Hotel Santana - 147 rooms, fitness room, sauna, meeting rooms, bar, restaurant, large eating hall, lifts, rooftop swimming top with children's section, sun terrace, games room, luggage room (which came in very handy because of late flight!)
I'm not about disabled fascilities - but a hotel ... Read review
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Advantages: great food, brilliant service, lovely large bedroom rooms Disadvantages: little hotel entertainment, far from sandy beach
Hotel Santana - 147 rooms, fitness room, sauna, meeting rooms, bar, restaurant, large eating hall, lifts, rooftop swimming top with children's section, sun terrace, games room, luggage room (which came in very handy because of late flight!)
I'm not about disabled fascilities - but a hotel of that size and quality must have had some.
our rooms - balcony, ensuite, air conditioning, ceiling fan, hairdryer, basic satellite tv ...friendly and really accommodating. The hotel was about two minutes walk away for the long (1.5 mile) promenade which was made up of many shops, bars and restaurants. The promenade was really lovely to walk around and for those who like to gamble, there was a casino. The nearest beach was a shingle beach, so we had to get a bus to the nearest sandy beach. The buses were pretty cheap (sorry can't remember exactly how much) but it was a bit of a hassle ... more
Hotel Santana - 147 rooms, fitness room, sauna, meeting rooms, bar, restaurant, large eating hall, lifts, rooftop swimming top with children's section, sun terrace, games room, luggage room (which came in very handy because of late flight!) I'm not about disabled fascilities - but a hotel of that size and quality must have had some.
our rooms - balcony, ensuite, air conditioning, ceiling fan, hairdryer, basic satellite tv
The four star hotel, situated in Qawra at St Paul's Bay holiday resort was a pleasure to stay in. The staff were friendly and really accommodating. The hotel was about two minutes walk away for the long (1.5 mile) promenade which was made up of many shops, bars and restaurants. The promenade was really lovely to walk around and for those who like to gamble, there was a casino. The nearest beach was a shingle beach, so we had to get a bus to the nearest sandy beach. The buses were pretty cheap (sorry can't remember exactly how much) but it was a bit of a hassle getting to and from the beach. It was not a very cheap holiday, many of the prices were similar to London, especially bottled fizzy and alcoholic drinks.
The buffet breakfast and dinner was always delicious, when the menu was slightly too sophisticated (lots of fish and squid one evening) for the two teenagers, the waiters recommended alternatives which went down well. For evening dinner, smarter clothing was required. The food was geared towards a mixed European market and there was a lot of fresh fish on the menu because it is very popular in Malta and an important part of their economy. However, if you are offered a trip to the fish market it is not very exciting - when we went, there were a few fish heads floating around in the sea and that was it!
The rooms were generously sized, lovely clean bathrooms and the maids made sure the rooms were immaculate. The rooms were more spacious than other four star hotels were have stayed in. The rooms were tastefully decorated and the bathroom was very clean and the layout was just right.
However, the entertainment was practically non-existent. Malta quietened down considerably at night and is probably not suitable for the party people. We spoke to other couples who had visited Malta for a more party time but they had to accept the lack of active nightlife in the area around the hotel - there was one club and a few bars. The rooftop swimming pool would get very crowded because the sandy beach was about 20 minutes away in the bus.
I don't think there was even a children's club but we did not need it so we did not really enquire. For families like us, two adults and two young teenagers, it was perfectly safe to wander away the pretty small island at 10 to 11 pm and get ice cream!
We were lucky because travelling in August allowed us to have a night out at a big city feast day for their saint, the fireworks went on for hours and the finale was spectacular! If you have the opportunity, this event is amazing, there is a mini-fair selling all sorts of lovely nic nacs and lots of lovely snacks for sale. The fireworks completely outdid what many countries display at new year!
We saw most of the island in ten days - we went on many excursions and saw beautiful churches and lovely scenery. We visited the smaller islands of Gozo and Comino - the Blue Lagoon was beautiful. The film Troy was shot on Malta - and it was very nice to visit the same place Brad Pitt had been acting on the island of Comino!
We were actually really lucky because we got a last minute cheap deal and it cost about £300 per person for half board for ten days. We think ten days was the right number of days to see the island and relax. If we had stayed two weeks the teenegers would have gotten very bored because there was not a good entertainment programme in the evening.
We would recommend the hotel because of the lovely rooms, pleasant service and different food. However, the hotel visitors were mainly, older people, couples and families with older children.
Advantages: Very relaxing, quiet, not many children about Disadvantages: not a place to take small children!
I went to Malta a couple of years ago. IT was the last family holiday we had before us kids decided we had had enough (we only went that year because they were paying!). We stayed in Qwara near Buggiba. We were quite a way form the night life then, which is more in Buggiba itself. Instead we were in a hotel called the Santana. It's a four star hotel with a gorgous rooftop pool (free sunloungers, unlike in many of Malta's hotels). The day can be spent by there, or shops (only a few but nice touristy ones) are very close. There are some bars, but they tend to get busy and look quite seedy.
The Santana has a couple of restaurants and bars, with one bar being on the ground floor where there is plenty of room to sit outside and drink whilst still being able to listen to the entertainment inside (often piano player and singer ...
dippydi 23.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of General: Malta
Hotel Santana is located on the Qawra Peninsula, at St. Paul\\\'s Bay seaside resort. Decorated in warm Mediterranean style, the accommodation at the hotel is well equipped with modern amenities. All the rooms provide utmost comfort and some of them also offer open views. The in-house restaurants at Santana are elegant yet informal and serve a tempting variety of traditional Italian food and Mediterranean cuisine. Enjoying panoramic sea and country views in a mini roof garden atmosphere, guests can also take a dip in the pool.
