommodation to our Marsalforn apartment, was about 5 minutes. Then, after the taxi driver took us to our destination, the price for this short trip was 15 Euros!

So, I was shocked because I thought was expensive!

Yet, it was my mistake for not finding out beforehand what the trip would cost. My bad. So, make sure you check taxi prices before your trips within Gozo, and negotiate.

Even so, we got to the apartment without any other issues!

Check In

The host was unavailable to meet us for check in. Yet, he had arranged for someone else to be there on our arrival, which was great.

And, as we got to the front door, she was already outside the door greeting us.

Then, as we had two large suitcases, she was motioning for us to take the lifts up to the apartment… rather than carrying them up flights of stairs. Nice and convenient!

So, in the lift we could just fit the two of us in… as well as 2 large suitcases and 2 carry on bags. Tight squeeze, but we made it.

Then, she met us at the front door of our apartment. So, she took us on a tour of the apartment and explained some of the features… as well as the process for checking out.

So, all in all the check in process was friendly and efficient.

Inside The Apartment

So, the title of the apartment on the Airbnb listing was, Spacious Seafront Apartment. And, as we were going through the apartment it certainly was spacious. Plus, we did get awesome views as I’ll go through soon.

Then, after we entered the front door of the apartment, here’s what we saw first…

There was a dressing table and mirror, with several ornaments on it. Then, when we veered to the right of this, there was an open plan kitchen and living area. So, let’s see what the kitchen was like…

The Kitchen

So, the kitchen was a reasonable size, and it had many drawers and cupboards.

And, as I opened every single one of them, it was incredible to see how much stuff was in them! So, for someone who likes to cook, the utensils and cooking facilities were very good.

There were lots of cutlery, pots, pans, utensils, glassware, and heaps more.

Plus, there were a variety of teas, coffees, condiments and more…

Plus, the cooktop had a gas stove and NOT an electric one :) There was also an oven, as well as a microwave oven.

And, there was not only 1, but 2 kettles… a plastic one and stainless steel one! There was also a knife set in wooden block, a massive roll of paper towel… and a complimentary 2 liter bottle of water.

But wait… THERE’S MORE!

There was also dishwashing liquid and cleaning cloths, plus many tea towels.

Then, there was a full size fridge and freezer, which was super cold.

Plus, in the fridge there was a full size, new container of butter spread, a loaf of bread… as well as a carton of milk. That was unexpected, yet a thoughtful touch by the host.

So, needless to say the kitchen was very well equipped and a cook’s delight!

And even better, the kitchen was VERY clean.

Then, in the kitchen and living area was a wooden four seater table with chairs, and placemats.

Then, we had a look at what was in the living room area…

The Living Room

There was a large deep maroon colored couch, which was very comfy. And, next to that was a stand with a lamp, and two–tiered coffee table. Plus, there was a single couch, and several cushions.

Then, nearby these was a flat screen TV. Yet, when we were checking out what was on TV… there were basically no English channels.

So, for us, it wasn’t a big deal for 6 nights… as we would watch things on our laptop if we wanted. But, if we were going to stay for much longer… some English channels that weren’t news related would be great.

Beneath the TV was a two-tiered smaller, wooden coffee table with ornaments. Then, next to that in the corner was a fan. So, it does get extremely hot in Malta and Gozo in the height of Summer.

So, there was air conditioning in the living room and bedroom… but these were coin operated.

And, similar to the Xlendi apartment accommodation… the curtains were a weird set up. There were some sheer curtains and heavier deep turquoise colored curtains. Yet, the curtains could not be pulled across the length of the railing!

Even so, behind the curtains was a large window, sliding door and flywire screen door. And, this led out to a sizeable balcony…

And, from this balcony we saw some lovely views…

Plus, there was a big outdoor table, and several folding chairs we could set up on the balcony. And, we definitely used the balcony and furniture daily during our stay.

Then, as we were wandering towards the back of the house, there was a long corridor…

Then, there was a door on the left. And, when we opened it we saw this…

Bathroom 1

Here was a small bathroom with a shower, toilet and small basin.

Then, after this there was another room. And, when we opened this door, here’s what we saw…

Bathroom 2

So, this was a bigger bathroom, which had a shower over bath combination.

Plus, there was a toilet, wash basin and small vanity mirror. Yet, the only thing was that there was no fan or great ventilation we thought.

Then, as we were wandering further down the long corridor, there was another room on the left…

Bedroom 1

The first bedroom had 2 single beds in it, and a side table with drawers between them.

Then, opposite that was a large cupboard, which had a hairdryer, towels and sheets.

Yet, we noticed that we couldn’t close the door to this bedroom. And, that’s because the bed next to the door jutted out past the doorframe.

So, that wasn’t a big deal for us as we didn’t use that room. Then, a little further on we saw this…

There was a washing machine and tools for cleaning the apartment, which was handy. Yet, we did have to get our own detergent for the washing machine. But, that was no big deal.

Then, next to this was a large cabinet with more ornaments on display and a plant. I guess this helped to give the apartment a more homely feel.

Then, after this was the second bedroom…

Bedroom 2

So, the second bedroom had a single bed, as well as wardrobes.

Then, at the end of the apartment was the main bedroom.

Main Bedroom

So, the main bedroom had a double bed, and 2 side tables with lamps. Yet, the bed was a bit small for our liking. Even so, it was quiet in the room so we could get some sleep.

And, to help with that were thick curtains.

Opposite the bed was a large cupboard with many coat hangers. And, there were several coat hooks next to the cupboard too… as well as a large mirror.

Then, there was a door next to the window, which led out to a balcony.

And here, there was a line to hang up washing, which was convenient. Plus, there were lots of pegs.

Yet, when we were there, only one tiny corner of the balcony had some sunshine on it for a few hours in the day. So, unless it was windy, it would take a while for the clothes to dry.

Around The Spacious Seafront Marsalforn Bay Apartment

Marsalforn Bay is a much bigger village than others on Gozo island. Thus, there were more facilities and other places that were handy during our stay.

And, this included have about 3 supermarkets all clumped together on the one street!

So, the street that these grocery stores were on was, Triq Il-Qbajjar. And, the one that we preferred was called, Lighthouse Supermarket.

So, we found that they had a bigger range of fresh produce and other goods. Plus, the prices were reasonable.

Around Marsalforn Bay were several diving centres, as well as a tourist office. Plus, there were several shops including souvenirs, and some clothes.

And, if you want to swim and sunbake, there are plenty of places around Marsalforn Bay. Plus, like many other places in Malta and Gozo… the water was crystal clear and beautiful.

So, while we were in Marsalforn, we were needing to get some printing of documents done. And, after asking a shop owner, they said that the Hotel Calypso may be able to help with that.

Then, when we went there they could help with printing. And, the price per page was 50 Euro cents. So, that was convenient and helpful for us!

Eating And Drinking Around Our Airbnb Apartment

As you may know, we’ve been going around the islands, in search of the best pastizzi in Malta. And, while there are a few places we could get pastizzis… our preferred place was, Ekxa Kiosk.

To find our more about our best pastizzi journey… you can start with our first blog post by CLICKING HERE.

Plus, there are many bars, snack shops and restaurants to choose from… when we couldn’t be bothered making meals in the apartment.

So, a cool bar that we went to was called, Mellos. When we went on a weekend is was packed with people outside and inside drinking. Plus, they had a DJ playing upbeat music.

Then, after we sat down outside, one of the staff brought out some mezze type dishes. So, we think they were for free, but we didn’t end up eating them.

So, while we had an awesome Gotizan ftira in Xlendi Bay… we tracked down a restaurant which did their version of a ftira. And of course, we had to try it. So, we got this ftira at a place called, Murella Restaurant.

We Drink Eat Travel Wifi Speed Test

So, when we were asking about the wifi speed at the Marsalforn Apartment BEFORE we chose to stay… we got a couple of different answers.

And, initially we weren’t going to stay in this apartment. That’s because the co-host had said that the download mbps speed was 30, and the upload was 1.5 mpbs.

Then, the main host re-contacted us and said that the internet was recently upgraded. So, the download speed was about 80 mbps, and the upload about 15 mbps.

Thus, with those speeds it suited us fine. Yet, when we got to the apartment we were shocked!

When we did an internet speed test, we clocked up was 253 mbps for the download… and for the upload speed we got 14.8 mbps.

So, that wifi download speed is one of the best, if not best wifi speeds we’ve had on our travels. AWESOME!

Would We Stay At This Marsalforn Bay Apartment Again?

The Airbnb hosts were responsive to any queries we had and friendly.

And, their Spacious Seafront Apartment in Marsalforn Bay was in a great location. Plus, we had lovely views from the balcony, which we used often.

And, despite the apartment being on a main road, it was surprisingly quiet. Plus, with the bedrooms being in the back of the apartment… it was that quiet we could hear a pin drop!

The apartment was well stocked with amenities, and more than what we needed for our stay.

Plus, the wifi was super fast. Yet, there were literally no English TV channels. So, if we did want to watch anything, we had to use our laptops.

And, it would’ve been good if the bathroom had better ventilation. Plus, we would’ve preferred the bed in the main bedroom to be bigger.

Even so, there was nothing else really that we could find fault with the apartment. So, yes, we would stay at this apartment again in Marsalforn Bay Gozo.

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Note: All of our reviews and comments are our opinions and no-one else’s. Even if we receive complimentary goods or services we share our opinions honestly.