Hotel Serena Beach Club, Xlendi

...service, 30LM for parking on hotel property and 10LM for use of the TV (refundable). We decided to park in the street, which was problem free despite dire warnings of 50LM parking fines, so paid "only" 100LM (approx £165).

The owner, Joe Wella, who runs the reception, also tried to pressure us into taking half board (we were self catering) for 30% off but he wouldn't say how much (he offered 50% off to another British couple ...
...checking in despite asking the hotel manager (who told us to ask Joe). On checking out, finally, Joe's wife gave us a handwritten receipt which was blank.

Even locals paled when you told them where you were staying - the common refrain was don't let them have your credit card!

The hotel itself is set into the hillside overlooking Xlendi bay. The basement floor (-1) and extension are still under construction, so the indoor ... more

Having seen a couple of worrisome reviews elsewhere about overcharging, we'd decided to deal only in cash and had expected to need to fork out about 45 LM on checking in (On top of already paying for the accommodation and the Interval exchange/booking fees which ran into hundreds of pounds). So when we arrived, it was a bit shocking to be asked to hand over 130LM - nearly three times as much. This was broken down (from memory) as 48LM utility fee, 42LM (6LM a day) maid service, 30LM for parking on hotel property and 10LM for use of the TV (refundable). We decided to park in the street, which was problem free despite dire warnings of 50LM parking fines, so paid "only" 100LM (approx £165).

The owner, Joe Wella, who runs the reception, also tried to pressure us into taking half board (we were self catering) for 30% off but he wouldn't say how much (he offered 50% off to another British couple who checked in the same day but didn't give them a figure either). He also said that Visa give him a special exchange rate that was 30% better than usual, in order to try to get our card details. This kind of thing continued throughout. We didn't manage to get a receipt for the money paid on checking in despite asking the hotel manager (who told us to ask Joe). On checking out, finally, Joe's wife gave us a handwritten receipt which was blank.

Even locals paled when you told them where you were staying - the common refrain was don't let them have your credit card!

The hotel itself is set into the hillside overlooking Xlendi bay. The basement floor (-1) and extension are still under construction, so the indoor pool, gym etc don't yet exist. The current reception on floor 0 (below ground level at the rear) was awful - paper hanging off the walls, filthy carpet, and the whole floor smelt of damp (complete with stalactites on the ceilings) - not great at instilling confidence since this is the first bit you see.

The rooms are spacious and reasonably well appointed. However only a few of the rooms have views - mostly on the 3rd floor and above due to other buildings being in the way. There is airconditioning in the bedroom which has to be left on 24/7 as you aren't allowed to touch the controls.

However there were more problems. Firstly the bed clothes were ancient and too small for the bed so they'd ping off leaving you to lie on the bare mattresses. The bedroom and bathroom window open out onto internal shafts which are very good at carrying noise. Ours opened out by the restaurant and pool so the thrice weekly cabaret (Weds, Fri and Sat) made the rooms unihabitable.

Then to the daily maid service - for just shy of £10 a day the maid would pull the bedspread back over the bed, empty the bin under the sink , change the towels and spray air freshener around liberally. We had to complain to Joe to get any cleaning done, even though he said this should have been included - the sink and bath were wiped (they never touched the toilet), and the table top and work top also wiped the day after but only that.

The hotel has a lovely aspect and the sunroof is one of the only places to sunbathe in Xlendi. The pool is nice if very chemically.

We never ate out in the hotel restaurant as I wasn't keen on giving them any extra money after being cleaned out on the first day and was wary of letting them see any cards. Local restaurants are good - Il-Terrazzo, It-Tmun and Hotel St Patrick are particularly recommended. For sightseeing and snorkelling we found Ted's boat trips to be great fun.

In all, I'd definitely return to Xlendi, but I'm not sure if I'd return to the Serena. The worry over charges and level of service marred what could have been a really fantastic holiday. It's a shame as it could be a fantastic place to stay without the wildly variable and quite frankly extortionate pricing structure applied by Joe to his Interval exchange guests. 

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