Qawra Palace Hotel

This holiday was great. The hotel was very clean and tidy and provided great services even had a great gym.
It has its own pool, shop and cafe for smacks or meals. The staff are friendly and at night the hotel provides great entertainment by the pool which is close at this time. I would go and visit again.

This hotel is billed variously on different websites as either a 3 or a 4 star hotel. By British standards it is really closer to a 3 star hotel.
Generally the hotel is extremely clean and the maid service was thorough.
The entertainment was excellent but repeated itself each week according to the long stay visitors. Others staying there even said that certain entertainers followed the same routine week after week.
One singer, Manuel, who also had a dance troupe perform later in his show, was particularly excellent and we were told that he appears singing on Maltese TV each Saturday night.
The food was good but after one week we were becoming fed up with it and, if we had been staying any longer, we would have started to eat out.
The breakfasts, however, were good old British breakfasts with additional fruit, cereals, juice, cake, and particularly good bread with Lurpak butter (no margarine available). All meals were self-service buffet style.
The waiters, generally, were very friendly and helpful but the hotel operates a zoning system and you have to sit in the particular zone you are allotted.
We did not get to try the outdoor swimming pool which is on the other side of a road beside the sea, but access is through the hotel so you do not physically have to cross the road to get to it. The indoor pool and hot tubs, if small, were well appointed.
The hotel has many rooms closely overlooking each other over an interior area and it is well worth paying the extra for a sea view because the view is lovely and you are not overlooked.
Our only concern was that there was no way of locking our balcony door, but then it appeared impossible that anyone could gain access to your balcony from another room.
The hotel has a good coffee and snack bar fronting the road. This is used by the locals which is always a good sign.
The locals also use the hotel for their entertainment but are not allowed into the hotel before a certain time to allow the residents first choice of seating.
However, some long term visitors were complaining that they tended to take over when they came. We did not find this a problem during our stay, and in any case we welcome a chance to get to know the locals.
For what we paid, we had excellent value for money and, having had a previous, terrible, and unforgettably awful holiday at the nearby Palm Court Apartments, we would return to this hotel for a short stay no longer than a week.
However, I cannot say if the sewerage farm at the end of the bay, which added to our too numerous to mention woes at the Palm Court, would have the same effect at the Qawra Palace, when the weather was much hotter than on our January visit.
Beware too of the numerous time share/holiday club sales people who circulate in the area, standing on street corners or jumping out of roving cars at you.
You may be promised a bottle of alcohol to attend but the meeting went on for hours and the bottle of alcohol was only one size up from a miniature!

After reading all the other comments I thought I should just add mine because I think all the unhappy holidaymakers must have stayed in a different hotel to us.
Yes we were in the rooms facing the courtyard and the air conditioning was noisy but, after informing the manager it was dealt with almost immediately.
You only use the room to get your head down and get changed, if you go on holiday to sit in your room all day why bother leaving home.
As for the food being rubbish, I have stayed in many hotels and if some of the food was only half as good as the palaces I would have been happy. The soup was fantastic all fresh and a different one every day.
Possibly the only gripe I had was the indoor pool, it was mega slippery under foot.
We will be going back to Malta for the lovely views, the lovely Maltese people and the Qawra Palace. Thanks to all the staff that made it a thoroughly brilliant holiday.

After reading other peoples comments we were a little apprehensive upon arrival. But this proved to be completely unfounded.
The outside appearance was of a 4 star hotel and continued to be so from booking in until we left. We would find it very hard to make any bad comments about this hotel.
We had a room with a sea view on the 8th floor which was great, the lifts at times had a mind of their own but so what, it was all part of the fun. The room was very clean the bedding was fine, although everything was a little dated.
The food was excellent good quality, hot and plenty of it. We had to sit in our designated section but this ensured that we did not all crowd onto the table nearest the doors.
The system for paying for drinks, getting a receipt then going to the bar, I think was very good because you were not paying what the barman had worked out in his head.
The entertainment left a little to be desired but we were late in the season
We found all the staff to be friendly and helpful and have nothing but praise for them.
So as you may gather, if we return to Malta (we have been 4 times) we will be returning to this hotel and look forward to it. Thank you Qawra Palace...

Having read the reports from others regarding the Qawra Palace I was very skeptical about going there.
However, it was far better than others had described. Food was very good, always hot and always a choice of two normal meals, one vegetarian and plenty of salad and vegetables. Breakfast was the normal eggs bacon tomatoes, beans and plenty of toast and marmalade. Having to sit in a designated area was not a drudge, you only need to sit and eat your meal, not to have a full blown party.
Evening entertainment was a bit iffy but sitting round the pool at 10.30 every evening was much better that sitting at home. Bedroom was a nice size but you only need it to change and to sleep. Did not "smell" of anything but the cleaners that they use.
I would certainly go back to the Qawra Palace and those people who found it distasteful
should really stay at home.

We booked this 4star rated hotel on an all inclusive package at Going Places in Middlesbrough, Cleveland UK. The holiday was taken from the Airtours Summer Sun Brochure.
Firstly, this is not a four star hotel. If you require tea and coffee making facilities, you are require to pay ML10.00 deposit plus ML1.55 per day for a minimum of three days. I've stayed in two star accommodation where this has been as standard. In other four star accommodation water and a few soft drinks were also included as standard. At the Qawra Palace you had to pay extra.
We had requested, (along with other holidaymakers we later found out) a room with a sea view we all ended up looking in on each other. As one holidaymaker put it 'it's like Prisoner Cell Block H'.
The rooms were clean and most of the staff were friendly enough but the whole place was sadly lacking.
The food was limited in choice but was acceptable on the whole. The regimentation was a little prison like. For drinks with your evening meal you had to queue at a till, put your order in then take the printed slip you were given to the bar then wait to be served. collect your drink and go to the area you had been told to sit on your first visit. We were in section D. A Chef then served you the main dish of your choice at the buffet and you could the help yourself to vegetables and salad. For dessert, the chef, served you if you wanted ice-cream. In all other 4star accommodation I have stayed in Holidaymakers have helped themselves to all drinks except cocktails, the only food served by a chef was that which was cooked there on the spot in front of you.
I would also like to warn holiday makers to check when they will be required to vacate their rooms.
When we were told the flight times, 03.05am from Malta on Wednesday 27th September, for our return home, we specifically asked if we would have to vacate our room early on Tuesday 26th. We were told that no we would in effect have the room for all of the 26th as we would only get our room from Wednesday 20th. Our arrival at the hotel was 3.00am on Wednesday 20th September.
However, when we spoke to our Holiday Rep, on Monday 25th to check pick up arrangements for our return journey he told us that we would have to vacate the room at 11.00am on Tuesday 26th.
We asked at reception if we could book a courtesy room or keep the room we were in and were told that we would have to queue at 9.00am on the 26th.
Tuesday 26th came and we, along with many others dutifully queued at 9.00am to be told that we would have to return at 10.45, and that there were no guarantees of obtaining a room. If we were lucky enough to be allocated a room it would cost us a further ML10.00. At 10.45 we queued again and were lucky to be allocated a room that we paid the extra ML10.00 for. We overheard the receptionist talking to a colleague saying that not everyone in the queue would get a courtesy room.
We had discussions with many of the holidaymakers who found themselves in this ridiculous position and all agreed that it was an absolute disgrace.
How are you supposed to go all day in high temperatures in going home clothes (lets face it you need something warm to wear when you return to the UK) without being able to rest or freshen up. We would have had thirteen hours from having to vacate our room at 11.00am on Tuesday 26th to being picked up at 12.25am on Wednesday 27th.
Along with other holiday makers we made it clear that we were unhappy with the arrangements, and I have written to the manager of Going Places in Middlesbrough asking if they will make sure that staff check their information carefully and tell clients the truth.
I am also writing to MyTravel expressing the same, and asking that they train Reps to be honest and truthful and do not try to use 'scare' tactics to persuade holidaymakers to book trips through them. Ours told us at the Welcome Party that we should book through him any excursions there and then as we would not be insured if we booked outside, that on Thursday 21st it was Malta Independence Day and everywhere would be closed so we might as well book a trip through him if we didn't want to spend the day around the pool. We booked trips independently and were insured.
As approximately 65% of the income on Malta is from Tourism places were open, shops, cafes etc. There were one or two places closed for the day and anyone who had booked to visit these places were issued with complimentary tickets for another day. Some holidaymakers weren’t old by the rep that there was no way to get to certain places on there own the only way would be to book through him. They used Maltese public transport, no problem.
Other than that we enjoyed Malta and its people. We met lots of others and had a good time.

Well after reading the reviews on this site I was very worried going away for the first time without my parents it was just me (24) & my sister (19). I have to say that I don’t know what the other people expected from this holiday, everything that I read did not match up with what I experienced.
Firstly the Maltese people in and out of the hotel were nothing but friendly and helpful. We had a very good rep who was always around when she said she would be and she always did her best to answer our queries.
The rooms are adequate for the amount of time you spend in them, they were cleaned and the beds were made every day. The food was good hot and tasty and the variety was not bad. We did eat out twice but that was because we wanted a change of scenery.
The air conditioner was a bit loud but you get used to it and deal with it. I just put cotton in my ears but it didn’t even bother my sister. The pool was nice and big the water is salty but it wasn't a problem. Its very friendly around the pool area everyone talks the each other and has a laugh.
The only thing that my sister and I thought was not too good was the hotel evening entertainment it was more aimed at over 40s really but some nights were very good and entertaining. On the other nights we walked around and found other things to do.
Overall it was a very enjoyable holiday I wanted to let you know that if you are planning to go please ignore the other reviews as I believe them to be untrue.

Just got back from the Qawra Palace. We were a bit disappointed with it in general. The foyer was nice, the receptionist aloof, the rooms were shabby - the wardrobe doors had to be left open because being on holiday, opening and closing them was too much like hard work! the electric plug was under the dressing table and a big very rough hole was cut out of the back of the dressing table to get to them- very unsightly.
The lifts had a mind of their own, one of them didn't go to the 6th floor, on one occasion I went from ground to 2nd then 1st then 8th then ground then 7th then ground and then got out!
The food was plentiful but tasteless I know a few of my fussy friends would have had a problem eating any of it - luckily my husband and I are not fussy.
The pool was very annoying and my biggest complaint when out for the day sight seeing you want to cool off in the pool - no chance! at around 4.30 they are hosing it down and moving your things even though it is supposed to be open till till 6.

I cannot believe half of the reviews I have read about the Qawra Palace. I found the hotel to be very clean and the rooms were lovely, I had a king-size bed and clean bedding every day which in no way smelt.
The bathroom was small but adequate and spotless. The only bad point was the fridge which did not appear to work very well. When I arrived there, I was allocated a room on the 8th floor. I am claustrophobic and do not use lifts and the stairs were too much for me and they very quickly and efficiently found me a room on the 4th which was great.
I must say having a room with a sea view was great but the downside is it's quite noisy with the road outside and the evening entertainment which goes until midnight is very loud if you go to bed early.
The food was great, plenty to choose from and fresh fruit and salad with every lunch and evening meal. I certainly found no problems with the waiting staff who were always very welcoming and friendly and I had no problem with being seated in the same area of the restaurant every day, in fact it was quite helpful with finding the rest of your party if you all went down at different times.
The pool area was very clean apart from the toilets but there were additional toilets just inside by the indoor pool which were lovely.
The only problem I had was it was quite slippery and dangerous around the indoor pool which could have been kept a bit drier.
The location of the hotel is perfect. The beach just across the road is lovely, although not a sandy beach (personally I prefer the rocks) was great and not crowded even though it was peak holiday season. The bus station was just 10 minutes walk away where you get buses to anywhere on the island and very cheap too.
The evening entertainment was by no means spectacular but quite enjoyable and we stayed at the hotel most nights. On the few nights we went out, we walked 10 minutes up the road to Qawra centre which had loads of bars, restaurants and we even found a karaoke bar which was a great laugh.
I went in a party of 18 people ages between 10 - 62 and we all had a fantastic time. If you are a youngster and want to go out clubbing, the Suncrest Hotel next door had a great night club which my kids went to most nights and really enjoyed.
Overall it was a great holiday and I will be going back to Malta which is an absolute gem and I will be staying at the Qawra Palace Hotel.

When my mother decided to take me and my sister on holiday we where delighted .
We where even more excited when we heard we were going to Malta! We had never been before but it looked beautiful on the leaflets we got. When we got to our hotel Qawra palace we were so shocked! We never thought it would be this nice!
The bedrooms where lovely and we had a nice view of the swimming pools and the sea.
In the morning after we arrived we quickly went down to the swimming pool to place Our towels down on the bed/chairs next to the swimming pool because lots of people Would be going to the pool and we wanted to reserve a place! We then went to the hotel to get our breakfast.
The food was lovely and the staff were very friendly! Then we went down to the pool which was great because it was such a hot day and the water was nice and cool! It was mostly young children and parents in the pool, not many teenagers mucking about which was great!
We went to Bugibba almost every night because it was beautiful. There was lots of nice shops and restaurants too! We felt so safe too! I really enjoyed my 2 weeks in Malta and if anyone wants to go on holiday with their family they should choose Qawra Palace! Thank you.