Topaz Hotel

The hotel is listed in some reviews as 4 star and that is what I expected. Some other reviews list it as 3 star and that is about what we got, although I have stayed in better 3 star accommodation. The reception area is the only 4 star area.
We had several nights of disturbed sleep from guests walking and talking in the tiled corridors. Carpet would deaden the sound but the long, narrow corridors echo and amplify the noise.
The food was OK, but definitely not 4 star.
For half board and all inclusive guests, the hotel offers an option to swap a meal in the normal restaurant for a meal in their pizza restaurant next door. DO NOT use this option because the value of the pizza meal is approximatley half the value of the normal restaurant, plus you still have to pay for the extras. Also the salad here was not fresh and had bits of tuna through it. Obviously the salad had been a tuna salad leftover from earlier in the day (or previous day ?) then they picked out most of the tuna and served it as green salad.
The hotel is in a run down condition throughout except for the reception area. It needs a coat of paint and some general maintenance - as detailed below
1. Although crime is low in Malta and we did not have any problems, our balcony door would not lock.
2. The toilet would not flush properly.
3. The mattresses were lumpy, uncomfortable and noisy.
Malta overall was enjoyable and the buses are definitely the way to travel. You can also get multiple day tickets which offer good savings over single trip fares.

General impressions of the Topaz Hotel are very good and clean but once away from main area it was a different story. Our room was accessed by a tunnel under the road and there was often an “oily chemical” smell in the corridors. Our room often had a “Bad drain” smell which would come and go. We had 2 cold days and the heating would only blow cold air so we had to use extra blankets to keep warm.
The maid and reception service were very good and the staff in the 2 bars were friendly and welcoming. The attached Pizzeria served very good food, but the staff were very rude and presented the bill before we had finished eating and refused to charge the meal to our room as they had cashed up the till as they had decided they wanted to go home.
The hotel has a no smoking policy which was let down by guests smoking in between the double doored entrance lobby, so you had to walk through a haze of smoke to get in or out of the hotel.
We would not stay at the Topaz again, which is a shame as it is a good hotel in general but it was let down by things that could have been fixed easily or should not have happened in the first place.
We would use Direct Holidays again as they were very good value for money.

The Topaz Hotel on first views is a beautiful hotel, however on our visit the lifts were not working in our block and there is only one way up, either 5 flights of stairs (92 steps)or the lifts(2).
On the first day, one lift was out of order and all through the week one or both of the lifts kept breaking down. During the stay my 15 year old daughter got stuck in the lifts 4!! times. On the last occasion it was for over 15 minutes and there were no lights in the lift at all, she was petrified to say the least. It was a regular occurrence throughout the week and the front desk staff simply ignored the buzzer for the first ten minutes or so.
On 2 days my wife who has M.S. was confined to her room because of this, as she had no way of getting back up to the room, even if she struggled down the stairs. The lifts had apparently been intermittent for the previous week as well.
The holiday rep. was non existent and the hotel staff refused to give us his number, despite the fact that the hotel and holiday company are owned by the same company, (the Tumas Group), on the one day we did find him in the hotel, he told us to wait in reception for him, we waited 30 mins and gave up, he disappeared somewhere else! We spoke to over 30 people who had tried to complain and the hotel wouldn't listen, they NEVER put out of order notices on the lifts at all.
One lady in a wheelchair had been stuck in the lift for 30 minutes!! There are no entertainment facilities at this hotel for children or teenagers other than the amusement room with ping pong table and a couple of video games. The hotel caters for mature clients, there is only one choice of meal for children in the evening, the Pizza place is only opened at the weekends and the music is a local musician playing in a lounge bar that seats about 40+ people, the music being for the mature customers.
No games for the children, no disco no anything, this hotel is exclusively for the older customer, it is like a Warner break. The free car hire is not free! they ask for lm20+ excess etc. The sauna is chargeable, there are no tea making facilities in the room and if you want a kettle it costs lm1 a day (£1.62).
The food is good buffet style, however you have to scramble for a table as none are reserved for you, like most hotels and there are not enough of them, the bar staff are polite and the maid service good, the room was good. The locals call the hotel "the rabbit warren", due to the underground corridors connecting the three hotels together, this hotel is NOT suitable for people with disabilities.
Malta is the same as always, don't rent a car use the buses they are cheap and an adventure, the locals are all friendly and most speak English.

First time visiting Malta ,l was a single traveller but found Malta very safe especially in the area of topaz hotel. The hotel was excellent the indoor pool was very warm the staff were so friendly they make you feel very welcome.
The food was 1st class plenty of variety always fresh .entertainment on the evenings was good have travelled a bit but must say Malta has gone into my top three am already thinking of going back next month made so many friends there who stay up to 3 months. All staff from cleaners to management were approachable.

I would not stay at this hotel again. I went with my Mum and sister for the week and we managed to make the best of the holiday, but I would say as follows:-
1. Arrival. We arrived at the hotel at 2.30a.m. Maltese time and were given the key to our apartment, only to find that it had not been cleaned since the previous guests had left. It was filthy. We returned to reception to explain the situation and were greeted with suspicion and asked to explain how bad the room really was (all this in the early hours).
Eventually a cleaner was allocated to review the room. He agreed that it was a 'total disaster' and set about cleaning it whilst we sat in reception. We were not offered any courtesy facilities and were told that there were no other rooms available for us. Eventually we were let into our apartment at 4.15 a.m. It wasn’t particularly clean, even then and there was graffiti on the wall.
2. The self catering facilities - the kettle didn’t work. We had to ask twice for this to be fixed. The toaster didn’t work but was eventually fixed. There were no cups or mugs in the room. Upon asking for some we were told to fetch them ourselves from the restaurant. The reading light above the bed had wires hanging from it and didn’t work.
3. The balcony - the balcony was only approximately 1.5feet deep - there was nowhere near enough room to place a chair on the balcony, so we could only stand.
4. The bathroom - there was a strong stench of drains present in the bathroom throughout our stay.
5. Customer service - this seemed non-existent (this is not characteristic of Maltese people, as we met many friendly, helpful people outside the hotel during our holiday). We would often stand near reception waiting to have a query addressed, and would be made to wait 10 minutes whilst the receptionists finished their social conversation without as much as an acknowledgement or an 'I’ll be with you shortly'.
6. Courtesy room - we asked for and were provided with a courtesy room to use for 30 mins on the last day (check out was by 10 a.m. but our transfer didn’t leave until 2pm). The room we were given to use seemed half way through being cleaned by the cleaners - there were dirty pots in the sink, there were tissues with brown muck (??!!!) on them on the side in the shower-room, the shower didn’t work, even from the sink (which we tried to use instead of the shower to wash ourselves) the cold water was a trickle.
We rang reception regarding the shower and they said they would send someone to fix it. No-one appeared and, as we were short on time, we used the sinks. When we returned the key to reception 10 minutes late they had the gaul to tell us off!!
Overall, I cannot offer any positive remark regarding the hotel. This said, we were determined to make the best of our holiday and thoroughly enjoyed Golden Bay beach every day - this is a lovely, small bay that I would recommend. There is a fantastic seafood restaurant between Buggiba and St Paul’s Bay - overlooking the marina - the name of which is something like "Guilliere". I would definitely suggest eating there.

Reading other comments about this hotel one could be forgiven for thinking it was not the same place. For the price I found Chevron very satisfactory on balance, and never had any complaints about cleanliness.
The main moan - and this applies to most hotels of whatever standard and including shops, restaurants almost anywhere - is not being able to avoid piped music -'Muzak'. Alan Briggs.

We have just returned from a stay a the Topaz hotel. We would not recommend this hotel if you are looking for 4* accommodation. We have stayed in far better 3* hotels.
On the positive side Chevron Holidays were excellent, the food in the hotel was good and staff were friendly. However, our room had seen far better days and the shower didn’t work properly.
Please note that on your day of departure you have to vacate your room by 10.00 am. We requested a courtesy room as we weren’t flying until the evening and were told there was only one available and that was booked up. As there was a coach load travelling the evening of our departure a lot of people were annoyed at having to wash in the toilets!!!

We have just returned from a stay in the Topaz Hotel. This was our fifth time visiting Malta and our first stay at the Topaz. I would recommend the Topaz Hotel to any prospective visitors. It is a well-equipped hotel with all the amenities you would expect of a 4 star hotel abroad. Our room was overlooking the pool, the air conditioning was brilliant and there were many sunbeds around the fish shaped pool. There was indeed plenty of room in the pool for everyone.
The reception staff were friendly and very well mannered, a trait of all Maltese people. The hotel is ideally located near to Bugibba. We are familiar with the surroundings so the location was not a problem. I cannot fault the hotel in any way. I do intend to visit Malta again and I would have no hesitation in booking the Topaz as my accommodation.
It is a very easy hotel to become familiar with; the corridors and amenities are all very well signposted. I really did enjoy my stay at the Topaz.

Having been initially nervous that we had chosen to use a tour operator that we had never heard of, we were pleasantly surprised with our holiday to Malta with Chevron Holidays.
We booked within a week of departure and got a great all-inclusive deal at the Topaz Hotel in Bugibba. The hotel and the tour operator rated this accommodation as 4 star but other companies and holiday websites rated as 3 star and I would agree with the latter. The hotel isn’t the most attractive from the outside and it’s long past its glory days. Nevertheless, its staff ensure that it is kept scrupulously clean at all times and really make the best of an older hotel.
Our room was large, spotless and cool. We also had a large balcony although the view wasn’t too exciting. Room service was not intrusive but very good.
Visiting just before the season got into full swing, we found that the pool area and restaurants were well populated but not overcrowded. Service at all bars, restaurants and by the pool was good and friendly. The choice of food was marvellous particularly the vegetarian menu which was something I was concerned about as this was my first all-inclusive holiday which meant we were committed to the hotel for meals.
The resort itself isn’t the prettiest I have visited in Europe, as there is a lot of uncompleted construction work throughout the area. However, the friendliness of the people created a safe and comforting atmosphere and we really had a great time. We just wished we had booked a second week!