The Coworking Question: Do You Need a Desk Outside the Apartment?

The honest answer arrives about a week later than most people expect it to, because the first few days of any stay are spent testing whether the apartment desk is good enough, and the real answer to that question tends to be more specific than yes or no.

In short: most remote workers staying at Morrison Court do not need a coworking desk to get real work done, because each apartment already has a private home office, a proper chair and a door that closes, but a change of scene still earns its place once or twice a week — less as a productivity fix than as a way to be around other people, which the coworking spaces along the Sliema-Gzira seafront provide better than any apartment, however well designed, ever will.

What the in-apartment office actually solves

The apartment desk solves more than people expect before they arrive. A room that closes, a chair chosen for eight-hour days rather than looks, and a connection that does not depend on anyone else's laptop being open at the same time — that combination gets most remote work done perfectly well, without a membership fee or a walk in the heat to get to it. Every Morrison Court apartment has exactly this built in, which is, honestly, most of what a coworking space is trying to sell in the first place.

What it doesn't solve, and coworking does

What it does not solve is the very specific loneliness of working entirely alone in a beautiful place, which sounds like a luxury problem until you have lived it for three straight weeks. Some people never notice this. Others notice it sharply, usually around week two, and no amount of terrace view or good coffee substitutes for the low background noise of other people also trying to get through a Tuesday. That is what a coworking space actually sells, whatever the marketing says about ergonomic chairs — proximity to other working humans, on tap, for a few hours. Our solo remote worker's guide to Malta goes further into that particular kind of quiet.

A pattern that seems to work

The pattern that seems to work best, from what we have watched guests settle into, is neither purist position: most of the working week at the apartment desk, where the concentration is genuinely better, and one or two days at a coworking space along the Sliema-Gzira seafront for the contact and the change of light. Neither extreme — never leaving, or leaving every day out of habit — seems to serve people as well as picking the day the apartment feels a little too quiet and going to find some noise on purpose.

The commute that makes either option easy

None of this works if the walk is a chore, which is the part Gzira quietly gets right: the seafront into Sliema is a comfortable, mostly flat walk, and the ferry into Valletta adds a second commute option that most Malta bases simply do not have. Our honest guide to where to stay in Sliema for remote work goes further into how location decides this question before the desk even enters the conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a coworking membership to work remotely from Malta?

No, a coworking membership isn't necessary to work remotely from Malta if the accommodation already includes a proper home office; it becomes useful mainly for social contact and a change of scene rather than as a requirement to get work done.

Are there coworking spaces near Gzira and Sliema?

Yes, there are coworking spaces along the Sliema-Gzira seafront within easy walking distance of Morrison Court, offering an alternative desk for the days a change of environment is worth more than the in-apartment quiet.

What does the home office look like in a Morrison Court apartment?

Each Morrison Court apartment includes a private home office with a dedicated desk and chair, separate from the living and sleeping areas, designed to hold up for a full working day without a coworking membership.

Whichever way the balance falls for you, Morrison Court gives you a real desk from day one and lets the coworking question answer itself.