Sunflower Hotel

The Sunflower Hotel is a decent and mostly well kept hotel in Qawra on Malta. The hotel doesn't really fit into the neighborhood in which it was built. The hotel, in comparison to the buildings in the area, is clean and sharp. The houses and apartments in the area are run-down and weather-worn--typical of inner-island areas anywhere in the world. The best I can compare it to is a combination of Mexico and Hawaii. It has the "dirtier" feel (take that with a grain of salt) of Mexico but more of the laid back attitude of Hawaii. The rooms in the hotel are slightly on the smaller side, but very good for a two-star hotel. The balconies are a plus. The beds (which consist of mattresses placed directly onto wooden platforms) were just fine for me, but other travelers might find them uncomfortable. The decor is very Mediterranean: light wood, tiled floors, soft-hued walls. Like the rooms, the bathrooms are small, but doable. The electricity is a bit tricky to figure out (you have to insert the room key into a slot in the wall to turn on the electricity in the room). I had to reinsert the key several times sometimes to activate all of the switches in the room. I quickly got the hang of it, though, so it wasn't much of a problem for me. In general, I had a good experience with the rooms. The restaurant at the hotel could do better. I only ate one dinner at the hotel, so perhaps I did not get a full taste of what the chefs can put out. The cottage pie was a bit dry, the vegetables were not very fresh, and the salad was lacking in crispness. Breakfasts were also on the below-average side. I enjoyed the meat and cheese, but they only had one selection of each, so if you didn't like them, well... The granola was fresh, though, as was the yogurt. Unfortunately (and all you Brits, don't take this wrong), the food I found on the island was all very British: bland. I would definitely recommend going in more of the tourist season. The hotel was less than half full while I was there (end of November). The cities of Qawra and Bugibba are both within five or ten minutes walking, but there aren't a whole lot of things to do there, mainly due to the lack of tourists I'm guessing. Many of the island tours and harbor cruises were closed for the winter. If I came again, I would want to come with a few more tourists. But if you don't mind being removed from the main stream and in a quieter area, this is a good hotel. Some other reviews have mentioned that the hotel doesn't even have their own towels or materials to use. They are indeed marked with Hotel Santana, but this is because the Sunflower is a relatively new hotel and sprouted from the company that owns Hotel Santana. Also, other reviews cited a night club next door as a great disturbance. I don't know what has happened in the area recently, but the only signs that there was a night club were a few signs pointing to a completely gutted and overgrown lot. Things I would recommend doing: visit Valletta and Sliema, eat dinner in St. Julian's, catch the 627(?) express bus from Sliema to Golden Bay (there are excellent views of the sea and the coast on this route). Overall, I had a great experience. I would most likely stay here again, especially concerning the cost. Remember to buy bottled water!

We stayed here for 4 nights on a B&B basis and found it satisfactory. The room was quite nice, and had everything we wanted, air-con, safe, balcony, good sized bathroom. the room was cleaned thoroughly daily although we had a problem with the shower head which wasn't rectified before the end of our stay even though we alerted the hotel of it on our first day. The view from the balcony was not great. Breakfast was a typical continental buffet style affair, served until 10(i think). It wasn't anything special, and the bread was not the freshest on one morning. The hotel has both a roof terrace pool and an indoor pool. The rooftop pool wasn't great for swimming in and the jacuzzi did not work. There was a bar facility and plenty of sun loungers. The indoor pool was better for swimmming but I'm not sure about its cleanliness. The staff were very helpful and friendly, when it came to organising tours and getting information on buses etc. The hotel is about a 10minute walk from the local bus terminus which provides buses to most of the island. There are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops nearby. Overall didn't like the area but the hotel was generally good.

Husband and i stayed for 2 weeks half board june/july hotel is lovely but for mee too far away as i am disabled and the walk to buggibba nearly finished me HOTEL IS A GOOD PLACE TO STAY --------IF YOU ARE FIT!!a bus can be had to get you to bus terminus in buggiba staff are lovely apart from mr miserable the barman pool on rooftop is very small as is indoor one hotel is spotless rooms cleaned daily and linen changed daily food was ok continental breakfast but english can be had for lm 1.25 evening meal was a mix of english and malti with pasta for the veggies and the pastries for "afters" were divine ---gorgeousi would not advise this for kids as there is nothing for them to do and pools are small rooftop one has swimup bar good hotel but too far away from centre if you have walking difficulties

I went to the Sunflower hotel on a last minute holiday at Easter. Wasn't sure what to expect from the other reviews left. But I was pleasantly surprised. We had a really comfortable room that was nicely furnished and clean - nearly 4 star standard. The outdoor pool is lovely if a bit on the small side! The inside pool does exist!! It is also on the small side. The staff were really nice and helpful and the whole hotel is done up in maltese style which makes it seem very cosy. The bar entertainment was hilarious (!) This is definitely somewhere I would recommend to others, I thought the price was very good for what we received.

On our first visit to Malta we booked half board at The Sunflower. For a three star hotel, accommodation was palatial, clean, comfortable and fully equipped; and the room had a safe that we could use for a nominal extra charge. The maid service was excellent. Our evening meal was adequate with a carvery every evening also several alternative choices, breakfast was continental, though a 'full english'breakfast was offered for a modest surcharge. As a base for exploring Malta, and for the price, we would unhesitatingly recommend this hotel particularly since the staff simply cannot do enough to make their guests feel at home. Just don't book any tours, or hire a car through the rep, as you're likely to be charged up to treble the local rate.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Sunflower.Having paid less than 30 pounds a room per night for bed and breakfast we were very impressed. Spotlessly clean rooms, friendly and helpful staff and, for us, a good location. The hotel is situated in a quiet spot, but close to lots of bars and restaurants.

we booked our holiday as a last minute deal, had booked another hotel over the phone but when we read the reviews on it were horrified so we managed at very little expense to get transferred to the sunflower,it hadnt been open for very long, but we found the staff great, the rooms great in fact we couldnt really find fault apart from the fact that the bar kept running out of booze, but hey there are plenty of bars nearby.overall a clean friendly hotel,and we would not hesitate to go again.all staff were great to our two kids as well.

Booked a last minute over the net. An average hotel, it was clean and comfortable and the staff friendly.... limited breakfast and only until 9.30 which was ok for us as we were out by then.... didn't try restaurant!! Pool would be too small if someone wants to swim.... friday and saturday very noisy club next door which can be heard.... Hotel is fine if you are looking for a cheap base to tour around Malta although I would recommend a better area like St Julians or Valetta.... The hotel's location isn't the best area in Malta.

The room we had was clean but the towels were threadbare and the air conditioning was too noisy to sleep with it on and as it is still very hot in September that can be a problem. The housekeeping staff are very quick and helpful. There is a very noisy disco on Friday and Saturday night in an adjacent restaurant which does not stop until around 3am and I defy anyone to sleep through it. Otherwise the area is very quiet. We went half board and wished we had not. The food for the evening meal was mundane and very poorly cooked, especially the vegetables. Although the meal was buffet style, some items were dished out by kitchen staff who made sure the guests did not take too much or even enough. The staff in general were courteous but not that helpful. I agree with a previous reviewer about the information given to guests about facilities that turned out not to be available such as the non existant sauna that was advertised. The indoor pool did apparantly exist but we were told it was only available in winter. Malta is an interesting place to visit although I don't think I would bother going back and certainly not to the Sunflower.

After staying in the sunflower hotel last month we have come to this conclusion (A) Don't expect a decent breakfast it caters for continentals i.e. cold meats and cheese. (B) Don't ask for a late check out as you will not get one book another night if you can as the luggage room is no bigger than the bathrooms. (C) Try not to get the grumpy bar steward he begrudges you having just a beer. (D) Don't believe anything you read in the welcome pack it obviously came from another hotel. But on the plus side the evening meals were surprisingly enjoyable and the hotel is far enough away from the noisy bars