Ok Base for first time in Malta
from WTW
Summary In short, this is a good base hotel to stay in Sliema, Malta. As a travel agent, we have stayed in many, many hotels and resorts, and this hotel was an “ok” stay. We have been to various 3 star hotels, and resorts, and this one is accurately listed as a 3 star. The hotel is clean overall, perhaps showing some signs of aging in some areas (worn carpets in areas), and some service/quality issues. The staff were professional and did their best to accommodate as much as possible. The food at breakfast was bearable, but for those who like a good cup of coffee to start the day, I hate to say it, but look elsewhere. If I were offered the fullboard basis at this hotel, I would maybe only choose breakfast or at most, halfboard, and eat at the many wonderful restaurants Sliema has available. The Park Hotel is located in excellent proximity to the Strand in Sliema, Malta, and walking distance to just about everything one could want, including Laundromat, grocery store, and many tourist shops, bars and restaurants. The rooftop pool and view are wonderful, and the hotel is located on a quiet side street, off the main strand. • Reception (check-in) Our transfer from malta airport was via Mercedes Benz, and we quickly arrived at Park Hotel (within 20 minutes from airport). The checkin was good and efficient, we provided our hotel vouchers, and were given our room key within 15 minutes. • Rooms We were provided a room in the front of the building, which overlooked the street and lovely houses across the street. The room we were given I believe was scheduled for some upgrading, as the sliding balcony door took MUCH effort to open. We requested assistance with this, and someone came 2nd day and fixed the gliders. The room also had a kitchenette, and a wonderfully clean bathroom. Again, we did not use the kitchenette, as there are so many wonderful places to eat, to sit and have a drink in the fantastic Maltese warmth, that it would have been a waste to eat in the room. There is a large closet that can easily hold a week’s clothing, as well as storage for your suitcases. The bathroom has a very modern sink and marble countertop. Shower water pressure was good as well. Cleanliness is a biggie, and this bathroom was clean! The balcony (which is on the smallish side) had a straight ahead view of the side street and looking left one can view the wonderful Mediterranean sea (walking distance to Med, 4 minutes straight out from hotel). The balcony had two chairs and a small table, where one could sit and comfortably have a coffee (home brewed) the restaurant coffee was just yucky. The balcony (chairs also) are a tad dusty, its Malta!), but that didn’t matter much, as we spent most time out walking the streets and beaches of Malta, rather than sitting inside. • Pools There is a rooftop at the Park Hotel, where many hotel residents seemed to spend the day. We preferred to walk and swim in the Med, so we only checked out the rooftop pool long enough to say we’d been there. The rooftop pool does have a pool bar, where hotel guests can purchase drinks. The view from the rooftop is nice enough, as you can get a good view of the Med, but because its on a side street, versus oceanfront property, your view naturally is blocked a bit by surrounding buildings • Beach The beaches in Malta are different, in that they are not sandy, beaches one would expect to find in the Caribbean, in most areas. In contrast, the beaches here are formed from limestone, and residents and tourists alike, lay out on the softened limestone, next to the Mediterranean and the breezes off the water are just perfect. To be honest, the temperature in Malta is one of the best I’ve experience (remember this was September), as its not too hot, definitely never too cool, and even in the evenings one can easily walk around in tank top, short sleeve, what have you, and the breezes, even at night is wonderfully warm and comforting. • Ocean We can’t say enough about the Mediterranean. Malta provides ladders etched into the limestone slabs where swimmers can easily climb down into the water and go for a swim. They also have created these great breakwater areas (small pools) where people who don’t care to swim out, can sit in the water (somewhat like a wading pool). The water in the Sliema area was never too rough to swim, and was very refreshing. • Sliema Strand Markets, Restaurants, Bars/Pubs All along the strand you can find anything you need, whether it be stamps, disposable cameras, tourist knick-knacks. There are also so many places to eat, drink and be merry. They have an ingenious setup at restaurants and bars along the strand itself, for those wanting to watch sporting events, they have these huge flatscreen TV’s set up, and people can sit and watching the event of their choice (there was much soccer on). My husband was delighted that he could watch many of the World Rugby Cup games, while sitting outside in the waonderful night air, and have a pint. Some sample prices for meals or drinks & other, are as follows: - GOOD meal (3 courses): 20 MTL (approx 45 euro) - beer (1 pint): 0.45 MTL (approx 1.05 euro), compare with 2.50-3.00 euro in Italy - cocktails: 1.50-2.00MTL (approx 4.50 euro) - pop: 0.30 MTL (approx .70 euro) - laundry 20 MTL (46 euros – this was not cheap, but my GOD they fold & press everything, even underwear!) Personal Notes We have tried to keep the Park Hotel, Sliema Malta review as neutral as possible, but you will naturally see we liked and disliked some aspects. Everyone has their own preferences. This resort is good as a moderate to basic accommodations stay, for upscale I would recommend the Golden Tulip Vivaldi, Hotel Fortina, Hotel Juliani, or even Preluna. If/when we go again, I would stay at Oceanfront, rather than a sidestreet hotel, just for something different. Internet Usage cards: This was a peculiar situation at the Park Hotel, because if you didn’t get one early in the morning (i.e. tried to purchase one at night, they were all gone in the evening, and no more are made available until 9:00am the next day, which I found strange) as there might be no one using the computer terminals, but they still couldn’t issue a card… They have a bar/tv room in the Park Hotel, for those wanting to watch a “real” TV. The in-room tv’s have LIMITED channels, and are strange to turn on. You have to turn on the power button, until it goes red, then turn on the channel buttons. Different, but experienced this type of multi-step tv power on process in France as well. If you are looking for a good clean basic stay hotel in Malta, don’t be afraid to choose Park Hotel, or contact me for some additional suggestions.
Caution: cut-price renovations
from kennymonkey
My mother and I stayed here for four nights on a package tour and would definitely not recommend it. Renovations were in progress when we arrived, so there was a fair amount of noise and dust around. Our rooms were among those that had been renovated and were in a worse state than some that had not! The standard of the paintwork was very poor, with uneven edges and splashes on the ceiling and woodwork. The floor tiles outside the bathroom had been badly damaged in the course of bringing in new fixtures and were in a dangerous condition - some would tip up, others were smashed, with the uneven and sharp-edged fragments making it unsafe to walk around barefoot. Within the bathrooms, the grouting was poorly done and smeared on the bath, basin, etc. The cistern in my room had an intermittent leak. The toilets were almost impossible to flush, calling for both a strong wrist and good technique - the cistern kept moving and had to be held firmly in just the right place by leaning heavily on it with one arm while with the other hand you rammed the handle down fast and held it for exactly the right length of time. If everything was not just so, you have to wait two minutes and try again - and it generally took several attempts. The foot was absolutely inedible, with the sole exception of the raisin bread at breakfast, so we were very thankful not be on half-board. We did eat in the hotel one evening: my mother had beef so gristly a dog could not have managed it and my fish was too dry and tasteless to swallow. Fortunately, there is a very good Bulgarian restaurant, the Ariana, just across the road from the hotel, and we ate there for the rest of our stay. They have a set tourist menu, which is very good value, and an excellent a la carte selection. The only good thing about the Park is the staff, who were outstanding in their charm and friendliness.
the staff are very good,but i do not rate this hotel anywhere near a 4 star and indeed have stayed at better 2 star hotels.the so called air con does not work efficiently and needs updating.the hotel needs a complete makeover from top to bottom.the food was quite poor and... more