Santana Hotel

1 reader found this review helpful

This hotel is definitely not a FOUR STAR hotel although myself and my husband have been to Malta on several occasions and loved it, we were not to happy when for a change we had booked the Santana for some Four star Luxury instead of our usual small secluded villa type hotel, only to find that there is nothing luxurious about the Santana hotel.
We arrived at Gatwick Saturday morning for our EasyJet Flight taking off at 6.20am only to find that had been delayed by 2 Hours - what a good start, it can only get better, after been given the all clear we arrived in Malta and the pre booked transport that met us was a grubby old small transit bus with no air conditioning the temperature was in its
30's it dropped us off at Santana hot and sweaty only to find that their air con was not fully working also, we had taken our 27 year old daughter with us and expected two rooms on the same floor but instead they had given us one room on the 5th floor and another on the 6th floor?? we asked for the rooms to be changed and was given various other choices but all the rooms offered were much worse than what we had been allocated.After trying to rectify this without success we kept the separate rooms, our rooms balcony could not be used as it was so dirty and grubby, my daughters room had a nice balcony but with the side wall of the hotel marked with mildew, and mold, the sundeck, restaurant (which was dicounted for guest on B/B) and health spa was good, staff was helpful but a few was not bothered. Air con problem not resolved so noisy room fan was the only reliable cooling option. Although passable as a two to three star I would not really reccomend this hotel to anyone unless you can put up with quite poor standards after looking forward to a good holiday.

2 readers found this review helpful

arrived at the palm court knew it was going to be basic but thats being nice moved to santana GREAT it was everything palm court wasnt!!!!
food was nice,room clean,pool clean. overall had a great time would stay there again!!!

5 readers found this review helpful

We spent a week in Santana hotel. Our first three days were not great as it was windy, and as the pool is 6 floors up it can be a bit cold! However when the weather was good the pool was fine.
There are quite a few restaurants around, some on the same road as the hotel and others about 10/15 mins away. Although its not really really busy.
The room was fairly small but nice, the beds were made daily. The shower was brilliant, hot and powerful for a change! We had breakfast which was ok, there was a big selection. But cereals and toast was best.
The nearest beach is just rocks and not very nice. We went to mellieha bay one day but it did not live up to the hype. There was a lot of water sports going on and so we had to keep moving to avoid things coming to close! The rest of our time we spent at golden bay, which is lovely. You can hire chairs and umbrellas there too. Its only about 15 mins on the bus.
The bus terminal is at the end of the road from the hotel. It is best to buy a weekly ticket if you are getting buses daily. It saves on hassle and works out cheaper.
Overall Santana Hotel was nice and comfortable, no real complaints.

3 readers found this review helpful

Anyone who expects a four star hotel will be disappointed! This is certainly not four star - we had a look round the Qawra Palace further down the road, which is also four star, and there is no comparison! On arrival we were given a standard double room on the fourth floor at the back of the hotel - our view was a dilapidated building on one side and waste ground down below (on which had been dumped various items of rubbish). The room was adequate, if a little cramped, for two people but there were a number of small things which you do not expect to see in a four star hotel - the white curtains leading on to the balcony were dirty, a light fitting was missing in the passageway leading to the front door, plastic stool in bathroom was stained, handle on the hairdryer was dirty and sticky - all these make for a bad impression. The balcony of our room did not see any sun all week due to where we were situated - as the weather was pretty miserable it was a bit gloomy! On the plus side the restaurant is nice and the food is good - there is plenty of variety. The staff on the whole are pleasant and friendly and the hotel is in a good position - just around the corner from the bus station and plenty of good restaurants and pubs in the vicinity. We would recommend the Overflow restaurant just a few blocks down - the food and service there are excellent! We have stayed in other four star accommodation in various resorts and the Santana is by far the worst!

4 readers found this review helpful

My husband and I have just returned from a 10 night holiday in this hotel.and would recommend it to any one wanting a great value for money holiday in Malta,The hotel is very well placed for the buses and shops. Is very clean and the food and service of the staff was exceptional.
Close by are a number of pubs offering different types of entertainment.
We have been to Malta many times and found this hotel one of the best we have stayed in .We would certainly go again.
We are in our sixties and would love to live in this area od Malta
Mr and Mrs L.E @ M White

5 readers found this review helpful

Spent a week with my 10 year old daughter here. Returned yesterday. Found the hotel very clean, comfortable and welcoming. Our room (227) was one of the largest we saw. It was a Superior room with a functional kitchenette (including fridge ,small oven, sink, 2-ring stove and utensils). The room was very large and airy, with a large sofa bed as well as 2 beds and a dining area. The balcony overlooked the town and car park, but it was quite entertaining watching the world go by. The TV also gets a couple of English channels (inc. BBC Prime), but you can pay to have a number of other channels. We didn't bother as we were out and about most of the time.
We ate in the Hotel trattoria (La Mentha) one night, and had a 30% discount off our meal. it was very good value. My daughter loved the meal in the Great Wall Of China (just down the road on the left), it was tasty and only 8euros for a choice of 3 courses.
The bus terminal is literally a minute down the road. Turn right out of the hotel and walk down the road. As we used buses more than once a day it was worth buying the weekly ticket (13euros). Single fares for all journeys are 1.16euros, as they are direct routes. There is no need to use the official tourist bus (opposite the Hotel), as it is easy to read the timetable and get around on the buses yourself. We have visited Malta twice before and I noticed that there were a lot of quite new buses around - but there were still plenty of old classics to give us a bumpy ride!
We went out to all the main attractions, but my favourite was Rabat/Mdina and a trip down into the catacombs of St Agatha. It was full of interesting artefacts and some great skeletons and assorted bones. Great for a child that does not scare easily.
Plenty of small supermarkets (2 next door to the hotel), but the only supermarket we found open on a Sunday was in the Mellieha Bay Holiday complex. The bus goes to Mellieha Bay (beach is quite nice, and snack bars are good for lunch) and the holiday village is on the left. We bought our provisions and had a swim in their very nice outdoor pool.
The facilities at the hotel are fine - the indoor pool is quite small but was warm and we found it was not very busy in the mornings. The rooftop pool opened on the day before we came home (18th April). This was lovely, as there were a number of sun loungers around the sun deck too. Some are a bit creaky, but it is surprising how much weight they can hold!
Breakfast was varied and plentiful - the hot buffet was actually hot(not lukewarm!) and I loved the porridge! Everywhere we went was clean and all the staff were friendly. Absolutely no complaints at all. My hairdryer was broken, but was fixed within ten minutes.
If you fancy a pamper there are lots of beauty treatments available - I had a very good facial and it was much cheaper than in England. In the Canoa bar there was entertainment (of sorts!), but I must say we played bingo and won 3 times! I would recommend borrowing the Lonely Planet guide from the library(or buying it if you are visiting again!). It was full of very useful info.
If you are travelling with children it is worth noting that everywhere (inc buses) charge full price for children aged 10 and over. Many of the signs say that a child is aged 3-10 but if you admit to having a ten year old then you will be charged in full!
If you have not been to Malta before, be prepared to find it quite shabby and run down in places - it is not a typical Med. island. However there are many beautiful places, and the people are very friendly. The weather was warm (up to 28 degrees), but take a jacket as there is often a breeze even in Summer.
On the whole I was very pleased with this Hotel, and would definitely stay here again.

2 readers found this review helpful

fantastic hotel,( moved here from the nightmare palm court)the santana could not be faulted, friendly staff, clean warm rooms, lovely pool,spa treatments brilliant and the food was lovely! great variety, lots to do and see around malta only problem was the weather rained most of the week, will be back when it is nice and sunny.
went here with my grandaughters aged10 and 12 who greatly enjoyed the indoor and outdoor pools, first time in malta for them popeyes village was great place to visit along with marine land which is just along the road, bus drivers a bit crazy but were all very helpful and went out of their way to ensure we got off nearest to where we were going even turnig back one day when we missed our stop. Day out at the Mdina and the dungeons was very educational, second visit for myself and will not be the last.

2 readers found this review helpful

We moved to the Santana from the Palm Court, what a lovely hotel. It was like going from a Charles Dickens novel into a swish palace.
The rooms were bright and clean, the food and restaurant was first rate, the staff were most helpful and the week was in general a first rate experience.
The hotel is well located being close to the local bus station, handy for both bays and convenient for the local shops. The walk along the new promenade is really a delight.
The room was cleaned everyday and we would return tomorrow without any worries.

1 reader found this review helpful

Very good value hotel, pleasant colonial feel, absolutely spotless.
Dining room very nice, tastefully decorated, food excellent great choice well cooked. Everywhere was serviced well by very nice helpful staff.
Roof pool could have been better serviced and sunbeds updated, although still September a lot of the bars were closed within the hotel itself.
Bathrooms could have a better shower system, but quite usable. Rooms kept very clean, towels replaced everyday.
All in all very impressed for the money and would book again, but not late September. Found the whole resort had stopped a lot of the evening entertainment and switched to TV football as a substitute, most disappointing.
First visit to Malta and will not hopefully be our last.

2 readers found this review helpful

I read the comments on this website before booking our hotels in Malta and we weren't disappointed. The room was clean and the staff extremely pleasant and helpful.
We asked for a quiet room and that's exactly what we got. I would definitely stay at the Santana again. It is very close to the bus station which suited us as we wanted to explore the island.
The breakfast was good with plenty of choice. We chose to eat out of the hotel in the evening, but usually ended the evening back at the hotel for a last drink (or two).