NEWS | Wednesday, 16 July 2008

Malta: Love or Loathe?

David Darmanin

Internet surfers visiting Malta this year have already submitted comments on what they most loved or loathed while on holiday, providing prospective visitors tips on what attractions are worth seeing and on others that should be avoided like the plague.
Tagging along another 23 million travellers hailing from 190 different countries, a considerable group of travellers this week wrote about their travel experiences in Malta on www.tripadvisor.com, an extensive travel portal covering reviews on over 300,000 holiday attractions worldwide.
Never mind Brand Malta, or the national fantasy of being perceived as a history-rich and European cultural hotspot. On Tripadvisor, Malta is still generally described as the quintessential “sun and fun destination”, a rock in the midst of the Med providing a sunny alternative to Britain, cheaper beer and restaurant menus purposely set to suit the non-Mediterranean type of palate.
Indeed. Replying to a user by the name of Sabina, who asked about where and what to eat in Malta, a user nicked “Loogi” commented: “I found food in Malta to be a bit cheaper than England. It does depend on what kind of restaurants you like but if you like pizza, pasta or chicken and chips you can eat quite cheaply. Malta is not really the place for fine dining (unless you go to a 5 star hotel), the food is really quite British, nothing very fancy! Drinks were definitely cheaper with spirits being great value as they seemed to be unmeasured in most places and were certainly on the generous side!”
This comment seemed to have kicked user Censu’s culinary pride in the stomach, answering: “…humbly beg to differ with Loogi. The bigger savings are probably when you go to good restaurants. Fresh fish (not English style but Mediterranean rather Italian) at 7 Liri for the main course ...
“I never willingly go to five star hotel restaurants (Except the Relais et Chateau Mdina) as they tend to be aimed at a universal audience of travellers - and Maltese. I like good food. Smaller places are more likely to deliver individuality in the cuisine they serve.
“PS: I do go eat at five star hotel restaurants whenever I’m invited and somebody else picks the tab. That’s how I sustain the opinions expressed above.”
There is very little doubt on Censu’s nationality.
On a more serious note, another user advised: “Just watch out. Just came over from UK, the flight was at 2.35 am. We went to the taxi booth and paid €22 to Sliema. As we arrived to the destination the cab driver said that it was just a deposit and we had to pay another €15.”
A reply by a different user on the same thread read: “Sorry, you got conned. If you pay in the taxi booth at the airport it’s the total cost of the journey. Unfortunately there are rip-off merchants all over the world, even in Malta.”
Leeroy, from Lancaster wrote: “Why-oh-Why are Maltese taxi drivers sooooo GRUMPY and MISERABLE?!!! Just got back from a fantastic holiday in Malta, but feel I must comment on this as they must realise that they are usually the first and last point of contact for foreign tourists and I feel they give a bad impression of the lovely Maltese people. If they were more pleasant they might earn a few more tips!!!!!”
On the other hand, various users on the thread were full of words of praise for a taxi driver named Kevin and his girlfriend co-driver, whose contact details were splashed all over in comments submitted by different users hailing from different countries.
“Buy your cigarettes in Malta, most UK brands available and at £3.00 a packet - so much cheaper providing you smoke a popular brand and they taste the same,” another user recommended.
After experiencing some genuine Maltese salesmanship, Hat776 replied: “There`s a tiny shop at the Ferries Sliema that sells cigarettes. He said that when Malta joined the EU and duty free shopping stopped the prices at the Airport and the shops are the same. He said that in Malta the price is much lower and that a couple told him that they had saved so much money on cigs that their air fare was covered! Must have been low cost I imagine.”
As a general rule, users seem to determine the over-all quality of their holiday by how satisfying their accommodation turns out to be. While a good number of users seemed to be forgiving after coming across a series of minor flaws at different hotels in Malta, one particular hotel in St Paul’s Bay was heavily criticised for its poor standard.
One comment read: “My first and last visit to Malta. The hotel was grim, the staff so exhausted that they couldn’t care less. We actually woke one up at the reception desk - in the middle of the day. There was a rather spectacular display of black mould growing out of the ceiling tiles in the hallways. We were not made welcome on arrival, nor given any information about the hotel or its surrounds. We were merely told which floor our room was on and what time breakfast was. This may be their idea of three stars, but in England, it certainly would not make that classification. Indeed, I believe it would actually be unclassified. I will be making representations to Malta Tourist Board to see how long ago they inspected this property. My advice, avoid it like the plague, or that might be what you come home with.”
On the same establishment, another user reported: “I don’t think the excuse of ‘you get what you pay for’ is valid, as I certainly hadn’t paid for mouldy ceilings and surly staff. The island itself, is not pretty, the coastline harsh, but Valletta and Medina were wonderful. I have given this (hotel) a ‘1’ rating, because I feel so sorry for our poor cleaner, and at least the breakfast toaster worked properly.”
Another insisted: “This was the worst hotel I have ever stayed at! There were cockroaches, fleas and stray cats all over the hotel! The restaurant was crammed and dirty! Food was awful and the headwaiter was a pervert! Other staff were too tired to be friendly! Rooms were attended to daily - but not cleaned properly! Bathroom was filthy and air-con didn’t work! Pool was dirty and glass bottles floating in it! NEVER AGAIN!”
Whereas such comments suggest that this hotel must have reached rock bottom, the place only ranked tenth worst of the 20 hotels reviewed in St Paul’s Bay.
Needless to mention, the last-placing is an absolute disaster, while it boasts to be of a four-star standard. “I’d rather be chained to an oar,” a reviewer noted. “If you never take any further advice from the internet take this, AVOID THIS HOTEL AT ALL COSTS, it gives a bad name to flea pit. It is dirty (cockroaches in bedroom), every thing and I mean everything is extra, TV remote, safe, fridge, Jacuzzi, sauna. The food is about as cheap as it gets, fatty, overcooked, and don’t be late or it will all have gone because there is not enough for the guests. The bathrooms and toilets are filthy, you have been warned, I stayed there, never again,” he added.

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