Hotel Phoenicia Malta

We have just returned from Valletta having stayed at Le Mereidien Phoenicia hotel. This hotel is a little touch of old world charm mixed with touches of modern day life. The hotel entrance and public rooms are very grand and elegant and take you back to a time forgotten in todays fast paced lifestyle. We stayed for 7 nights on a B&B basis and found the location of the hotel most acceptable and convenient to all the city has to offer. Breakfast was nice and we got to sit outside on one day which is so nice on holiday. Buses are outside to take you all over the Island and the City gates are literally 200 meters away. The old city is so impressive its worth staying here just for that as opposed to the areas of St Julians. The clientelle at the Phoenicia is mainly mid aged and mainly couples but then that addes to the relaxed atmostphere there. The swimming pool and surrounding areas are the best feature of the hotel and although the pool is a long walk from the hotel building via the wonderful gardens its worth the walk when you get there. I booked via Matla Direct (London Office) and the only disappointment I had was with their female tour rep who was very rude to me in front of witnesses on the welcome meet and greet session in the palm lounge of the hotel. Most unacceptable really in any hotel let alone a 5 star hotel. I did report this to the hotel reception manager and she did not seem surprised by my complaint and stated that I should report it to Malta direct upon my return which I have. The hotel does need some attention to its lifts which break down alot and the air conditioning does rattle a bit. If these matters are attended to then I would be glad to return to the hotel. A nice touch was the management invitation to the hotel cocktail party one evening which was lovely and a nice way to meet other guests for an hour. Sebstian the concierge was most helpful during our stay. Apart from the rude tour rep indicent a most enjoyable stay. Would propbably have a balcony room if I returned again.

It was a short stay, and we had had a bad experience at another hotel during the previous week, so we were pleasantly surprised by this hotel. It was a bit dated, but in a charming way, and had some really nice touches. The rooms were not huge, but the decor was attractive and we had a great view out over Valletta. The communal areas were very ornate. The staff were courteous and helpful, even when we pitched up on their red carpet soggy and messy following our last scuba dive of the holiday. The position of the hotel was perfect for access to the walled section of Valletta.

We have just returned from a 10 stay at the Phoenicia, which is situated just outside the gates of Valletta, a beautiful walled fortress city that has been designated a world heritage site. We arrived late morning after a short but fairly terrifying high-speed cab ride from Luqu airport. This was a reasonable 6.5LM that was agreed in advance at the airport taxi desk. The reception staff were extremely welcoming and without prompting provided us with local maps and information on areas of local interest (compare this with the disinterested reception staff you get at many so called "top" hotels around the world) We had two rooms (one for the kids aged 9 and 13) both facing the harbour. They were tastefully decorated, clean and cool. The pool area is spectacular, situated on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea. A well staffed bar area provides very reasonably priced food and drink throughout the day. The pool area was never crowded and its magnificent garden setting provides a tranquil environment away from the bustling streets of Valetta. Breakfast is served on the terrace overlooking the gardens (subject to weather conditions) The choice is excellent and staff attentive and friendly. This hotel has bags of character, its classical decor provides the ambience of an age gone by, but its modern amenities and superb staff make this a world-class hotel. Its situation near the bus station is a positive advantage, as from here you can travel cheaply and efficiently around the island. Valetta has a large choice of reasonably priced restaurants, and children are welcomed by the universally friendly Maltese people. Malta's fascinating history is combined with stunning architecture and excellent climate. I would highly recommend this hotel, and we look forward to visiting again soon

OK, first off we dont travel very often, and so my idea of what five star should be might be a little bit off the mark but here is my account of my recent (Got home yesterday) stay at this hotel. It all started well, we booked through expedia, as we wanted a real "Malta" experience we went for Valetta over St Julians, as that apparently is very touristy. Of the hotels in Valetta this one was the best offering all the things we wanted. When we were booking we searched for Bed and breakfast rooms, and having just checked again this is something that most of the other hotels in Valetta offer, but for some reason, this is not the case with the Phonecia, so although we were under the impression it was included, it wasnt. The room is functional, small and dated. the marble floor was chipped and stained, the bed was noisey as was the AC (sounded like a drill at times). We were at the front of the hotel in a standard room, so opening the window was out of the question as it was far too noisey. Most of the furniture in the room has been about for a while so it was all a bit tired really including us for most of our stay. The lifts are rubbish, hot, small when they work. the lobby area is nice as were the staff at times, but not all the time. We didnt eat in the hotel apart from the breakfast which as I said we thought we were getting as part of our room rate, as the prices were very expensive compared with the resturants around Valetta. The Pool was great, and the staff around the pool were fantastic, but again, I have to question why in a stand outside the hotel you can get a large bottle of water for Lm0.75 (about £1.20) and in the hotel its Lm 2.50 (£4.15)! and the prices for food and the selction were not really very good, good smoothies though. In the evenings Valletta doesnt offer a great deal, the waterfront area is good but in town its very imited, although the resturants are all very good theres just not that many to choose from and no bars to mention. So most nights we headed back to the hotel bar for a nightcap. One night we were forgotten about completey even thought the bar tend knew our order as we walked in (we're not that adventurous) and one night they got it wrong completely. Both times apologies were made and the staff were good fun, but I cant say its 5 star service.OK so onto bill paying time and imagine my surprise at seeing we had to pay for our breakfast, especially as it worked out to be Lm 7.25 each (£12.00) per day for a luke warm buffet and a cup of coffee. At no time were we asked if we'd like to pay up front, asked for an order or given a receipt. One morning I had a cup of coffee and a slice of toast, but the price was the same as every other day, how can that be fair pricing? I am in the process of trying to sort this with expedia, but I think we should have checked the small print, and I urge you to consider this before staying here. I know if I had known that we had paid room only and that breakfast was not part of the room rate, we would have probebly either skipped it, or gone to the cafe just inside the gate of valetta that was doing a full service for just under half that price. All in all a bit fed up with what should have been a relaxing holiday that turned out to be a bit of a mare. I liked Malta and will be going back, but I will definitely not be staying at this hotel again.

I was extremly dissapointed of this hotel! I expected something else! And i say this because I tought Le Meridien was a serious hotel chain.Obviously I was wrong! I don't know if i'm gonna trust Le Meridien again!!Everything went bad: the lifts are awful, very small, very old; the rooms are extremly small.Everything is old in this hotel , you feel like you're in the '30s.It's situated near the bus stop so all day you'll be hearig nothing but horning.Services are ok.

Altough not very modern, this is a perfect 5-star hotel with comfortable rooms and bathrooms and a helpful friendly staff. The food in the restaurant was very tasty and beautiful, and the prices are defitively not the highest in Malta. When you like discovering Malta by yourself, this is the most ideal location, as all buses leave from nearby the hotel. These buses, as old and noisy as some may be, bring you almost everywhere on the island for 20 Maltese cents (approx. 0,48 Euro). If going back to Malta, I would stay there again.

We stayed for one week at Le Meridien Phoenicia for one week. This was our forth stay in Malta and the first in Valetta. We booked the hotel directly on their Web pages, it worked smoothly. Arriving at the hotel we got a free upgrade to a Superior room! The room was very nice and well equipped with turndown service. Cleaning was excellent. The Consierce desk was very helpful. They e.g. recommended the restaurant Malata (which we had walked past many times at earlier stays without really noticing). The restaurant has excellent food and price not too bad. We enjoyed the lounge for midday coffe etc. and afternoon drinks. They cigar bar was also very nice with a good selection of cigars and recommendations for accompanying drinks. The staff was very helpful and friendly, we will definately stay there again and can recommend it heartfully!

Stayed here for one week, and had a very enjoyable time. The room was recently refurbished with a good bed and was very clean. We had good view over the city as far as Mdina. The windows were double glazed and we had no problems with noise. The air conditioning worked well. The staff were generally friendly and efficient. The food in the two restaurants was excellent. The breakfast buffet was good except the hot food was not very hot. The main restaurant had a very nice terrace with a view of the hotel garden. The garden was very pretty at this time of year and lead to the pool, which was a good size with nice surroundings, with good friendly service from the bar. The lounge was also very pleasant.

As much as I would like to return to this hotel, I found it extremely noisy. My room faced two football pitches, with games until midnight. Stray dogs outside yelped every night. The lovely heavy doors thunked each time a person closed them, so obviously the closures didn't work. FURTHER, the housekeeping staff do nothing but chat and shout to one another. Forget the afternoon siesta! Putting a 'do not disturb' sign on one's door just means that guests and staff talk louder and don't really care if they disturb you or not. If you can get six hours silence during the night, you would be doing extremely well. There are two antiquated lifts at either end of the hotel; mine was broken almost everyday which meant climbing the stairs three floors for two weeks so who needed the gym! The staff were friendly and helpful, the food in the Brasserie first-class, and the rooms spacious and clean. Water was always hot, shower worked fine. Beds are outdated and soft, squeaking terribly. This hotel's location is the best thing going for it since it is spitting distance to the beginning/end of the Malta bus system from where you can go anywhere in Malta for 20 pence. Having travelled to 26 countries, I know that this is only a three-star hotel, so if you are looking for luxury you won't find it here. You will find, however, ambience, good service, good food and a prime location.

I stayed here in early June and the hotel was full, however that didn't affect the wonderful service, attentive staff, phenomenal breakfast and gorgeous rooms. I'm not the kind of person who needs champagne in the bath and roses on every surface, the hotel met every single one of my needs and more. I wasn't expecting to able to choose from more than 5 kinds of juice at breakfast; to be able to have a jacuzzi after swimming in the good sized pool and to be able to have my room unlocked after leaving the key inside (twice!) within a couple of minutes. These things, to me, represent wonderful service and high quality facilities - the hotel Phoenicia Meridien is all that and more. I will definitely be back.