La Valette Club Review Malta
I found myself in Malta Airport last week having flown there the day before for free in Emirates First Class (read my review here). The second leg of the journey was an Emirates Business Class flight (reviewed here) and as Emirates don’t have their own lounge in Malta Airport I was granted access to La Valette Club lounge. Now, third-party lounges usually scare me – overcrowding, limited food, poor drinks – but I was pleasantly surprised with La Valette Malta Airport Lounge.
How Can You Gain Access?
As I mentioned, I was able to access the lounge because I had a Business-Class ticket with Emirates. The lounge also acts as the Business Class lounge Malta Airport for a number of other operators including:
- Alitalia
- Air Malta
- British Airways
- EgyptAir
- Libyan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- SAS
There are various alternative ways to access the lounge. One-time passes are available for €35 per person and can be purchased through the La Valette website.
Perhaps some more exciting options are the free passes which tend to be provided as a perk with credit cards. A great example of this would be the 2 free Lounge Club passes which come with the (free for the first year) American Express Gold Card (reviewed here). Lounge Club offer over 350 airport lounges in 200 airports and are a partner of La Valette Club Lounge Malta Airport. Once you’ve used your 2 free passes you will be charged £20 for each visit to a Lounge Club lounge – in this case significantly cheaper than booking directly.
Alternative options would include the unlimited access Priority Pass cards offered with the American Express Platinum Card. Now this card comes with a whopping fee of £575 pa, however for someone who travels regularly this could actually be a worthwhile investment. Read my review here which covers the various benefits of the card and the possible value of each benefit. As someone who travels regularly I have this card and swear by it!
Arrival to the La Valette Club Lounge
Benefiting from La Valette Premium Security, I made my way past the queues and through airport security in next to no time. The lounge is accessed by an elevator close to the departure gates and whilst Malta Airport is relatively small, first impressions of the lounge were good and there had clearly been some money spent on it in the last couple of years.
Upon arrival there were no queues and I was welcomed by a friendly member of staff.
Seating – Malta Airport Lounge
Unlike some of the third-party lounges I’ve been to, I was pleasantly surprised at just how quiet the lounge was. There was a wide selection of seating throughout the lounge; I spent most of my time on the recliners by the window watching the world go by.
The La Valette Malta Airport lounge also benefits from a fabulous outdoor area. If you’re a bit of a plane geek like me, it’s a great place to get a panoramic view of the entire airport.
Food – La Valette Malta
The food selection was nothing on the Emirates Business Lounge I would have benefited from if I was flying from Dubai – but I can’t complain as it was a free flight which I’d used air miles to redeem! See how you can also fly either Business or First Class for less than the price of an economy ticket by reading my review. Food comprised of a mixture of Pastizzi (traditional Malteze snacks), pasta, cous cous, etc.
Drinks
The lounge had a reasonable selection of complimentary drinks including various spirits, 3 red and white wines, a variety of soft drinks and a Lavazza coffee machine (on the basis this was my fourth flight in as many days this was definitely welcome, to stop me falling asleep and missing my flight!).
Additional Amenities at La Valette Lounge
As with most lounges, magazines, newspapers and free Wi-Fi are available to all guests. I was surprised to see 4 new Apple Macs in a small business centre, however I was unsurprised to see that these were not being used!
Summary – La Valette Malta Airport Lounge
So to wrap things up, I was impressed with the quality of the offering at La Valette Club lounge. The selection of seating was vast. The outdoor area was the best I’ve been to at an airport and the selection of food and drinks was reasonable (for a third-party provider). I most probably wouldn’t spend the €35 per person price on the La Valette website. However as you’ve seen it’s more than possible to access the lounge for free using the 2 free Lounge Club passes offered with the American Express Gold Card (reviewed here) or alternatively the unlimited lounge access offered by the Priority Pass that comes with the American Express Platinum Card (reviewed here).
Enjoy what you’ve read? Join our mailing list to receive our best articles on luxury worldwide travel and points earning opportunities. No charge. No Spam. Only Inspiration.