Primera Hotel

This 3 star rated Hotel is in urgent need of a refurbishment,especially in the bedrooms.
It is in a very noisy area,this is more so at weekends.
It suffers from poor management,as the manager is shared between two hotels.
Room cleaning is poor.
Maintenance is slow in responding.
Good Points:
Food is plain but good.
Most of the staff are polite,friendly and helpful.
The hotel is situated approx 200mtrs from yhe sea front and a 15 min stroll to the main bus terminal and there are bus stops near the hotel.

4 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from Malta after a 7 night stay at the primera,and was pleasently surprised at the standard of the hotel, the rooms were clean and comfortable, the food was good and the staff were helpful and polite. If we had read the reviews before booking we would not have booked this hotel. I am glad we did not take any notice of the reviews.
We would definately go back to this hotel.
We had a great time in Malta and a great stay at the Primera.

what can i say ? where shall i start? one word that sums this place up is its like the 'slums'

2 readers found this review helpful

Snall and very friendly hotel, oonly yards fron the sea front shops bars and cafes, some rooms have a side sea view. this hotel is under new management and is being refurbished, new lift and internet cafe, the indoor pool and massage suite opens later this year. Food is limited in choice salad bar, meat or fish choice or a chefs special ommlet, but it is really tasty I have been coming to this hotel twice a year for the past five years my Mother who is 85 has been hollidaying in Malta for the past 21 years stopping here for the past twelve years and is happy to go out at night by herself. We keep meeting several guests who return to the Primera year after year I have not stayed here in peak season usually March and November There is some noise from local bars but this stops at midnight, but the hotel is fitting double glazeing to cut this down.

Bel Air should be ashamed of themselves for advertising this as a Family Hotel. This hotel was used as a club 18 to 30 and full of noisy students etc. The Room was horrendous, the air-con didn't work, the bathroom was stinking and the taps were mouldy with a shower hanging out of the fittings. The roof top pool was green and i wouldn't wash my dog in it. I had to move my family to another hotel at my own cost due to the fire alarm going off every hour all night, and the lift alarm going off all the time due to it breaking down. I tried to speak to Bel Air and had no help from them, have an ongoing battle with them for a refund. Basically they are trying to say we are liars!!!! Solicitors now involved. DO NOT book this hotel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

This hotel was abysmal, the tiny 3rd floor room that we were stuck in was like a prison cell with one tiny window. A light was needed throughout the day.
The lift was faulty, stopping on the 1st floor on each journey, irrespective of whether or not you had picked that floor.
Air conditioning was awful and the light fan didn't work.
Towels grey & thread bare and had stains, food VERY limited choice and basic entertainment once per week. Bed covers dirty.
The pool was cracked in places as well as being dirty, not fit for use.
This hotel needs a complete refurb OR knocking down.
Not our first visit to Malta but definately our last to this horrible hotel.

1 reader found this review helpful

The only thing going for this hotel is the location. This hotel is right in the centre of Buggiba and most of the shops and the main square are right outside the main door.
We only stayed B & B but the breakfast was enough to put me off food the rest of the day!
The bathrooms are tiny (when sitting on the toilet the sink is on your lap!) and very mouldy and dirty. Although the bedroom was adequate, and the balcony had a half decent view.
The lifts are tiny; you wouldn't fit more than 2 people in them. Everything needs updating; the decor is very brown and dingy.
The reason for our trip was to check out hotels for our families to stay in when we get married in Mellieha next yr and I am so glad we did. I wouldn't let our dog stay in this hotel!

The staff are lovely, kind and helpful. The hotel is spotless clean. My first impression was “oh god if the reception looks like this our room will be awful”. In actual fact we had a nice room with good views. Lovely location not really noisy just people walking around.
The hotel does need updating, its floors are old, and I don’t think the air conditioning works in the dining room. the lifts are tiny, the furnishings need renewing. The walls are tatty in reception and surrounding areas. Towels are changed every day if you put them on the bathroom floor. Air conditioning in all rooms at no extra cost.
The biggest let down is the food. The choice is very limited. A choice of one kind of fish or one kind of meet with the same mixed veg for both. One choice of soup or pasta for starters. A choice of three desserts. A small salad selection, which you can help your self to. Crusty bread and butter. Most meals will include garlic and the potatoes which on any one evening they do only one kind. So if they cook Garlic roasted potatoes and you don’t like them that are tough there is no other choice. If you don’t like mixed veg that’s tough because they only have one tray of item. The food suited my partner but not me. I think they need to offer a bit of plain food for those who don’t like garlic or black pepper. The food is cooked well in clean conditions. I have never been to any Maltese hotel where food was offered in this way.
My last complaint would be the postage stamp they call a pool on the roof. The roof space is quite large, I think the idea is to stand in the pool cool down and get back out. You really couldn’t do three strokes in it. I would give this hotel 3 out of 10, because of first impressions and the food, I would give the staff 8 out of 10. location 9 out of 10.
One final tip is to try and e-mail or phone this hotel, confirm you have a room with a balcony, I understand there are some rooms without balcony or window. Ask for an assurance that you will get the balcony, these are the nice rooms, we were very happy with ours.

1 reader found this review helpful

Avoid this place like the plague! Like all hotels, they have internal rooms which are only fit for storage i.e. they have no windows or are looking out onto internal ventilation shafts, smelly and no decor. The Primera like many other Maltese Hotels have started a con game in which they accidentally overbook their hotel standard rooms forcing you to be placed in a storage room, offering you a small discount if you complain. You cannot have any concept of what a torture chamber is like. Do not be tempted by a discount! How much would you pay to stay in prison for a fortnight?