Bayview Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

I having been going to malta on and off over the last 7 years and was extremely disappointed in this hotel. yes, its 3 star and obviously budget, but I have never experienced bugs in a hotel room before. Not bed bugs (thank god), but large thin cockroach type insects around the kitchen area (I stayed in a studio apartment).
I moved rooms once, as the first time the amount of bugs was awful when I came back one evening (and I had to get the maintenance guy to come and spray them.....he was there for about 20 mins spraying, and there were still some left after this can you believe). I then got moved to another room on a different floor. there were not as many bugs, but there were always some large ones lurking that seemed to come out at night.
I have lived in malta before and stayed in numerous places and have never had a problem with insects or bugs indoors before.
Completely ruined my trip and my sleep!!
Felt I needed to write this review to warn those, that not all budget hotels work out ok to stay in, and I most certainly have learnt my lesson never to go less than 4 star accommodation again!!

We stayed in a 1 bedroom apartment in an annexe building with no view as it was in the middle of a residential area with no balcony to speak of and very little natural light except in the bedroom. We were not given clean sheets until 2 days before we left (we stayed for 1 week). To get to the apartment a steep hill had to be climbed so not suitable for anyone with mobility problems. The apartment was a mixed building withlong stay and holiday residents so was quite noisy in early mornings more than 300mtrs from hotel building.

4 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a week at The Bayview. We chose it because it advertises itself to have rooms suitable for disabled guests. The main purpose of writing this review is to inform other potential guests that our "disabled room" was lacking some essential features. It was spacious, ample room to move the wheelchair around. The beds were a bit low. The main concern is that there were no drop down hand rails either side of the toilet. There was enough room to have them and we saw them elsewhere in Malta.
There was a sturdy towell rail on the wall to the right of the loo, this had to be used as a grab rail. On the left there was a pole floor to ceiling that was of no use as it was virtually right up againt the wall, behind the toilet. I pointed all this out to the man on reception when we arrived and informed him that I feared Brian would not be able to manage with this toilet. His
response was that he would "tell them in the morning". Whoever "them" were they did not approach us all the time we were there to check if we were okay or to ask what the problems were. This is toatally unacceptable.
Also even though it was 23.30pm when we arrived and Brian is disabled we were not offered a drink or shown how or where to get a drink. I thought that this was disgusting customer care.
Because the weather was grim it was quite cool during our stay so this combined with a lot of support from me meant that Brian coped.
It was annoying because he had contacted the Hotel by phone and email before we booked to check on the facilities and he was told there were hand rails.
The location of the hotel was good one could have a long walk along the promenade with fantastic views over the bay to Valletta. Also there were tours on offer provided on low level access buses. There were enough shops and bars to cater for most tastes.
On a positive note the room and hotel were kept very clean, towells changed everyday. The breakfast was average, "hot" foods were luke warm.
The staff who cleared the tables were pleasant.
The dining room always seemed very noisy and had the feel of a youth hostel rather than a hotel. We only had dinner there on our second day. We had carrot soup that was just orange water. It tasted like carrot peelings had been boiled in water and the water strained off to produce this liquid. It put us off eating there agian. The help yourself buffet amenities were at best unpleasant and at worst unhygienice. There were tubs of ice cream with squeezy bottles of sauces to go with them. I saw a teenage girl get in a mess with the bottle and lick her hands to then touch the bottle again and the scoop to serve her ice-cream, it made me feel sick.
For the reat of the week we ate at the nearby Waterfront Hotel where the food was really good and portions very big!
Also the Waterfront had a disabled toilet at the reception area but the Bayview had no communial disabled toilet. Access to all floors was good via a number of lifts. There was a ramp at the front door however the door could be tricky to open whilst trying to push a wheelchair into the hotel and open the door at the same time. If handrails were fitted in the toilet we would possibly stay there again but we would not eat there in the evenings.
We would not recommend the Hotel to very disabled people.

3 readers found this review helpful

the stay at Bay View was a nightmare.We arrived at 10:25am and had been up all day and night the day before.we were given room at 2 pm.then the air conditioner didnt work.We had a man to fix it after repeatedly phoning reception.but the room looked on a disgusting filthy yard and we got a new room.4 pm by then.i fetched a kettle it didnt work and we had to wait till next day for another...they fetched a new one!the rooms were not cleaned very well and shower never touched in 2 weeks.the balcony chairs filthy..and the food a mix up of various horrors.sometimes dinner wasnt bad but the soup was rubbish and lots ond lots of fatty lumpy pork.the sweeta were not much better nice ice cream but not much else...the cakes were like cardboard and glue.we came in at 11 one night..theres no snacks or anything and the snack machine was broken .wont go back thats for sure!

The Bayview holiday apartments are dirty, very very hot, smelly and a long walk up a hill everyday. Basically it's really pot luck what apartment you get, some were okay but most are set aside for hen/stag parties or students. because i booked a party of 6, this was for 4 adults and 2 children, they thought we would be happy with sub stantard accommodation. The beds were camp beds, singles just pushed together and the pillows were grey and smelly. The lift broke down and it was very shabby. The night staff in the hotel were not helpful at all, they kept on trying to get us to stay in the apartments till the morning, it was only when i said i would sleep in the lovely reception area and sing songs all night that i got a couple of rooms in the hotel. First choice rep was a disgrace, she was to busy to deal with us and had a meeting to go to. Eventually a different member of the day staff sorted us out with a lovely clean apartment. I paid almost £4,000 for this holiday and wasted 2 days trying to get a nice place to sleep. Malta is a lovely country so stay away from this place. I read some review and still went ahead because i had already booked it but if your reading this please do not waste your hard earned cash.

2 readers found this review helpful

Thanks all for the information. Much better than for for STG 400 on Hb. Clean rooms ..staff friendly ..breakfastgood and dinner tasty. I suggest it to very one. Busses to all locations of malta just out side the hotel. Rocky beach clena only few minutes walk away. I will RETURN!!

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just returned from a five night break at the bayview hotel on arriving we were given the keys to our room sold as an inland view which consisted of a very enclosed courtyard and I mean very inclosed I could basically nearly touch the person sitting on their balcony opposite who was smoking aswell so if you don't want to smell someone else's smoke for the whole time don't open the window! As it was a ground floor room there was not much natural light the room felt like a tomb, I spoke with reception twice as was not happy with the room and was offered a room in the apartments about a five min walk away which i took immediatly this was much better than the tomb we had a balcony although small at least we could get fresh air.
The apartment we had was just one bedroom and a bathroom could'nt help but feel that the place was a touch unfinished as we had no chair in the room or on the balcony an one of the curtains was down, they should prob mention also that there is alot of building work going on from about 7am in surrounding areas.
The beds weren't good either as it is just two singles pushed together with different height mattereses that kept moving apart every time you moved.The tv aerial also had the wrong fitting so didn't work that well and there was also a piece of card in one of the fuses in the fuse box don't know what that was about.
The staff for the best part were good they tried to sort any problems as soon as possible but I think they were having quite a few complaints whilst we were there.
The breakfast was ok but would'nt recommend the chinese/indian rest as we went in on our first night but ended up walking out as service was bad can't comment on food as didn't get that far!
We still managed to enjoy ourselves but i would not reccomend this hotel really.

2 readers found this review helpful

We have just had a first-rate months break at the Bayview Hotel. As retirement present to ourselves we opted for half board with a sea view on the 6th floor (as we’d read reviews about the traffic noise on the lower floors). We were incredibly lucky to find ourselves in the Junior suite; it was huge, two rooms one with settees, two balconies and a bath as well as shower. The rooms on the 6th floor were being re-furbished but there were no problems with noise or mess. We were asked to move after 7 days so our rooms could be re-furbished and offered a penthouse apartment one minute walk away - it was stunning so we accepted. The reception staff were brilliant and made it clear that we did not have to move if we didn’t want to.
We’d read a couple of iffy reviews about the food but we found the meals for both breakfasts and dinners were excellent. Bayview has a cosmopolitan clientele and the chef ably reflects their needs with his cuisine. For dinner there was always lots of fresh salads, superb pasta and rice dishes, main course meat dishes, like chicken, pork, sheep and rabbit were braised in subtle local herbs and beautifully tender. We realised the poor reviews had been from Brits who obviously live on processed junk.
We found all of the hotel staff, reception, dining room, cleaning and maintenance were extraordinarily friendly and helpful they made it a delight to stay there.
We used the local busses they were cheap and frequent though the old ones were back breaking on longer journeys – don’t sit over the back axle. Malta has a wealth of Neolithic archaeology the Hypogeum is a must but you need to book. We found lots of other sites just wandering about the countryside and coast. Another must to visit is the Casa Rocca Piccola and 16th century palace in Valletta. On the corner just above it is the German Circle the very best café in Valletta.

Just returned from a wonderful holiday. Could not have been more pleased with our hotel. Clean towels and bathroom/room done every day. At the back away from the noise suited us. I understand a few comments about the food, it was not english more a middle mediteranian diet.But I am a funny eater and never went hungry or ate out, didnt need to. To make up for any shortcomings the staff were brilliant, made you feel special had time to chat and share a joke very relaxed. Thurs nights we had music and everyone joined in. But you can be private if you wish. Reception Staff would sort out any problem re taxis phones with a smile. It is so convenient, out of the door cross the road get on a bus. Or stroll left and you are soon in the bustle of the shops of Sliema.

1 reader found this review helpful

Escaping horrors like Porto Azurro & Canifor Hotels I arrived at the Bayview Hotel in Sliema/Gzira. Finally I could relax, do my work and just enjoy this wonderful place.
By running a hotel in this matter, reflects the guests staying here. friendly and effecient service makes guests smile and feel comfortable, like beeing home.
Bayview is located in Gzira/Sliema promenade- just a few minutes walk to everything- cafe, pubs, restaurants, shopping and all kinds of sightseeing. Public busses to Valetta just outside the hotel.
Well run, fine service, efficient and helpful staff. I had a small room on the 2nd floor, large bathroom, clean towels and cleaning every day, small balcony with view to inner court. Breakfast was basic but fine- even freshly baked bread some mornings. Friendly staff.
The hotels also has dinnerservice, swimmingpool, coinoperated internet, playroom and probably more- I did not try these things, so you have to look further for info on that.
Bringing my own laptop- you are able to get wifi for EUR25 per week, just ask in reception and they will arrange for you. Did also work in my room. Do you need airport pick-up just arrange with reception.
The Bayview also offers studios, 1 & 2 rooms flats, situated in side street. Varies in size and all newly renovated- suitable for longer stays and for familygroups or if you just want a little more privacy.
Enjoyed every minute at this hotel and recommend it to all. Compared to other 3-star(and some 4 star) hotels in Malta, I would rate it as a 4 star+. On European standards this is definately a good 3 star.
If I return to Malta- this is the place to stay.