Breakfast is a treat with all sorts of delicacies offered including a full English breakfast if you’re game for that one.

The staff at the hotel are garcious and charming and you can ask for anything you want as they will always be there to help out and always do so with a smile. An attractive feature of the hotel is the vintage cars collection with three models on permanent display dating from 1919 to 1927.

The rooms are comfortable and spacious with cleanniness quite the order of the day although I have been in more luxurious places but I would say that its just about right for its price range. There’s also the possibility of taking a walk in the area close to the hotel with some fine scenery all around. For those who enjoy soaking up the sun and taking a well deserved dip, there’s a large pool with an ample sun deck where you can lounge away to your heart’s content.

One can also choose to sample lunch or dinner by booking on a half board basis where the fare is served through a buffet so for a relatively cheap price you can eat as much as you like. The Tate Lounge Bar is also a fine area where one can wind down with a drink and socialize accordingly with major sports events also shown on the big screen. The Bella Vista Hotel truly has something for everyone.

Many of the popular tourist resorts such as Sliema, St Julians and Qawra don’t have access to a sandy beach, and instead, bathers swim off rocks or at a water’s edge lido. There are four main locations where hotels are found next to beaches, and they are all in the north of the island.

Malta’s largest beach is Ghadira, also known as Mellieha Bay. There are three hotels situated alongside the beach, these are The Riu Seabank Hotel, The Mellieha Bay Hotel and The Danish Village Holiday complex. There first two mentioned are holiday hotels with indoor and outdoor pools, restaurants and bars. Each offers a variety of watersports, particularly the Mellieha bay Hotel, with a Diving school – Aquaventure – based within the grounds and other watersports on offer. If you’re more into relaxing, then the sandy bay is metres away from the hotels, and there you can hire sunbeds and umbrellas. The Danish Village houses guests in bungalows set in luscious gardens, and these have self-catering facilities, although there are three restaurants within the complex itself.

Further north, the Marfa/Cirkewwa area has three beach hotels. The Riviera Resort and The Ramla Bay Hotel are on the north east of the Ahrax peninsula , and are close to sandy beaches both next door to the hotels and a little further away at Armier bay. On the western side of the promontory, The Paradise Bay Hotel is by Paradise Bay, a small idyllic sandy cove, close to the ferry terminal at Cirkewwa.

On the western coast of Malta, close to the village of Manikata, is Golden Bay – another sandy bay with beach facilities. Right on the beach is the Radisson Golden Sands Hotel. There has been a hotel here for many, many years, but in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2005, the existing hotel was demolished and a 5-star, brand new luxury hotel was built in its place.

Finally, although man-made, Bugibba’s beach is popular. This beach is known as a “perched” beach, with sand overlying the rocks on the resort’s coast. Close to this beach is the Dolmen Hotel – one of the largest hotels in Malta. Although the Dolmen has its own beach club, which is a lido by the sea’s edge, some patrons prefer to lie on the sand on the public beach.

For more information on these hotels, call the Malta Tourism Authority on 22915118

The Corinthia idea was conceived in 1968, and the hotel was built in the restored grounds of a 19th Century villa. Being in close proximity to the President’s residence, the hotel has played host to many foreign dignitaries and ambassadors over the years.

The hotel has six restaurant/bars that that can cater for dining and imbibing at any time of the year. The hotel’s most well-known restaurant is The Rickshaw, a gourmet Oriental Restaurant serving a heavenly mix of Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and Singaporean specialities.

Another restaurant serving haute cuisine is the Villa Corinthia which is situated in a restored villa in the hotel grounds. The other restaurant is the Italian-influenced Pizza, Pasta e Basta which is open only during the summer months for casual dining around the swimming pool on the terrace. In addition to these restaurants, there is a poolside bar, a lounge-bar and a café.

The Athenaeum Spa at the hotel is the epitome of luxury and hosts Malta`s first Floatation Tank, Oxygen Bar, Kinesis Fitness Room and Chromoenergetic massage rooms. There are over fifty treatments on offer from massage and facials to manicures and pedicures. The Spa accepts bookings from non-residents and guests booking a treatment can use all the spa and swimming pool facilities at the hotel.

Rooms are furnished in a classic yet comfortable style, with only high-quality materials used. There are 98 Deluxe rooms, 43 Superior rooms and 11 Executive suites.

The Corinthia Palace can also be booked as a wedding or conference venue, and for more information about facilities and rates, it’s advisable to contact the hotel directly. Address: De Paule Avenue, San Anton BZN 9023, Malta. Telephone: (+356) 21440301.

There are several companies that specialise in renting out farmhouses for holiday purposes. One of the largest is Gozo Farmhouses, a company that manages over 25 renovated properties, many with swimming pools. Each of these properties is supplied with top quality bed linen and furniture, and a built in barbecue is available for use on each terrace. Gozo Farmhouses’ accommodation is found in most villages across Gozo, including Xaghra, Sannat and Qala. They can be contacted at 3 Mgarr Road, Ghajnsielem GSM 9010, Gozo , Malta. Tel: +356 21561280

Another company is Gozo Village Holidays who have a wide variety of properties available for rent. They have properties available in Gharb, Ghasri, Xaghra, Xewkija, and San Lawrenz and most of these have pools and barbecues. The properties have between two and four bedrooms and can sleep between two and ten people depending on the size. For more information, please contact Gozo Village Holidays, 11 Kappucini Street, Victoria VCT 9080, Gozo, Malta. Tel: +356 21557255

Smaller companies also have one or two farmhouses to let independently. Ta’ Happin is a 200 year-old, three bedroomed farmhouse with a pool situated in the village of Xaghra. Tal’ Hamramann is another farmhouse in the same area of Xaghra, also with 3 bedrooms and a pool. Both these properties are available through Gozo Farmhouse Vacations, Mountain Lodge, Springs Street, Xaghra, XRA 2268, Gozo, Malta. Tel: +356 21552867

Malta has been a popular meeting place for centuries due to its strategic location and continues till today to be a hot spot for conferences of all sorts.

The large quantity of facilities available, reasonable prices, ease of accessibility, and the leisure activities it provides makes it more than ideal for any type of organisation who is looking to organise any form of conference. There are a really vast variety of hotels that you can choose to hold your conference in, which will also help you greatly with the organisation of the event. Most conference hotels will have some sort of conference facilities but needless to say the higher the star rating the more equipped they usually are. The majority of 5 star hotels are located in the St. Julians area, which is the hub for Malta’s tourism and entertainment.

The Hilton hotel offers the largest and most versatile conference facilities in the St. Julians area. It has a vast range of meetings rooms, spread over four separate but well connected floors. The largest one of them, the Grandmaster Suite can take up to 1,400 delegates seated in total including a tiered balcony with 228 seats. The room is versatile and flexible, making it suitable for all sorts of conferences, dinners or receptions, concerts, and even fashion shows.

The Hilton hotel offers a total of 404 bedrooms all with sea/marina views. Other facilities include, a private beach club, car rental, shopping arcade, the LivingWell Health Club equipped with indoor heated pool, saunas, steam room, aerobics dance studio, fully equipped gymnasium, tennis & squash courts, unisex hair salon and beauty & slimming salons.

Contact details for the Hilton are:

HILTON MALTA
Portomaso
St. Julians
Tel: (+356) 21383383
Fax: (+356) 21386629
Contact: Ms. Christine Grech
Email: christine.grech@hilton.com

If you prefer to hold your conference in a more peaceful location, a good option would be the Radisson Blu Golden Sands resort, located in the tranquil surroundings of Golden Bay on the West coast of the island of Malta. The resort offers 3 main conference rooms, which can take between 200 to 900 people depending on the room and the seating arrangement. The Radisson Blu Golden Sands resort also caters for smaller conferences.

RADISSON BLU GOLDEN SANDS RESORT & SPA
Golden Bay
Mellieha
Tel: (+356) 23561000
Fax: (+356) 23560001
Contact: Mr John Dandria
Email: goldensand@radisson.com.mt

Other hotels which offer conference facilities are:

CORINTHIA PALACE HOTEL & SPA
De Paule Avenue
Attard
Tel: (+356) 21440301
Fax: (+356) 21465713
E-mail: kschranz@palace.corinthia.com
Contact: Mr. Karl Schranz

CORINTHIA HOTEL ST. GEORGE’S BAY
St.George’s Bay
St. Julians
Tel: (+356) 21374114
Fax: (+356) 21374039
E-mail: npecorella@cbr.corinthia.com
Contact: Ms.Nadine Pecorella – Director of Sales & Marketing

GRAND HOTEL EXCELSIOR
Great Siege Road
Floriana
Malta
Tel: (+356) 21250520
Fax: (+356) 21250522
E-mail: michael.grima@excelsior.com.mt
Contact: Michael Grima

HOTEL PHOENICIA MALTA
The Mall – Floriana
Valletta
Tel: (+356) 21225241
Fax: (+356) 21235254
Contact: Mr Daniel Sciberras
E-mail: sales@phoeniciamalta.com

INTERCONTINENTAL MALTA
Eden leisure Group
St. George’s Bay
St. Julians
Tel: (+356) 21377600
Fax: (+356) 21372222
Contact: Mr Christopher Gingell Littlejohn – Director of Sales and Marketing
Email: Christopher_GLittlejohn@intercontinental.com.mt

THE PALACE
High Street
Sliema SLM 1542
Tel: (+356) 21333444
Fax: (+356) 22621000
Email: sales@thepalacemalta.com

HOTEL TA’ CENC
Sannat
Gozo
Tel: (+356) 21556819/556830
Fax: (+356) 21558199
E-mail: tacenc@vjborg.com
Contact: David Scerri / Sammy Rapa

The sea around Malta and Gozo is some of the clearest in Europe, but some residents and holiday makers prefer the convenience of a swimming pool. To find accommodation with a swimming can be a challenge, and sometimes such properties are costly, but knowing where to look can be a help.

Obviously, most hotels are equipped with pools, but for those seeking more privacy or self-catering facilities, that isn’t really an option.

For people with plenty of money to spend, whole villas are available to rent in areas such as Madliena, Marsascala, Qawra and Mellieha. As a long-term let, these villas can command monthly rental prices of €1,500 upwards, and for holiday makers requiring villas on a short-term basis, villas can cost at least €1,000 per week. A selection of these villas can be seen online, and properties include June Villa and Rosevale in Mellieha, Villa Phantasia in Ibrag and Sunset Farmhouse, Marsascala.

An alternative to renting a whole villa is to rent a villa apartment or an apartment in a block with a shared pool. These options can be really cost-effective and are usually available on a short or long-term basis. Accommodation with a shared swimming pool is generally found along the coast in resorts such as Bugibba, Qawra, St. Julians, Marsascala and Mellieha, particularly in an area known as Santa Marija Estate. Rentals can be up to €1,000 per month for a 2/3 bedroom apartment on a long-term arrangement, or around €500 per week short-term. In Santa Marija Estate, Mellieha, there is a number of such properties available such as Merill Apartments, La Mediterranea Apartment, Dewberry, Santa Maria villa apartments and Tas-Sellum. In Bugibba, there are also a few such as St. Paul’s Court and Shamrock Apartments, whilst further south in Madliena is the Apartment 2 Yellow.

Most of these properties can be found and booked online. Others, especially for long-term rental, can be found advertised through the main estate agents such as Frank Salt, Dahlia, Sara Grech and ReMax.

Low-cost airlines fly a number of regular routes to Malta from a variety of European countries, such as UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Sweden, so tourists taking advantage of the cheap fares need to rent accommodation for the duration of their holiday.

With the credit-crunch affecting many throughout Europe over the past two years, budget accommodation is in demand, particularly in the main tourist areas of Bugibba/Qawra, St. Pauls Bay, Mellieha and Sliema. Apartments usually form the bulk of budget accommodation in Malta, and the longer the rental, the cheaper the price. Budget apartments usually consist of 1 or 2 bedrooms, with the living room doubling up as sleeping space for the night-time, normally with a sofa-bed being used. In this way, a 2 bedroom apartment would have the potential for accommodating 6 people; splitting the cost 6 ways would be far more cost-effective than 4 people sharing the two bedrooms. These apartments usually have 1 bathroom with a shower, and a living/kitchen/dining area. The kitchen is normally equipped with pots, pans, utensils, a fridge, oven and hob, so cooking rather than eating out could reduce the cost of the holiday further.

Apartments at the cheaper end of the scale are usually found in a block, with 1 or possibly 2 balconies per apartment. Don’t expect these flats to have gardens or a swimming pool though, as land is scarce in Malta, and these sorts of facilities come at a premium. Prices are also seasonal, with the peak summer months of July and August being the most expensive time of year, making it more difficult to find a good bargain. Check out websites advertising these apartments and you’ll be able to see for yourself what’s on offer before making any booking.

Some 2 and 3-star hotels can also provide budget accommodation in Malta, and many tourists take advantage of special offers in the winter months, where guests can stay on a half-board basis for weeks on end at a fraction of the cost of staying in summer. These sorts of deals are usually advertised in national newspapers in Europe, and compromise a full package of flights transfers and the accommodation.

Palm Court Hotel Qawra Malta

The Palm Court Hotel Malta is a very popular 3 star hotel in Qawra. This hotel is highly promoted by Malta Bargains, a company who targets mainly the British market.

Accommodation at this hotel is usually part of a very cheap holiday package, most likely on All Inclusive basis (i.e. including b’fast, lunch time snacks, dinner and local drinks too).

Checking out the various Palm Court Hotel Malta reviews on the web, one will notice that most reviewers actually say that this hotel is very basic. Having said that, when considering the extremely economical price for an All Inclusive package, tourists are actually getting a fair service in return for the price being paid.

This hotel is located in a relatively quiet area in Qawra, yet still very close to the center. The Malta Tourism Authority did rate the Palm Court Hotel Qawra Malta as a 3 star accommodation, because of the amenities and services it offers. At this holiday complex, one will find an outdoor swimming pool, heated indoor pool during the Winter months, big sun terrace full of deck chairs, a variety of bars and a restaurant serving buffet meals.

Other facilities include internet, dry cleaning and laundry, baby sitting, currency exchange as well as a 24hr attended reception desk. The hotel also boosts a games room, beauty salon, kids club and has lifts that service all floors. An entertainment program is available throughout the year too.

Referring to a sample online Palm Court Hotel Malta review, one should expect basic hotel rooms and service, but it’s understood is a fair exchange for the cheap price being paid. I encourage you to leave your comments about this hotel here too. Visit maltahotelreviews.co.uk for much more Malta hotel reviews!

This deluxe accommodation comprises of 294 luxury rooms. All of these units have a terrace or balcony overlooking the Yacht Marina or the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.

The Oceana restaurant is the main restaurant for guests residing at the Hilton Malta. Within the premises, overlooking the Yacht Marina, one also finds the Blue Elephant restaurant (specializing in Thai cuisine). The hotel also hosts the Bottega del Vino and the Merkanti Beach Club.

The Hilton hotel has three outdoor swimming pools, an indoor pool and also offers sports facilities such as tennis and squash courts and even a fully equipped leisure and fitness centre.