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Toffee
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12-01-2007 05:13 PM
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Joined: 12 Jan 2007
Posts: 5
| We are two 60ish old ladies who have never been to Malta but thought it might be nice for a holiday late March. We don't like it too quiet and enjoying going out in the evening. Can anyone suggest the best place to go and any hotels in the area that you can recommend.
It seems that most hotels have good and bad reports so it's nice to hear from anyone first hand.
Thank you in advance for your help.
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davvo
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13-01-2007 08:30 PM
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Joined: 20 Nov 2005
Posts: 469
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| I went with my wife in 94 (st pauls bay) lovely-- Bugibba is nice plenty to do, our hotel the Mediterrania was nice (small but perfectly formed) mind you it might not be there now -- lol , if you do go make sure you visit Gozo , there's plenty of sites to get a more updated review on hotels best of luck Toffee. (by the way my misses is 64 she's not old) your'e only as old as you feel-- lol .
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My Latest Review: Sep 2007 Montechoro Hotel, Albufeira (8/10) + Photos
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Toffee
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14-01-2007 12:14 PM
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Joined: 12 Jan 2007
Posts: 5
| Thanks for the help Davvo. We have heard varying reports about Malta some love it some hate it, so we thought we would give it a try. At least I know of a couple of possibilities now.
I didn't mean we felt old at 60 just that we were 60 years of age!!!!!!
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mike R
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14-01-2007 06:34 PM
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Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 194
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| my wife and I stayed in St juliens bay and had a lovely time but it is a little hilly, There are some great little bars and the people are very friendly. Valletta is very nice and we even found a english cafe there so had some home cooked meals occasionally. we went back the following year and stayed in Buggiba but we found it to be quite dirty in places, oh and "The malta Experience" is an experience if you enjoyed history lessons at school
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My Latest Review: Jul 2008 Sol Don Pablo Hotel, Torremolinos (8/10) + Photos
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dura229
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25-01-2007 05:06 AM
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Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 36
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| Toffee, Malta and Gozo are those kind of places: either you like them or you hate them! Gozo is really fantastic. I ve been visiting Gozo from the young age of 2!! cant remember my first visit!! We ve been holidaying over there regularly and now i m visiting the place with my hubby, though i will be there back again with my numerous family in summer. I m off to Gozo in Feb as well! Ryanair is making it more affordable to us, since they are operating to Malta! We really like the place, safe island, friendly english speaking people, good prices for accomodation, cheap food at supermarkets, good restaurants, though take care what restaurants you go for! The very cheap ones are rubbish! as for accomodation we rather go for self-catering than a hotel. we find it more relaxing and find ourselves 'free' to plan our days! We have been using the services provided by gozobreak.com and i really recommend them since they are lovely people, always doing their best to please their customers. They offer good service and always offer us airport transfers, car hire and sometimes even reserve our flights for us! YOu might be lucky to get one of their beautiful houses for a good price in March/April. I recommend you send them an e-mail and try to negotiate with them! Otherwise if you prefer a hotel you have to choose from rather expensive hotels like Ta cenc and kempinsk and more hotels like Clypso, grand...Most probably if you go there and like the island, next year you will return!
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Mal 54
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25-01-2007 08:35 AM
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Joined: 20 Aug 2004
Posts: 1687
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| Many years ago we stayed in St.Georges Park Aparments, St. Julians Malta....we absolutely hated it.
St. Julians was dirty, rubbish in the streets, which smelt awful.
St. Georges Park Apartments....The Noise at night was awful, loud music until 4am in the morning. We soon learnt not to leave anything on the balcony...you never saw it again if you did...Our bathroom was a joke, the toilet never flushed from day one...we had not hot water for most of our stay. Yes, we did ask to be moved. And, no they said we couldnt. Talk about the holiday from hell.
I would never go back to Malta.
And as for the locals being friendly, what planet do these people come from.
Like someone said...you either like it or hate it...we hated it!!
We our now in our 50s, we were then in our 30s.
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My Latest Review: Jun 2008 Blue Crane Aparthotel, Limassol (10/10)
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dura229
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25-01-2007 09:08 AM
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Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 36
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| Mal45, you were probably there at the worst days! Malta has developed into a wealthy nation! It now joined the EU as well! You were also at the wrong place, in the heart of Paceville, where there are all the pubs, and nightlife! Am sorry for you for having such a bad holiday! If you happened to meet 'bad' Maltese guys as well, you were so unlucky then! We never had anything wrong to say about the Maltese and the Gozitans. They were always nice to us! Once dad lost his wallet, containing most of the holiday money! We we really let down! He tried the police station to file a report! Can you beleive me when i tell you that when he entered the police station, there was a guy there with dad's wallet....and all the money! He found it at Marsalforn and was just consigning it to the Police! Dad offered him 20 Maltese liri but the guy insisted that instead, they shall go for a drink and ended up paying for dad's beer!!
Think you have to give it the second chance..........
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Hils
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25-01-2007 10:21 AM
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Joined: 03 Sep 2005
Posts: 629
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| Hi, I agree with Mal. We went to Malta 2 years ago and stayed at the Melleiha Bay Hotel (think I've spelt it wrong). It's a 4 star hotel, both by Thomsons and the Maltese Tourist Board. The food was half cold, the towels in the bathrooms were a very faded burgundy, staff quite rude, shower gels not replaced in the bathroom. We found Malta dirty, full of dog mess in Valetta, Gozo was even dirtier and we thought Malta was very expensive. We hated it and would never go back.
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My Latest Review: Mar 2007 Iberostar Costa Dorada Hotel, Puerto Plata (9/10)
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dura229
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25-01-2007 11:08 AM
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Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 36
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| hils, where have you been to in Gozo? We visit Gozo regularly and can assure that Gozo is much more tidier than Malta! And Malta is not that disgrace neither! I better leave it in the hands of other contributors, maybe someone will have a good impression like i do! I assume that by booking direct is better than booking thgough an agent! When you book direct, you are dealing with the owner himself/herself. I have always found the people who we deal with sicere! I like to take advice from the owners themselves before i try a new restaurant. They will know the restaurants better than us. As as self-catering, we do not have towels changed daily, but since there will be a washing machine at the farmhouse, we wash them ourselves. Though when we needed extra towels and asked the owners, they helped us without any hesitation. Luckily enough i have never met any 'rude' people at restaurants (staff) neither. Neither at the car hire companies we had rented cars from. Am i the luck one, or you happened to be unlucky? Hope we will have more reviews and more opinions!
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Mal 54
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25-01-2007 12:03 PM
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Joined: 20 Aug 2004
Posts: 1687
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| Obviously Malta hasnt changed for the better Hils, Valetta as you say was also dirty, we couldnt believe how the lovely buildings were covered in graffitti.
We went on one of the local buses which I must say was an experience, we did enjoy it. When we were walking through the streets of Valetta we were stopped my a local dressed in a suit, he shouted at me in broken English that if I didnt cover up I would be arrested by the local police. I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt, for goodness sake we were on holiday. Why pick on me? loads of women were in shorts and tee shirts. That really put a damper on our holiday. After that I must admit I was afraid to even go out. If it was a Muslim country you could understand. When we went to Egypt I walked around in shorts and tee short, and had no problems. My shorts are always down to my knees and T shirt always covers me apropriately.
I still would not go back to Malta even if someone paid for me.
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My Latest Review: Jun 2008 Blue Crane Aparthotel, Limassol (10/10)
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dura229
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25-01-2007 06:38 PM
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Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 36
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| Mal54, i m sorry for you! But you are talking about what had happened to you more than 20 yrs ago! How can someone who came to Ireland 20 yrs ago say how Ireland is today?! Ireland has made good progress and so have Malta! I've never experienced anyone threatening to arrest me in the middle of the street for wearing a short! Neither for wearing swimsuit in some places! There are some 'dull' and 'dirty' places, but one finds them in any country. Even in Ireland, in Scotland, Wales and England we have some of these places, unfortunately! So what do we do? Do we have to leave them in their present state and say to others not to come here since we have 'ugly' places or is it better if we try to rehabilitate these places? i will leave the judgement in somebody else's hands!!
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Hils
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25-01-2007 06:53 PM
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Joined: 03 Sep 2005
Posts: 629
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| Sorry to disagree but I'm with Mal on this one. As the saying goes, you either love Malta or hate it and I'm afraid me and hubby didn't like it one little bit and would never go back. I know some places have their grotty areas but to us, Malta and Gozo were just dirty and unfriendly and when we had a complaint with the hotel, the receptionist just laughed. I have friends who love the place and go back every year but Malta certainly wasn't for us.
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My Latest Review: Mar 2007 Iberostar Costa Dorada Hotel, Puerto Plata (9/10)
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davvo
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25-01-2007 07:12 PM
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Joined: 20 Nov 2005
Posts: 469
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| We were told you either love or hate Malta -- well i can only say how it was for us-- we had a great time it was the first time we went abroad and now Malta is a special place for us, not for everybody but there you go.
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My Latest Review: Sep 2007 Montechoro Hotel, Albufeira (8/10) + Photos
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dura229
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26-01-2007 06:00 AM
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Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 36
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| .... we're at par here..then! 2 like Malta and 2 hate Malta..we need the third voter then!!
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ron unsworth
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26-01-2007 09:47 AM
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Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 2598
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| Friends of ours went to Malta and came back saying it was like a bomb site. Well, it was bombed, and there's still a lot of evidence of that there. Nevertheless, the people are warm and welcoming. Food everywhere is cheap and good. The buses are old but cheap to get everywhere. The local beer is called Cisk a lager which is nice.
I've stopped in Marsascala which is a quiet village with a few shops and bars. Sliema is the busiest resort with loads of shops, cafes and bars.
Melheiha bay has the best beach as beaches are few.
In all, it is true, you either love it or hate it. For us we love it, look beyond the craters and you'll find a real olde fashioned charm.
One thing, don't miss the old walled city of mdina, it's a fascinating look at how the island was run in ancient times. The other thing is Vittorioso market, just outside Valletta.
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My Latest Review: Apr 2008 Diplomatic Hotel, Benidorm (10/10)
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Mal 54
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26-01-2007 11:05 AM
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Joined: 20 Aug 2004
Posts: 1687
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| duura you wouldnt be Maltese by any chance would you, you certainly know an awful lot about this Island, and are defending it like its your home, plus Ive picked up the fact that your English isnt 100%
As you say we have not visited Malta for 20+ but my brother and wife have a few years ago, they had the same impression as us.
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My Latest Review: Jun 2008 Blue Crane Aparthotel, Limassol (10/10)
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ron unsworth
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26-01-2007 01:06 PM
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Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 2598
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| Mal, You're expreience on being shouted at doesn't reflect the true charm of Malta's people. It was an unfortunate expreience for you, but we have idiots in this country too.
Overall, I think the island retains a charm as do it's people. Fair enough If you never want to go back. But I've had some wonderful times there, and will go back one day. The last time I went over there was for the Malta open snooker championship in the Jerma Palace hotel. It's the most beautiful hotel I've ever been in.
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My Latest Review: Apr 2008 Diplomatic Hotel, Benidorm (10/10)
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Mal 54
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26-01-2007 01:18 PM
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Joined: 20 Aug 2004
Posts: 1687
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| ron I'm entitled to my opinion the same as everyone else. You obviously like Malta I don't, end of story.
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My Latest Review: Jun 2008 Blue Crane Aparthotel, Limassol (10/10)
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dura229
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28-01-2007 06:36 AM
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Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 36
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| Mal, i'm 100% pure Irish! Certainly i know much about the island. I've been there an average of 20 times! Can i say so much, should i have visited Gozo for only once?! Of course i defend the island, its my second home now! We travel to Gozo almost twice yearly. Never mind! End of chapter and wish yuo all the luck Mal!
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ron unsworth
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28-01-2007 12:12 PM
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Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 2598
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| Hi: Mal, I do respect your opinion, as I stated earlier, we had friends who went there and didn't like it. So I wasn't being antagonistic with you. It's good to have conflicting opinions, If we all liked the same things, we'd all be going to the same places, though maybe not at the same time.
Best of luck to you on your travels.
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My Latest Review: Apr 2008 Diplomatic Hotel, Benidorm (10/10)
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