saga Malta Coastline hotel. Anyone stayed there?

Merrywidow

Thanks Kittie for that honest appraisal. It certainly sounds like a mixed bag of good and bad. I think I will cross it off my wish list. I am beginning to think you are better off at home in the winter with home comforts to soften blow of winter. Having said that in Tenerife last December everything was lovely. Just not having to shop, cook and clear up was a treat. The food was exceptional and I put on 4 pounds in two weeks. Enjoy the rest of your holiday. MW

shykins

kittie what a brilliant review and very honest. i did think that when this hotel went over to saga it would lose some of its appeal and seems i was right which is a shame cos we had such a great time there before it was saga,

i wouldnt choose malta in feb tho its not warm enough, if u want somewhere truly warm then egypt would be a better bet. we have been there quite a few times and love it, if i could i would spend the whole winter in el gouna lol

[Deleted User]

all in all I have been very put off flying anywhere in winter. People were coughing badly on the plane and that fits in with the time scale of my dh becoming ill. We would love to be at home right now, heating on, bowls of soup, Uk tv, witrose delivery. I have cought a cold/cough bug now and am doing all I can to avoid it getting worse. Dh is still coughing and now has sinusitis as well but I reckon we`ll both be ok to travel in 5 days.

I overheard someone talking today, saying that 9 people have been taken to hospital in the past fortnight. One lovely little, elderly lady got the doc for her dh the day before yesterday and he is in hospital. The poor love has to fend for herself re getting there (st julians) and back. I would dearly love to know what the actual illness figures are as imo there is a big cover up. I feel sorry for the people coming in and getting ill in 3-4 days

When we go, will our duvets and pillows be washed and sterilised? I doubt it and you wouldn`t want to be sleeping under my dh`s bedclothes after all his coughing and sweating, night after long night

missile

The air is recycled on a plane, so even in summer the risk of catching a cold or worse during the flight is quite significant.

seven-day-weekend

missile wrote: »

The air is recycled on a plane, so even in summer the risk of catching a cold or worse during the flight is quite significant.

One of the reasons we don't fly if we can help it. (Only one of the reasons though!).

My husband hates being anywhere near anyone coughing and spluttering - although he is fit he has in the past had pleurisy twice and pneumonia once, last year he had swine flu, so he is obviously susceptible to infection and likes to minimise the risk.

carpedieme

we went to malta in january of 2002 with my then thirteen year old daughter, the weather and coastline hotel was excellent ( though a little isolated )we used the old fashioned buses to travel round the island.

rapariga

Hi, Kittie -

Sorry to hear you are having such a miserable stay. I have booked two weeks in April and was planning to take my netbook. I e-mailed the hotel around ten days ago to ask if I would have internet access and this was the reply:

"We have Wireless internet however you need to purchase the WiFi vouchers from reception to be able to use your own computer. Please find below the prices for the WiFi vouchers:
1 hr voucher is € 7.69
24 hrs voucher is € 19.10"

I wonder if the hotel's policy has changed....

If you are able to shed any light on this, I will be more than grateful.

I thank you in advance.

macro_duck

Stayed at this hotel some years ago pre Saga and had a great week. OK it is a bit isolated but you had a courtesy bus and the service bus stopped outside. I would recommend a sea facing room as we had a rear facing with no view - worth paying extra for I think. Food was good and nightime entertainment in the bar was good as I recollect.

[Deleted User]

Right we are back, thank goodness

re night entertainment: they have a rolling programme of 7 days so if you stay longer then you have the same act over again. The bar area is basic, wooden floor, hard chairs and round tables. It got very stuffy, there is a view for 5 tables towards the sea at one end and needless to say they go quickly

The coastline isolation is a very big problem, the cavallieri was very accessible to many pleasant areas for strolling or sitting near the bay. The coastline only has the pool area for sitting outside and nothing outside the hotel. Cavallieri was massively more comfortable and more upmarket re lounge areas, dancing and entertainment areas etc.The country view was fine if you are floor 3 and above, at least it is sunny and it was plenty green enough

re wireless: you can log on in your room and the 1 hour vouchers are free. You just ask at reception

re illness: unfortunate for us but we heard via a reliable sourse that 9 people were taken to hospital just prior to us being there. One was in intensive care for a month. Don`t expect insurance to pay upfront as that isn`t the case. You have to pay and keep receipts etc so don`t travel without a credit card

re stars: the hotel is pretty basic and def not 4 star, however it is a good base for the able bodied who can hop from bus to bus. The curtesy bus has a high step and the hotel step is quite high so getting on or off at the hotel isn`t a problem. It was heart breaking to see some of the older, more infirm struggling to get off and on in Buggibba. They could not do it without being hoisted by other passengers. imo not good enough and saga should have ensured that the bus was accessible to all

edit: I forgot to mention the massive refuse tip just around the corner. Not a problem re smells when we were there but I should imagine that smells might be problematic in warmer months and it, perhaps, is a big cause of the fly situation

rapariga

Hi Kittie,

Thank you for all the information you have provided. I must say, though, that I'm not looking forward to my holiday as much as I was!