Malta

[TheHeadhunter]

Following on from my thread about a location to go with my Mum for her 80th, we've settled on Malta for a week. Largely as it fits the bill (warm, not hot (April)) and none of us have been before.

Anyone been? Any tips on things to do, good hotels/villas (there will be 8 or 9 of us ranging from 17 to 83), nice restaurants, trips?

Thanks again.

[Insurancejon]

The Phoenicia in valetta is a bit of old school class, and has been refurbished recently.

[TX1]

Insurancejon said:

The Phoenicia in valetta is a bit of old school class, and has been refurbished recently.

Have stayed in few hotels on the island however would probably need to remortgage my house to afford a week there.
For villas I would be looking in Mellieha, Santa Maria Estate and plenty to choose from.

Edited by TX1 on Monday 27th October 14:21

Edited by TX1 on Monday 27th October 14:22

[vixen1700]

The ferry to Gozo is a nice little trip out. Only 6 Euros if I remember rightly, and you can get a bus to the various beaches on arrival there.

[snuffy]

These two hotels are next to each other:

The Palace:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/the-palace/

The Victoria:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/victoria-hotel/

They are actually joined together, second floor I think, you walk along the corridor and go from one hotel to the other without noticing. The Palace (modern interior) is more of a business traveller type hotel and the Victoria (quite old in decor - have a look at the Penny Black bar, it's more like an old English pub) is more of a tourist hotel.

The food here is very good:

https://www.ilmerillrestaurant.com/

And here:

https://wigiskitchen.com/

If you stay in the Sliema area, you can go across to Valletta on the ferry, which is very handy, but it's quite steep walk up to the centre of Valletta.

[Truckosaurus]

snuffy said:

These two hotels are next to each other:

The Palace:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/the-palace/

The Victoria:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/victoria-hotel/

....

I have stayed at both these and agree with the assessment.

There's no shortage of museums and historic sites to visit to pass the time.

The island is awash with Uber and Bolt cars if you don't fancy squeezing onto a bus.

[Skodillac]

A tour around Mdina and dinner at the Xara Palace Hotel on the terrace (incredible views of pretty much the entire country) would be my top recommendation.

St Paul's Catacombs also.

Edited by Skodillac on Tuesday 28th October 15:36

[TheHeadhunter]

Thanks so much, that's amazing insight.

Currently looking through a ton of info.

I think favouring Valetta but St Julian's is an option.

Phoenicia does look amazing and rates not stupid for that time of year. Rosselli AX and Casa Ellul are 2 another options. Hiring a villa is the alternative so we're all under one roof.

Good choice of restaurants too, with a couple of very special Maltese ones for the birthday itself - ION Harbour and Noni both look amazing.

Thank you again!

[miniman]

vixen1700 said:

The ferry to Gozo is a nice little trip out. Only 6 Euros if I remember rightly, and you can get a bus to the various beaches on arrival there.

Definitely worth a trip over to Gozo, really nice island and quieter than the "mainland".

We hired a self-drive boat from https://gozoboathire.com/ - great to circle the island and stop at a few of the caves / coves.

There are some good harbour boat trips around Valetta.

Mdina definitely worth a visit.

Motor Museum is pretty good - https://www.classiccarsmalta.com/

Generally a lovely place, really enjoyed our visit.

[tim0409]

miniman said:

We hired a self-drive boat from https://gozoboathire.com/ - great to circle the island and stop at a few of the caves / coves.

That’s one thing from previous holidays that I will always remember; we hired a small motor boat, picked up some really nice food from the market and pottered around Comino island, dropping anchor in the Blue Lagoon and ate some lunch on the boat and went for a swim. It was fantastic.

[nordboy]

https://10straitstreet.com/

We stayed here and would absolutely go back there again. Lovely 2 bed, 2 bath penthouse ( definitely book the penthouse) that has a roof terrace and is in a great location. There's a lift to the Penthouse so access isn't an issue.

[the-norseman]

It is possible to get a ride on one of the old buses from Valetta to Mdina its about 2.50euros each, however they dont drive them hard like they used to anymore so its not the full experience.

[nordboy]

the-norseman said:

It is possible to get a ride on one of the old buses from Valetta to Mdina its about 2.50euros each, however they dont drive them hard like they used to anymore so its not the full experience.

Obviously the driver who we had this year didn't get the 'take it easy' memo then. What a lunatic!!! Great thing to do though.

The bus company in question have a FB page called Vintage bus tours, they post regularly about what trips and timings are for the week. They're also really helpful and reply quickly to any questions you have.

[Jobbo]

snuffy said:

These two hotels are next to each other:

The Palace:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/the-palace/

The Victoria:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/victoria-hotel/

They are actually joined together, second floor I think, you walk along the corridor and go from one hotel to the other without noticing. The Palace (modern interior) is more of a business traveller type hotel and the Victoria (quite old in decor - have a look at the Penny Black bar, it's more like an old English pub) is more of a tourist hotel.

We stayed at the Palace last November - top floor suite which wasn't expensive for the week we chose. There were definitely some business things on while we were there but they didn't get in our way. Breakfast buffet was excellent and it has good parking if you hire a car.

In terms of location it feels like it's a hotel in the middle of a village really, but it's not far to walk down to the sea front and the bars and restaurants. Used Bolt a lot since it was easier to leave the hire car in the car park and not need to worry about parking in Valetta etc.

[raceboy]

Just here for the tips really, as we are off for a long weekend in Valletta at the end of November.

[valiant]

Jobbo said:

snuffy said:

These two hotels are next to each other:

The Palace:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/the-palace/

The Victoria:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/victoria-hotel/

They are actually joined together, second floor I think, you walk along the corridor and go from one hotel to the other without noticing. The Palace (modern interior) is more of a business traveller type hotel and the Victoria (quite old in decor - have a look at the Penny Black bar, it's more like an old English pub) is more of a tourist hotel.

We stayed at the Palace last November - top floor suite which wasn't expensive for the week we chose. There were definitely some business things on while we were there but they didn't get in our way. Breakfast buffet was excellent and it has good parking if you hire a car.

In terms of location it feels like it's a hotel in the middle of a village really, but it's not far to walk down to the sea front and the bars and restaurants. Used Bolt a lot since it was easier to leave the hire car in the car park and not need to worry about parking in Valetta etc.

Wife is Maltese so we’re over there every so often and we always stay in the Victoria next door. Good hotel with car parking underneath although I find the dinner food a little bland but we eat out most of the time anyway. Ta’ Kolina restaurant on the Tower Road about a 10 min walk from the hotel and serves authentic Maltese fare and is very good and a must do for us whenever we’re over there. Not stupidly expensive either.

Sllema is a decent base as it’s just over the water to Valletta and if you stick to public transport, the buses and ferries are all regular and decent. St Julian’s can be a bit noisy but is far livelier but depends on what you want from your holiday.

[snuffy]

valiant said:

Jobbo said:

snuffy said:

These two hotels are next to each other:

The Palace:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/the-palace/

The Victoria:

https://axhotelsmalta.com/victoria-hotel/

They are actually joined together, second floor I think, you walk along the corridor and go from one hotel to the other without noticing. The Palace (modern interior) is more of a business traveller type hotel and the Victoria (quite old in decor - have a look at the Penny Black bar, it's more like an old English pub) is more of a tourist hotel.

We stayed at the Palace last November - top floor suite which wasn't expensive for the week we chose. There were definitely some business things on while we were there but they didn't get in our way. Breakfast buffet was excellent and it has good parking if you hire a car.

In terms of location it feels like it's a hotel in the middle of a village really, but it's not far to walk down to the sea front and the bars and restaurants. Used Bolt a lot since it was easier to leave the hire car in the car park and not need to worry about parking in Valetta etc.

Wife is Maltese so we re over there every so often and we always stay in the Victoria next door. Good hotel with car parking underneath although I find the dinner food a little bland but we eat out most of the time anyway. Ta Kolina restaurant on the Tower Road about a 10 min walk from the hotel and serves authentic Maltese fare and is very good and a must do for us whenever we re over there. Not stupidly expensive either.

Sllema is a decent base as it s just over the water to Valletta and if you stick to public transport, the buses and ferries are all regular and decent. St Julian s can be a bit noisy but is far livelier but depends on what you want from your holiday.

We have stayed in The Palace twice. Last time was a mini-suite on the 7th floor. We booked it directly and go a taxi to and from the airport and a meal in the roof top restaurant (Tempt Asian) in the price.

I do like the location as it's like two places in one; walk one way into Silema or the other way to St Julians.

The Salisbury Pub is also ok as well, being located between both hotels.

We have also stayed in St Julians in what was Le Meridian (now the Marriott) which is on Bulletta Bay, which is also a good locations. Again, walk up and down the hill and you can hop on to the Valletta ferry.

Whatever you do, don't take your Mum to Paceville !

[Old Merc]

Take a look at Fort St Elmo/ National War Museum and In Guardia Show. Very interesting for all ages of your party. https://heritagemalta.mt/explore/fort-st-elmo-nati...
Also https://themaltaexperience.com/

One tip when getting a taxi, haggle, ask how much first and knock him down.

Edited by Old Merc on Wednesday 29th October 12:58

[arcturus]

For taxis, I would just use the Bolt app. We find it very easy.

Also St Julians can get very busy and is aimed at the younger crowd in my opinion (we are early 60s).

We go a couple of times a year.

For a less touristy, more local experience, maybe try Marsaskala. We quite like it there.

We have had some excellent nights out in Valletta. Plenty of bars and restaurants to try.

Have had good meals at Trabuxu Bistro, Aaron's Kitchen and other places.

Edited by arcturus on Thursday 30th October 16:47

[TheHeadhunter]

Thanks again everyone. Currently sorting accommodation.

I'd rather do a hotel, but my brother is keen to look at a Villa. The more I learn, the more we're looking forward to trying Malta!