Bugibba Holiday Complex Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

I have been to Malta on 3 separate occasions, having stayed in the annex to the BHC, this was not perfect but it was clean. Our last visit, late August 07, was an absolute horrendous experience. The staff could not give a toss, the room was a nightmare, curtains hanging from windows, filthy dirty, towels threadbare and stinking from being left to dry and not washed. The hallways throughout the area we stayed in were used for storing filthy mattresses and broken beds and the metal slatted ceiling hanging in the breeze ready to decapitate any person not aware.
Having pointed out various bad points, these are but a few of plenty, let me point out the good points, tried for several hours and cannot think of any.
We flew with Thompson and went to the welcome meeting as did many others that booked in the same night, the poor rep (Amanda), she must have been terrified by the response she was expecting, and did she get it. Nigel the Thompson manager was an absolute star, everyone at the meeting had to return to this hotel (looked like Lebanon) to see what the outcome was going to be. All parties at this meeting were moved to other accomodation. We were moved to the QAWRA PALACE and upgraded to H/B, paid for by Thompson, when we arrived it was like heaven, the staff were fantastic, hotel clean. We upgrade to All Inclusive and saved a fortune, the food is fantastic and nightly entertainment was fantastic apart from two nights not to my liking.
To sum up, if you go with THOMPSON AND ARE UNFORTUNATE TO GO TO BHC, complain you will be moved.
Nigel (Thompson) manager fantastic, he knew he was in for a hard time and poor Amanda, well she probably found a piece of rope and did herself in, she was on a hiding to nothing. Only gave BHC a 1 rating as could not go any lower.
On a whole the people of Malta are very friendly and the Island itself has its own charm, don't be put off, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN. Thomson were great, top marks.

2 readers found this review helpful

Don't Go to Bugibba Holiday Complex!
I've been to Malta with work and for holidays 8 times now in 5 years and love the Island and have made many good friends. So very definitely Malta- Good BHC - Bad
I previously had cause to stay at the BHC out of season with work and it was adequate however, when I booked to go this August I was amazed how low the standard was.
The hotel leaflet boasts "full air conditioning" - this is a lie!
There is no discernable a/c in the reception areas and corridors and the a/c in the rooms is limited to 10 hours a day! (Approx 10 pm to 4 am - so you wake up early morning in a sweat and then eat breakfast in the apartment in a sweat - and then eat lunch in the apartment in a sweat. The a/c then comes on from about 1 pm to 5 pm - whilst you are out of the hotel - and then you can return to eat dinner in a sweat and shower and prepare to go out in a sweat!)
The a/c didn't work for 7 of the 14 days we were in the apartment despite daily complaints to the reception and daily visits from a maintenance man who duly went away and did nothing.
The standard of food had also deteriorated since my last visit - we were going to take the occasional meal in the hotel as my previous experience indicated that a vegetarian option was always available. This is not the case anymore and the choice seems to have been restricted generally also. We ate out!
The comments made by others about the foreign English Language students is consistent with our experience - the communal areas, particularly the pool, is not safe when they are unleashed from their studies around 4 pm.
Our experience was not unique, every time I went to reception with a concern, I was never the only one. There was a constant stream of people with complaints about everything from No towels, no linen and one group had no bed in the room when they arrived the previous night.
The staff, including the Reservations Manager, Joe Cohen, were all courteous and did give me a substantial refund when they realised I wasn't going to go away, but they all seemed powerless to do anything about the problems. They were however all quite loyal in shielding the general manager, Max Gatt, from public contact.
The hotel subscribes to a standards assurance policy run by the Maltese Tourist Authority but it obviously doesn't reach the standards.
In summary, I feel the problems with the BHC are quite deep seated and the solutions are not within the power of local management. I think the complex is being allowed to deteriorate through lack of investment and the solution really lays with "Island Hotels" the owners.
There is general gossip on the Island that the complex will close this autumn and not re-open. A crying shame for those of us who remember it in better times.
I will repeat my opening sentence: Unless you have evidence that the strategy of running down the hotel to eventual closure has been stopped, try somewhere else!

1 reader found this review helpful

Well what can I say, rooms dirty and smelly, lots of noisy kids/teenagers slamming doors and screaming down corridors at all hours.
When I arrived was told my room was ready to find that it actually wasn't. After being given crap direction by reception staff and having to carry a heavy case half way round the complex on my own, went into the room which had 4 bed frames and mattresses stored in it, empty bottles of wine, rubbish etc!!!!
Reception staff quite rude and showed absolutely no interested in helping. Even when our bus did not turn up to take us to the airport they had no interest in helping. The cleaners on the other hand were very nice and always smiled and said hello.
Breakfast - Awful!!! Overcrowded and dirty breakfast area. Not much choice, cheapest of everything!! And gave me a dodgy stomach on my first day!! Stick to the cereal!!
But Malta is a lovely island although I think it is let down by rude tourists (mainly French)!!! Locals usually pretty friendly.

In one word: Terrifying. We had several options for a 2 week accommodation in Malta. We chose BHC because of the swimming pool (certainly the only thing worth something) and the info posted in the web. During the second minute we spent in the complex our "tunnel of terror" began. As we were going to the "apartment" I got stuck in the lift for 20 minutes. The guy who rescued me told me that the lift had not working properly in the last week. Amazing, but they kept it running.
Our apartment was in the 5th floor in the building across the pool. We pushed the button on the lift door and waited patiently until we were told that the lift was not running (2 out of 4). We took another lift, which only went up to the 4th floor, so we had to walk up a floor, with the suitcases, 1 year old baby, pushchair, a pregnant wife and 35 degrees.
When we arrived in the apartment we realised that it was a studio with an extra room. There is no living room. We could manage that. We unpacked and checked the kitchen to get the baby's food ready. Horror! There was no kitchen stuff, not a single glass.
4:30 pm. We reported it to the front desk and also requested a room change because of the lifts malfunction. The hotel was fully booked and had to wait till next day for the room.
22:30 pm. Eight hours later, we had the kitchen unequipped and had to ask at the front desk to heat up some water to get the baby's milk ready. I myself had to walk into the restaurant kitchen to gather some kitchen stuff.
Next day we changed the room. First floor, next to the lift door and close to the pool. The air conditioner was broken down and some repairs were needed in the bathroom (WC lid, bath tap, shower). The maintenance guy (the only member in the staff who did something efficiently) fixed everything but the A/C. We were told that next morning it was going to be fixed.
Next day: nobody cared about the A/C. Our baby spent the night sweating
Request at the front desk and talk to day shift manager: She committed to fix A/C.
Actually somebody did something with the A/C but it only made an unbearable noise impossible to sleep with.
Next day: Request at the front desk. Nobody worried about the A/C. In the evening we tried to make a complaint. Surprise! There are no "complaint forms" available in the hotel. Night shift manager told us that he sent an e-mail to the General Manager.
During the night hundreds of students who finished their stay kept running through the corridors, shouting, crying until 6 am. It was impossible to sleep.
Next morning we wrote a letter to the General Manager. Another day went.
We tried to change hotel, but there were no vacancies in Malta or in Gozo. Not even paying 250 Euro per night.
Next day, a week later, the A/C was eventually fixed.
We changed our flight tickets and came back home earlier than expected.
Do not go to Bugibba Holiday Complex.

We arrived at the Buggiba Holiday Complex in the early hours of the morning (around 3 am) and the place was swarming with Italian students in the reception area causing chaos.
Our first week in the hotel was hell. The rooms were basic but clean however there was only one of the four all inclusive bars opened in peak season. Also the food was disgusting and there was no chance of getting near to the buffet area because of the rude, ignorant students constantly pushing and causing trouble. Although their teachers were there, they did not seem to care about how they behaved and failed to take action if anyone complained.
The night time entertainment (advertised in the brochure) was basically non existent.
The staff were also very rude and did nothing to deal with any issues or complaints.
The hotel was basically unbearable therefore after a week of hell we managed to get transferred to the Qawra Palace Hotel which was much better.
I would not recommend the Bugibba Holiday Complex to anyone but however would recommend Malta and the Qawra Palace Hotel.
If you have booked to go to the Bugibba Holiday Complex I would strongly recommend cancelling or changing hotels now.

I went to BHC in the summer of 2003. I found the hotel to be lovely. A few Italian students there but had a laugh with them. Staff very friendly and generally a well looked after hotel.
It was a good base for my family to stop as we wanted to explore the island. We were 10 minutes walk from the sea front, shops, banks and buses.
(Wow the bus rides were fun!)
The hotel is opposite an Irish bar and around the corner from many more. Also kebab houses etc.
Would recommend this resort to anyone. Even thinking of going back myself

For anyone taking a holiday at this complex before October 2007, if you have a chance to change your accommodation do so. I had read reviews about this hotel prior to my visit and unfortunately ignored them on the hope that what was being written would be proven wrong.
I booked an apartment at the complex for myself, my mother and my teenage nephew over 5 months ago. We arrived to be given a key to an apartment that had been allocated to us but only to walk in on another party who had also been given a key to the apartment. When I went down to the reception and told them they were totally oblivious to this and also uninterested.
I was then told that there were no rooms available at the hotel apart from a holding room with two beds and that another bed could be put in the room to accommodate the 3rd person for the night.
Not being pleased with this having paid for an apartment, I accepted the room on the basis that an apartment would be made available to us the following day, this statement was made by the Reservations Manager as I demanded to see him. When we got to the allocate room for the night, it was disgusting.
The bedding had been used and not changed, the room had not been cleaned and the bathroom was appalling and smelt. We again were told that this was the only room available. They sent a cleaner up to change the bedding and clean the room, and eventually a 3rd bed arrived.
The following day I went to the reception to be told again that there were no apartments available to us and that we would have to stay in the room we were currently in. When I argued the point they came back with a key for an apartment which was on the other side of the hotel. I went to view this and was appalled when opening the door to find again a filthy room, but this time accompanied by a strong smell of urine throughout the whole place.
My 3rd visit to the reception at this point was not as polite as the previous. I demanded an apartment as there were many people leaving out that day, and added that if I did not get what I had paid for then I wanted a cash refund there and then to go and book into another hotel. As soon as this was said, an apartment suddenly became free to us. We went to view it and although the standard was very poor we took it as it was 100% better than the previous.
The standard of the apartment and hotel was appallingly low. Showers that didn’t work, shower heads taped in place by masking tape, fittings hanging off the wall, electrical points loose on the walls, toilets that did not flush properly, carpets were filthy, taps in the chitchatted leaking.
We had to disinfected the kitchen and bathroom before use, rewash plates, pans etc, washed out cupboards, drawers and hanging areas before we unpacked any of our belongings. All supplied towelling was tatty, old and at times smelt, the air con was poor and hardly ever worked even when the engineer had been out to so call fix it, so the rooms became unbearable in the evenings.
Children’s facilities i.e. games room was closed every evening by 7pm, the pool was cleared by 6pm every day. There were no kids club facilities provided at all and the evening entertainment provided consisted of alternate nights of Karaoke and an organist.
Finally, on top of this we found ourselves surrounded by over 260 Italian students, who not only made it known that they were there by the amount of noise they made and the running up and down corridors, but they also took over the pool areas, being stupidly dangerous with their pranks and games, being pushed in on several occasions on top of swimmers, children in particular.
Also when eating at the restaurant you could not get to the food counters for the amount of students eating at the same time.
On top of this, rooms were being broken into, wallets, mobiles and money being stolen, fortunately this did not happen to us, but we were made aware of the situation having spoken to several UK people staying there who had been victim to theft.

The only time we enjoyed our holiday, was when we were out all day away from the complex. I really would not recommend this hotel to anyone - do not waste your hard earned money on it.
The staff are clearly uninterested starting from the management downwards. The hotel in itself is not being maintained to even a low standard anymore.
My advice is stay away and choose somewhere else. For an extra star rating try the Dolman as this hotel makes the Buggiba Complex at 1 start less look like a youth hostel in comparison, infact I've known better youth hostels in the past.

Having just returned from the Bugibba Holiday complex it was not how people had described it, we had to wait 2 hours for our room.
There was no entertainment for my two daughters or for ourselves, the Italian students took over the hotel and were noisy and rude. The pizzeria is a store cupboard for drinks, the rooms were not very nice either, the air conditioning leaked and the staff were very rude.
We would return to Malta again but not this hotel.

Just returned from this holiday, that I can say was a disgrace to the tour operators. I wish I had read other comments before booking this as it was an absolute let down.
We took four children with us and were hit on several times in the pool by the students. Our first week there, were I am told, 600 students and they all seemed to be very rude and oblivious of us being there, so much so they walked right through us.
I must say the food was okayish but the service and attitude of the staff was disgraceful. We had been told by a letter three days before we went that there were going to be students but when I spoke to the writer of the letter for more information she told me she didn't know what kind of students and yet on arrival and speaking to the Thompson rep in the hotel she told us that because there was so much trouble the week previous they felt we should have letters to warn us.
I asked to be moved and was told there was nothing on the island. The mattress in the rooms were all stained my shower leaked for two days I took a lot of photos and will be complaining heavily.

Not recommended for families, complex full of students mainly Italian with no respect for anybody. Settees in reception usually covered in students.
Student leaders very unhelpful never their problem.
Complex in need of renovation, cleanliness non existent. Security staff a waste of time, reception staff helpful, catering staff very helpful.
Thomson rep helpful. (Amanda)
Foreign students will be there next year as they have a three year contract with the complex.
Entertainment very poor, facilities very poor, pizzeria not open, upstairs bar only opened after complaints from many residents.
Island lovely and would return but not to Bugibba holiday complex.