Reviews of Venus Aparthotel, Qawra

What a con. I paid £330 per adult and each child (single parent and 4 children, saved up for a nice holiday, what a joke).



Friendly reception staff did replace the light bulbs, then I could see the state of the room including blood stains on the bedding. Missed cleaning the room one day. No air con in the room, only a ceiling fan beware they fall apart!



Bathroom bin was not emptied all week the tiles on the walls not clean shower had no wall attachment. Pool area was a hazard area with broken glass on poolside, broken floor tiles, broken tiles in the pool, trip hazard of uplifted drains. Staff carried hot containers around the poolside (this all on the first day!)



The hot plates to keep the food hot burnt food in the middle and kept food luke warm otherwise. Quality of food was poor unless you like chips. Dining area slippery and small.



I spoke to the rep she offered to move us to Palm Hotel but I spoke to people in The Venus who had been moved from Palm Court cos that hotel was just as bad. Told the Rep about the poor maintenance and of the crumbling walls at The Venus her reply was "This is a 3* hotel". My reply " Its not 3* its a 1* with 2 stick-ons". If you pay less than £200 then it is a bargain if you pay more don’t go.

I came across the reviews before going away and was very worried on what I read. But when I got there I found the hotel rooms clean. Bed were clean, we had clean

towels every day room cleaned every day.



We can’t say anything bad on that part of our holiday. The pool I would not go in, not a lot of room around to lie out to sunbathe.



cheap holiday, cheap food, b/fast every morning the same every thing was cold egg, bacon, etc either half cooked or over cooked, tea and toast was alright as you made it yourself.



At night the same some people ate the food and liked it some went out for a meal

Staff we found were very friendly and helpful. Over all it was better than I thought.

For the price we paid I couldn't fault much of what we got from this holiday. We booked very late and then read the reviews on here so went with very little expectation.



Surprisingly the hotel was not 'castle doom' but an ok base from which to explore the island. Arrived in the middle of the night after a pleasant British Jet flight and everything looked ok. The room was big enough and reasonable enough but hot, pressed the fan switch and there were sparks so that was that for the week! When we woke in the morning we agreed the pool wouldn't be on our tour list and did spend 20 mins cleaning the bathroom, but I have seen worse (well I have done four Glastonburys!)



Went to the meeting on the first morning and got the basics we needed from the reps about what/where on the island (they provide maps) but we are a do it our own way couple so didn't book on anything apart from a car through them for the week and had a great time exploring the island, its a great place with very nice people The car was around 9 Mlire a day.



We were on half board but only had 2 evening meals as we eat where we ended up on the island. It really isn't worth travelling back for the food when you can buy better food at cheap prices elsewhere. The food we did have was ok but only that. I would also say eat at the palm court for a better selection and more room.



Found the staff friendly, if we smiled and said hi to them, they always responded in kind and were helpful when we asked anything. No problem with stealing anything but we did lock our cases etc each time we went out (we would do this at a five star anyway)



Altogether, I would say use this hotel for a base, ok you are not in the prettiest part of the island (reminded me of Blackpool), hire a car, and get round the whole island. We enjoyed ourselves. oh, and one last piece of advice, the people on the corners between the hotel are not there to do you favours, they are timeshare touts, they didn’t disguise it when we asked on the first day so just do as we did and tell them no way are we interested and they left us alone but still said hello everyday!!

As I had not been on an overseas holiday for many years I was determined to enjoy this one. My partner and I read the reviews before going and were a little worried, but found no need to on arrival.



The room I stayed in was clean and tidy, with a maid visiting every day to change towels and empty the bin. There was plenty of space in the room, and on the balcony, although a little small. I can understand some complaints about TV's as mine had buttons missing (you could hire a remote control though!). I did not experience any bugs anywhere though as some people have.



The hotel itself has a nice enough pool and sun bed area. Although it would not be big enough if everyone at the hotel wanted to use it at the same time, it was never overcrowded from what I saw.



The biggest let down at the hotel was the quality of the food. As the other reviews have pointed out, the food is cooked at the sister hotel the Palm Court and carried over to the Venus. On the morning of our arrival I tried the cereal, which resembled cornflakes. It was completely tasteless, and I stuck to the cooked breakfast from then on. My partner tried the oat cereal which she said was like porridge... 40years ago! The scrambled egg, sausages and beans were fine, as was the toast. The bacon I did not try (and judging by the amount of it left each morning, I don't think many other people did either!). The dinners in the evening were ok, although the heaters for the food broke down one evening so it all went cold! The eating area at the Venus I did find very small and cramped, with people nearly falling over on the slippery floor! My advice as far as food is concerned is to go over the Palm Court for meals as the eating area is much more spaced out, with a slightly better range. Also try swapping the evening meal to lunch time and eating out for the evening. The Pizzeria down by the sea is lovely, and reasonably priced.



The entertainment at the hotel I did not enjoy. There was a quiz followed by bingo. The quiz is free but the bingo you have to pay for. One evening we decided to do the quiz but was told we would have to do the bingo as well, or we couldn't claim a prize should we win! Even when I said we would do it for fun without a prize, we still were not allowed! There are plenty of good place to go though, with cheaper drinks than at the hotel.



There is plenty to do in Qwara and Malta in general. We did lots of exploring. The half day trip to the Blue Grotto and the crafts village was really enjoyable. Make sure you book with Freeways (over the road from the hotel) and not the reps as it is much cheaper! Trips to Valetta, Mdina and Golden Bay beach were also very enjoyable.



Finally I would say.... BEWARE!! The timeshare people are a nightmare!

I would like to warn everyone that goes to the Venus hotel about the state of the place. I wouldn’t go in the pool as it looked very milky and dirty.



When we got there on the Sunday, we went for our meal. We had to go round the pool area, and it was dirty, it was not cleaned on the Monday and not until the Tuesday morning.



Our toilet in our apartment had a strange smell, the maids made our beds up and emptied our rubbish most days. We had our sheets changed once in a week, but I don’t think they know what bleach or cleaner is, as they did nothing about the smell, and neither the toilet, bath or sink were cleaned.



For one day we had no hot water, and some of the staff were very miserable to the point of rudeness.



But can I warn you about the welcome meeting, we were told if we booked a trip through the rep she would give us a voucher for 10 lira and we had to hand it to a man in the next room and he would give us the money. When we got there he asked us to follow him to get the money. Long story short, it was all about time share, I thought that reps were suppose to warn us about them, not put us into their hands! The reps were a disgrace.



The food wasn’t too good either but if you got there in the first hour you had a chance of the food being hot but otherwise the food wasn’t very hot and as for the air con in our rooms, it was a joke for what it cost.

Myself and my Mum stayed at the Venus and were a bit sceptical after reading the Watchdog reviews. We were pleasantly surprised as the rooms were very spacious, modern, clean and hygienic. The evening meal was average and better some days than others, the cooked breakfast was great. The restaurant staff are very miserable and don't even crack a smile! A couple of the receptionists were slightly friendlier. Drinks in the hotel bar were overpriced compared to the local bars. Palm Bar on route to the beachfront highly recommended as the owner was very friendly and double spirits and mixer were only £1.50! Hotel price £3.00!



I was very glad that I was recommended to stay at the Venus as it was peaceful with mainly couples. The Palm Court was very noisy and mainly families and groups.



The water line in the pool itself had a scum line which clearly hadn't been cleaned for a very long time (the reason I know is because I used to clean swimming pools and that was not acceptable!) The floor surrounding the swimming pool is grotty as part of it is used as a walk way for kitchen staff to walk between kitchen and restaurant wearing their greasy footwear. However it is fine if you just want to sunbathe all day and not swim!



Overall a beautiful country, a pleasant holiday with an excellent choice of excursions.

I have just returned from a stay at this hotel, and would warn people intending to stay on Malta not to use Malta Bargains (other wise trading as British Jet).



On arrival at Malta International Airport the Rep had no record of our booking, but put us on the coach to the hotel anyway, and we were able to sort the problem out at the hotel. At no time during our stay did we see a rep from at the hotel.



The rooms in the hotel are grubby and on one occasion there were holes in a sheet. Tap water runs brown most of the time. On one occasion there was a power failure in the stair well and corridors (the rooms were OK) so the emergency lights were turned on at left on all night, this causes a 60 watt light to remain on in the bedroom with no way of turning it off, another time the lights in our bathroom failed and we had to wait 36 hours for it to rectified, using the toilet and shower in the dark. The staff told us it was because thy do not have maintenance at the weekend and were rude when I said that seemed unsatisfactory.



As for the food don't eat it! The kitchen was filthy, the food was carried round the swimming pool to the dinning room with no covers on it and the left on the buffet to go cold, In the UK the local council would have closed the kitchen down.



The area in which the hotel is located is a typical run down holiday resort with ugly tourist developments all along the sea front. There is a lot of litter in the streets and pavements are poorly maintained with many holes and trip hazards.



On the good side there are several good places to eat in the area and local buses are cheap and colorful and a good way to see the rest of the island, I found Medina, Valletta and Victoria well worth a visit.



I did enjoy my holiday despite the irritations caused by a bad choice of tour operator and hotel would advise people that you can have a good holiday on Malta just stay in a different hotel!

Having booked a 'quickie' 7 day holiday for four adults I decided to look at the reviews - then wished I hadn't, they varied so much I began to wonder if everyone was talking about the same hotel.



We arrived at the Venus around midnight and were greeted by a very polite and pleasant young man who dealt with us promptly, gave us our room keys and directed us to the lift. Our rooms were on the other side of the pool and it was rather dark but we managed OK. On entering our rooms we were pleasantly surprised as they were quite large, clean and upon stripping back the beds we were satisfied that the linen was fresh and clean, we then checked on the bathrooms and again they were clean with fresh linen. Our rooms were cleaned every day, floors washed, the towels changed every other day and half way through our stay the bed linen was changed. Although the rooms are basic they were kept clean by two young chambermaids who were polite, pleasant and chatty. No problem with brown water either.



Breakfast was palatable, not a lot of choice, only two cereals, warm milk, unchilled fruit juice/flavoured water but plenty of fresh bread/buns,(a toaster), jam, marmalade, butter, cheese, and always cheap bacon, rubberised eggs, sausage and beans. Not the best but you could salvage a meal out of what was there.



After trying the evening meal the first two evenings we then gave it a wide berth - awful!!! especially after seeing the food come over from the sister hotel in the middle of the afternoon ready to be hotted up for the evening meal which spanned from 5.30 until 8.30pm. If you are on a budget and need to eat in the hotel go early whilst it is at its freshest and not dried up.



I was rather concerned about the reviews on the swimming pool, but whilst we were there the area around the pool was swept and hosed down first thing every morning, as well as the lounger beds. Yes the water was a little cloudy and the waterline greasy but I suspect this is due to the fact that there is not a shower to take off the sun cream/oil before bathing, but we saw the water being tested once/twice a day and was assured it met the standards - NOT BRITISH



On the whole this hotel is value for money, you would pay more for an apartment, so we used it only as a base. Clean beds plenty of hot water for showers and a reasonable breakfast to start the day. Definitely not a three star hotel, but neither did we pay three star prices. Cheap and cheerful!

Just home from a week at the Venus. I did read the reviews before we booked the hotel. We were a bit concerned but booked it anyway as it was very cheap. Travelling with British Jet was excellent, not problems at all. The receptionist at the hotel at 4am when we checked in was very polite and even gave me some change for the drinks machine. The room had new furniture and was quite modern. The bathroom was awful.



The toilet leaked and I had to mop it up myself a few times a day. The shower curtain and the bathmat should both be put in the bin immediately, and I have told the management so. They were nothing short of disgusting! The balcony was poor, in fact the smallest I have ever had in a hotel and the chairs were very old and dirty. I didn’t use them.



We had a ceiling fan and air conditioning. The air con made no difference at all and the ceiling fan was poor. Every time we went back to the room it was like walking into a furnace! Breakfast was very plain. Don’t try the fruit juice, this is just mildly coloured water however, the coffee was fine. A choice of only 2 cereals available, bacon so awful I actually had to spit it out, eggs beans but no tomatoes. I got to the stage where I didn’t bother going for breakfast. Evening meals were ok but not much choice. The plates were so hot a napkin was needed to pick them up.



We went over to eat at the Palm Court a few times as it was slightly better. The pool area was ok but not very big. The pool itself was quite dirty when we arrived and someone had written on the side "Help, please clean me" A family complained about this and it was cleaned up quite quickly after that. The maids do work every day, but they are very lazy and none of them smile. In fact the only ones with a slight personality were the chefs, the young receptionist chap and Kurt, the barman.



On the whole this holiday was fine for a week, we got what we paid for. If you want gleaming 5 star accommodation where everything is perfect, buy a timeshare at the Salina Wharf round the corner, the blonde girl outside the Venus will gladly show you the way!

Personally I’m glad I read the revues before I went as I wasn't disappointed when I arrived. Don’t be too quick to condemn the Venus. If you are looking for 5 star accommodation at 3 star prices (and aren't we all), don't feel let down or conned if you never find it!



In reality the Venus is giving (on average), accommodation, breakfast and an evening meal for around £15 a night per person. I have paid £10 a night to sleep in a bunkhouse in the Lake District, without any food!, so in reality it is a bargain.



We found the room to be clean and tidy, with the maids coming in every day to clean and change the towels (although fabric conditioner would help to soften them up a little). OK the overhead fan was a bit noisy, but it did help to keep us cool to a degree, (we did want to go somewhere hot so what do you expect), if you didn't get a fan in the room then you could justifiably complain.



The meals were average but adequate, and you soon learn what to avoid! Mainly the fruit juices at breakfast.



We found the staff very helpful, its often the way you approach people that dictates the response you get! We had a problem with the shower and a lack of shower curtain, but having reported the problem it was sorted by midday the next day.



Yes, overall the standards could be better with a little extra effort here and there, and the comments about the pool being cloudy are true, but as a base to explore the island it is fine.

One very valuable plus point - the beers are ice cold!



We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Malta and at no point was it spoilt by our accommodation. Things to avoid - be careful before booking trips from the hotel during your welcome morning, you can find them cheaper across the road, and as you cross the road avoid the cockney girls enticing you to use the facilities at the Salina Wharf. (Its just a ploy to sell time shares). Its not just the Greeks you have to avoid bearing gifts!



If you really want to live like a king, go the Corinthian Palace Hotel, (It will only cost around £450 a head per week) and, if it all goes wrong there you would really have something to moan about.

My husband and I have just returned from the Venus. What can I say other than change the hotel.



The room we had was small and the bathroom was dirty the smell from the sink when the tap was running was so smelly it made us feel sick. The water that came out of the taps is brown and it didn’t matter how long you run the tap it never got any better... The sheets on the bed had holes in them the chairs on the balcony had been painted (they were plastic by the way) and when you sat on them the paint came of and stuck to you. The room was that hot you couldn’t sleep at night because the air con didn’t work at all.



The pool area was cleaned every day half heartedly the pool it self was so bad that when people who jumped in you couldn’t see then at the bottom which is dangerous as if a child had hit there head you would never know that they were in there we were there for a week and I never saw the pool get cleaned once it was terrible.. The area around the pool was grim to say the least we never stayed round the pool once luckily the sea was great and you could hire sunbeds and sunshades for the day or the stay would have been horrid as we didn’t want to go sight seeing we just wanted to lie round the pool and chill for a week..



The food was horrid to the breakfast was the better of the two meals but it wasn’t good we eat there twice then we just went out for the rest of the time. I would say don’t take kids to that hotel they will be bored silly...



My last word is my first change hotels as the locals even know how bad the Venus is.

Just got back from an enjoyable stay at the Venus apartments - we could not find any fault with the room, it was very clean and the bedding and towels were changed very regularly - we had to use the "Do not disturb" sign to stop the maid coming in unnecessarily. The weather was very hot and the ceiling fans did not make much difference to the temperature - air con would have been nice.



Breakfast every morning was excellent - very hot and a variety. The evening meal was okay too - we only ate out once during our weeks stay their. Definite value for money. Would go back if we could guarantee getting the same room - they classed it as the "penthouse house suite"- large balcony with sunbeds! The reception staff were nice and polite. The only grievance we had was with the British Jet rep - we booked a trip to Gozo and she put the wrong time on our ticket 9am instead of 8am so we missed the trip, got a refund and took the bus to Valetta instead - would recommend it very cheap buses. Definitely go back!

Having just come back from a week in the Venus I must agree with all the negative reviews. In future I will read reviews before I book a hotel.



There is no excuse for the slovenly way this flea-pit is run. The whole place is run down and badly maintained. Our room suffered from inadequate air conditioning, run-down bathroom and rags for towels. We couldn't wait to get out every morning. The pool was murky with dark stains around the edge and the food largely inedible.



To be fair, some guests did seem to like the place, but we couldn't wait to leave. Thank goodness this was only a break and not our main holiday. I have never been on a coach full of people happy to be going home from a holiday before.



Yes it was cheap - but no it wasn't a bargain. The hotel doesn't make any effort and it shows.

Having read all the reports on this hotel, went to the Venus not expecting very much. After only paying £149 each, we decided that we would eat out every night as the food was reportedly so bad as long as the room was clean, no problem.



The flights with British Jet were excellent. No delays etc. The food on board was not too good going but ok coming back. Just typical airline food.



The apartment was big. cleaned every day. The staff were friendly and helpful. Didn't rate the pool very much but happy down by the sea. Didn't find it noisy at all.



We ate in the Venus every night except one. The food was fine. it's not exceptional but was edable and one night a fish dish was actually really tasty. I think many people want to pay peanuts and get the Ritz. We have stopped in many places on holidays, all star ratings. For a cheap extra holiday the Venus was fine.



Would highly recommend the Fernandez Cruise. very relaxing day out at sea. And nice to have the breeze. In fact I think my only real complaint was it was too hot! But unlike some, you can't blame the rep or holiday company for that!

I have just returned from Malta, and I booked a week stay half board through Malta Bargains, and I would like to say what a bargain we had.



For the price we paid I cannot complain about any thing, I could spend more on a night out in England than I did for a weeks holiday. The flight, the plane was excellent, the staff could not do enough for you, the maid was in every day.



Its not the Ritz, but I did not pay Ritz money. All in all, i would use malt bargains again and again.