Reserve Room

About

An idyllic setting with
spectacular rural surroundings
and breath-taking views

The hotel features eleven highly finished suites all furnished with attention to detail, decor and ultimate comfort for experiencing some luxury boutique living in a perfect Gozitan rural landscape.

A sixteen century farm-storage

L-Eremita Boutique Hotel was a former sixteenth century architecture construct-storage for hay and barley well-kept by two hardworking il-Qala women, Ċetta and Sika Buttiġieg, carrying the nickname, Tal-Ash who since World War II worked all day in this farm.

 

It is situated in north-most-western part of il-Qala close the borders between il-Qala and the neighboring village of in-Nadur. Tucked in very tranquil and pristine area on the pinnacle of Daħlet Qorrot Valley in il-Qala along Ta’ Gulju Street, formally known as Daħlet Qorrot Street facing the il-Mistra area in in-Nadur.  The views of the valley and Sicily Channel are spectacular to say the least. The area is known Tal-Malvi, is a nickname of a sizeable family who lives in il-Qala and holds a lot of agricultural land in the surrounding area, including in the area known as Għajn Ħaġar (The Spring of Rock).  The area is famous for its natural pure water underground springs which are situated at Ta’ Ċini north of Tal-Malvi and  Għajn Ħaġar, Ta’ Muxi, il-Qasam, Ta’ Kelment, Andar ix-Xagħri and Tan-Nemes to the south, which over the centuries served as the main drinking water supply for the nearby inhabitants and water were carried and transported in clay vases mainly by women, either one on each side held hanging from an iron or wooden rod and/or in vases carried on their heads.

 

Reserve Room

Piccolo Giardino - The playing grounds of the Counts and Chevaliers of Malta

The first maps of this area are of Turkish origin on the year 860AD found in Istanbul in Turkey, part of the Turkish Secret Service collection last exhibited in the heart of Istanbul in 2022. The entire Ta’ Malvi area was heavily cultivated by farmers trained by the Arab rulers on agricultural systems imported with the rulers from the Middle East until the arrival of Count Roger I of The Kingdom of Sicily in 1091 who conquered Malta and Gozo until 1101 and during this period the area below Ta’ Toċċ were transformed into a beautiful noble garden which was called, ‘Piccolo Giardino’ (small and noble garden) teaming with endemic fruit and decorative trees grew over the next four hundred years under the rule of all forty Counts of Malta until the arrival of the Knights Hospitallers in 1530.  This lush garden was extended several times to the area today known as Għar id-Dar which is now the only operating hard-stone quarry on the island of Gozo.

The Piccolo Giardino served as the secondary and secluded hunting grounds for counts, their guests and staff to the Lunzjata Valley and Ta’ Ċenċ area in the villages of Ta’ Kerċem and Ta’ Sannat which were the primary holiday resorts of most of the 28 Grandmasters of Malta and their teams of accompanied chevaliers. This practice lasted throughout the 280-year reign of the Order of Malta which lasted to 1798.

Ta’ Ġulju Street today extends southward for a kilometer to connect with Daħlet Qorrot Street in-Nadur leading to a picturesque swimming, bathing, fishing and sports bay carrying the same name.