Bella Vista Hotel, Malta

...we arrived back at the Bella Vista they checked us in fairly efficiently but there was no real friendliness about it as there had been in the Dolmen. I was ready for a few choice words with them about the fact we'd been shipped off and decided that as the spokeman of the group I was going to accept nothing less than all-inclusive. To be fair, they had already decided that we were going to get this and this seemed fair compensation to us so we were ...
...FACILITIES:

The Bella Vista wasn't badly equipped, just not as well equipped as the Dolmen! In the lobby there were four computers where you could connect to the Internet (you had to pay for it at reception). Also in the lobby there was a seating area with a TV which seemed to have a constant stream of English football on! There was a shelf of books which you could borrow from although we didn't as we each seem to have brought our ... more

On a girls holiday to Malta in the summer, we booked this hotel as part of a package deal. Unfortunately (or fortunately as it turned out!) when we arrived we were told that they had overbooked the hotel and that we were being moved to the Dolmen Hotel (see review) for the first four nights of our 7 night holiday. We were annoyed as we didn't know what the Dolmen was going to be like (excellent as it turned out).

LOCATION:

The hotel's address is: Qawra Coast Road, Qawra St. Paul's Bay SPB 1908, Malta.

It is located in Qawra, which is close to Bugibba (a much more lively town.) It is within walking distance of Bugibba town centre but it was a bit of a trek. The name, 'Bella Vista' is certainly somewhat misleading! I think you could see the sea from a couple of places in the hotel but most of what we could see consisted of other buildings and cranes.

There is a bus stop outside the hotel which has a bus to Valetta once an hour (and the reception staff were not helpful about knowing what time each hour!).

PRICE:

I'm not sure how much this hotel was supposed to have cost as it was part of our package but we paid around £320 for the holiday as a whole, including half board. On their website prices for the hotel in August are between £50-70 per night. The hotel can be found on lots of discount hotel websites so I would definitely check those out before booking.

CHECKING IN

The reception staff were not particularly helpful and certainly did not seem as bothered as we were that we were being taken to another hotel. When we arrived back at the Bella Vista they checked us in fairly efficiently but there was no real friendliness about it as there had been in the Dolmen. I was ready for a few choice words with them about the fact we'd been shipped off and decided that as the spokeman of the group I was going to accept nothing less than all-inclusive. To be fair, they had already decided that we were going to get this and this seemed fair compensation to us so we were quite happy.

THE ROOM:

The key was a traditional key, with a big fob which you had to insert into a box inside the room to get the electricity and air-conditioning going. This annoyed us slightly as it meant that the rooms were baking when you went into them and took a long time to cool down as the a/c wasn't that efficient. As we had two rooms between us we took it in turns to have the others' room key in our slot so that we could leave the a/c on. (I know, its to help the environment and I agree that its a good idea for lights etc - but it really was very hot!).

The decor of the room was not to my taste but it was ok. The bed covers and all the furniture were a blue and yellow check, with blue striped curtains to match. The furniture, including the headboard, was all made of wood, but it was a bit old-fashioned looking. There was a bedside locker on both sides, a wardrobe, a small table with two chairs and a long dresser. There was a television with some English channels, although the selection was pretty poor. We had a balcony which overlooked the pool but we only used it as a place for drying our bikinis!

The bathroom was very big for the size of the room. The shower was powerful and the bathroom came with the usual selection of shampoos etc. There was also a hairdryer in the bathroom. There were no tea or coffee facilities in this hotel which surprised me as most of the clientele was British, although I heard that these could be hired from reception.

The beds were fairly comfortable and there was extra bedding provided if you wanted it.

FACILITIES:

The Bella Vista wasn't badly equipped, just not as well equipped as the Dolmen! In the lobby there were four computers where you could connect to the Internet (you had to pay for it at reception). Also in the lobby there was a seating area with a TV which seemed to have a constant stream of English football on! There was a shelf of books which you could borrow from although we didn't as we each seem to have brought our own mini-library! There were two cafe/bars downstairs. One which seemed to be more of a bar, was never open, and the other served snacks and had a selection of cakes (which looked repulsive!) as well as drinks.

The main pool was on the ground level. We did not venture in for a few reasons. One, it was always full of kids and blow up sharks/crocodiles *insert other marine animals of your choosing and they would have been there!*. Two, there was a huge wall surrounding it on one side and the hotel itself was on the other so the chance of catching any sun was minimal. Three, there were so few deck chairs that any hope of getting one after about 5am was unrealistic! I was annoyed at not really being able to use the pool as I'm a real water baby. I know I could have used it but as I couldn't have sunbathed there the hassle of then going all the way back to the roof terrace did not appeal. Also all the children round the pool splashing and the whole pool being taken up by various inflatables would have irritated me (don't get me wrong - I love children - I'm a teacher but I go on holiday to do something different than I do every day!). A separate childrens pool would have been perfect.

In the basement there was an indoor pool, gym, sauna and jacuzzi but we didn't visit these as the idea of being inside on such beautiful sunny days was just silly! There was also a salon in the hotel but we didn't visit this either so I can't comment.

We spent most of our time on the roof terrace. Here there were deck chairs for the day, and then tables and chairs for the night. There was a jacuzzi but we were all far too hot to use this. This was actually quite a nice place to sunbathe. There was a bar up there which was great, especially during the day when there were few people up there and they knew our orders by heart! The terrace never really got crowded, I think because it was too hot for most. There was a covered part for those who were baking too quickly, and it was nice to sit in the shade just to cool down for a few minutes. We spent all three of our evenings in the hotel up on the terrace, taking advantage of our all inclusive upgrade. On the last evening there was karaoke (which I think is a weekly feature). We really got into this and only two other people got a look in all night. We're not normally the type for karaoke but holidays do something strange to you and it was good fun!

THE FOOD:

The food was definitely not Michelin Star standard. The dishes were very disappointing after the yummy meals we'd been served at the other hotel.

Breakfast consisted of full English, toast, some cereal (although a very poor selection), tea, coffee and juice. It was very greasy if you had the cooked and left us feeling queasy when we went for an early excursion one day!

Lunch and dinner were again poor. The food was stodgy and bland. There was a salad bar which wasn't too bad, and then a choice of hot dishes, with soup to start. Most of the food was English and this was catering for the majority of the guests, although I would have much preferred a bit of variety and a taste of local food. For desert there was a selection of cakes and pies or you could ask for ice-cream (although this wasn't advertised and we only found out from someone else).

The dining room staff were helpful and friendly enough. The meals were all buffet style so they only ever dealt with the drinks and the clearing away (and the ice-cream if you'd discovered it!).

Another issue with the dining room was that there was often a queue to go in and this could be a long wait. I probably wouldn't have noticed as much if it hadn't been for walking straight in at the Dolmen every time.

If you were full board or all-inclusive and heading out for the day you could order a packed lunch. Please don't get excited, it was awful. Some dry bread with ham or cheese, a piece of fruit and some cake. It filled a hole on our trip but no more than that.

CONCLUSION

The hotel's website claims this is a four star hotel. It isn't by any means. It's three at best. Perhaps this would have been a more favourable review if we hadn't seen the other hotel, but I don't think so. The hotel was very much geared for the 'Brits abroad' market, the food and the football on constantly showed this. I would say that it's good as a base to explore but its location cuts this out. However, having said all its bad points, it was very clean, and I'm sure the pool was good if you could get near it. Overall, not recommended.

FASCINATING FACT: The hotel contains a car museum in its basement! 

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