San Pawl Hotel

Our stay at the San Pawl hotel can be summarized as abysmal and thoroughly disappointing. We arrived at 1am and were just dumped outside the hotel luckily there was someone on reception who sadly spoke very little English and told us our room number which we had to find ourselves.
Once we had located our room we had a shock awaiting inside, there was no air-con, dirty bed sheets, a broken side table and a fan which didn't work! A TV which didn't work! With one plug socket.
That first night was horrendous it was so hot we had to open the balcony doors which then meant we had mosquito's buzzing in and out all night. The next day me and my partner had to find a chemist to treat my infected bites.

We requested a new room and we were told basically that we had to pay for an upgrade as their were no other rooms available at the price we paid. This room was slightly better but whenever our room was cleaned the air-con was switched off which meant the room was always warm as the air-con was sub- standard.
On observation of the pool we noticed that locals shared the pool, taking up most sun-beds and room, they were unruly and clearly ignored all the safety signs. The pool itself was dirty with broken fragments left to be trod on and pictures from the brochure of the pool were deceiving in terms of size. There was nothing in terms of entertainment during the evening. The staff especially at reception were obstructive and oblivious to anything happening. The manager was not helpful.
The food which we ate 5 out of the 14 nights was very poor and clearly re-used and re-heated.
On our second to last evening we were disturbed by a row in the street out to the front of the hotel. It was between two men arguing over a parking space! They shouted for a few minutes then one disappeared up the street and minutes later returned with a knife and stabbed the man he was arguing with. He too was wielding a concrete post. As this was happening some guests from the hotel were getting onto a coach. There were children around and they were terrified. We later heard that management were informed but did nothing as it didn’t concern the hotel.

We did however a fabulous time had on the nearby island of Gozo and Siciliy away from Malta.
The only plus thing we will take from this holiday is that having survived this we could endure any holiday from hell!

Have just spent 12 less than enjoyable days at the San Pawl Hotel and can find almost nothing good to say about the place.
We booked 2 superior adjoining twin rooms so that we would have some space with our 2 small children and the luxury of air conditioning. This was all confirmed months prior to our stay. However, imagine our dismay when we found ourselves offered 2 adjoining rooms, one with a bathroom en-suite and the other with a shower and toilet cubicle in the corner of the room.
There was no air con, only a squeaky ceiling fan and not even a carpet on the floor. To add insult to injury, a desultory note, left under a bottle of Maltese table wine announced that we would have to put up with this arrangement for 3 nights, after which they might move us.
This was a good indicator of things to come and, although resolved eventually after involving the Manager, sounded the alarm bells. The Pool is filthy and resulted in innumerable ear infections among guests (the doctor who examined my 7 year old said she had 'cauliflowers' growing in there and put her on a course of antibiotics and banned her from using the pool).
Symptomatic of the way the hotel is run are notices banning diving and use of air beds in the pool; however these are ignored and it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt - but the Hotel has of course discharged its responsibilities by putting up a notice.
I cannot comment on other 3-star hotels in Malta, but standards all-round gave the impression that the management were doing everything they could to cut corners, when a little money spent on the infrastructure (lifts, bedroom fittings, pool cleaning etc) or key staff would have paid off handsomely. For example, there appeared to be only one man, who never took a day off, worked all hours and was responsible for everything from cleaning the pool (hate to come back this one again) to portering, making do and mending etc. You also pay for every little thing - water is extra at dinner!
Another gripe that non-Maltese guests might share would be the emphasis that the Hotel puts on generating revenue from the locals at the expense of residents. For example at weekends the pool is full of Maltese people - not a problem for us as we weren't using it, but irksome nonetheless if you have paid for use of the pool in the price of your holiday.
To sum up, they've got you just where they want you - there is no incentive for them to improve and they appear to know that. Not all gloom though, the staff, with the singular exception of the restaurant Head Waiter were helpful, friendly and genuine, and the restaurant did cater for the Brit 'pile it high' brigade, who could not have been disappointed.
Finally, a word to potential guests, the street outside the San Pawl is patrolled by 'timeshare bandits' operating out of the Karanne Hotel opposite, who don't take 'no' for an answer and can become abusive. For the less thick-skinned, or respectable people not used to these insidious sales tactics this could really spoil the holiday (if first contact with the San pawl hadn't done that already).

This was my first time visiting Malta for my holidays and it won't be my last.
After reading reviews about Malta, the resort, the hotel we didn't know what to expect when we arrived.
People told us you either like it or dislike it. From our check in at the airport to our arrival to our destination things just got better and better. When we arrived at Malta airport we had no time at all to wait for our luggage then we were shown to our coach which took us to our hotel.
Upon arriving we were greeted by friendly, smiling faces from staff members on the reception, we were given our keys to our rooms and shown where our rooms were situated.
The hotel itself was spotless, if you anything needed done the staff acted very quickly.
The restaurant was very bright and spacious and clean. The food was excellent and offered plenty of choices. The restaurant staff, waiters and chefs were all very pleasant and helpful during our two week stay at the San Pawl Hotel.
The entertainment was most enjoyable too. The bar staff were also very pleasant to us and the manager Tony, he was one in a million, he was very nice he made everyone welcome.
And finally, not forgetting the locals; we couldn't have met nicer people who made our holiday all the more enjoyable.

This hotel was grim. The reception area and restaurant looked nice but once you got past that, the place was very poor. The carpets were threadbare and held down in places with duct-tape. The decor was old and drab and the whole place could do with a face lift.
Our room was adequate in so far as we only washed and slept there. As for the staff, they were constantly confused if you asked for help, no one could ever agree on anything, and they loved to warble on in Maltese to colleagues in front of you and then ask us to come back later or speak to someone else!
The location was good, just up the road from a good bus stop and close to the bay.
The noise in the evenings was quite bad but it was mainly from the hotels own entertainment i.e. Tina Turner impersonators or two blokes with a guitar and a karaoke machine!
Glad this was a cheap last minute deal or I would have been gutted, great for a base or students. As the old saying goes "you get what you pay for!"

We had a great holiday here. The rooms were better than expected. The service was first class and the food was great except little choice for children.
Only problem was the kids got bored, the out door pool was to cold and the indoor pool wanted a clean. There was no entertainment for them. The hotel entertainment catered for over 60s only. The hotel was clean but seriously needed some upgrading. We could never find a sun lounger that wasn’t broken. The staff were great and the rooms got cleaned every day. Over all for a 3* hotel you get what you pay for.
Out side the hotel there’s not much to do unless you get a bus out of the resort which then you would see some wonderful sights. It’s a good 10min walk to the square where your find bars and shops. I would return to Malta but when the kids have grown up.

As we were there for the Christmas/New Year period, we were not surprised by the night-time noise. The front of the hotel has the traffic noise from the Maltese boy-racers.
The room was very basic and overall, the hotel needed re-decorating.
The shower was luke warm every morning and complaining about this fell on deaf ears.
So, they are the bad bits!
The staff were very friendly - Raymond the head waiter was a star!
The food was excellent and the local wine on the wine list was cheap.
The hotel is well situated, with a ten minute walk to the harbour or a four minute walk from the nearest bus stop.
Regular, cheap bus service to Valetta (35 minutes on the normal service or 20 minutes on the express service).

Like many others before me who read these reviews I was filled with trepidation. However most claims were slightly exaggerated and I believe I got what I paid for. Yes the rooms were stoically basic and the food average. But..there always has to be a but!
The noise was intrusive. TV/Radio on together in reception for starters. The worst however can only be described as aural pollution. The ‘entertainment’ started at nine and went through to eleven thirty. It could be heard several streets away and sounded like a bad wedding reception. The same drivel – strings of sixties/seventies standards churned relentlessly by different ‘artists’.
There is no respite in the hotel. The first two nights it was outside by the pool and as we were overlooking the pool- pretty atrocious. It moved indoors but was as loud as outside.
Only a small percentage bothered going to it so it seemed unfair that the rest i.e. the majority of the guests had to have their time disturbed. We spent our days sightseeing and looked forward to a night in front of the TV. Some hope.
It is for this reason I would not recommend the hotel.
Also avoid the JESTER across the road with its seriously inflated beer prices - try the SHOEBOX or ZIGGIEs or any others in the immediate vicinity.