Alexandra Hotel - Saint Julian, Malta     

We have spent 3 nights at Alexandra hotel at the end of May. The main reason for choosing this hotel was location and availability. Hotel location is superb. Just around the corner from the hotel, there are many restaurants, bars, shops, a bus stop and a rocky beach. Even though this beach was full of broken glasses and rubbish, people were swimming, fishing and sunbathing there. St Julian's area was very lively at night but we didn't hear any street noise from our hotel room. 5 minutes down the road, promemade path leading to Silema begins. Our twin room on the second floor had a balcony facing the street, not much of a view there. The room was spacious but very run down with no soundproofing. This hotel was full of loud youngsters (late 10s to early 20s). People were banging, slamming doors and talking in the corridors throughout the night and morning. Even though we couldn't hear anything from the nearby busy street, the noise within the building was a problem. Beds were old and soft but comfortable enough. Bed sheets were old and grey- they looked at least 10 years old. Bathroom was spacious but again very old. Probably it was clean but because it was so rundown and rusty everything looked dirty. Only a couple of cheap mini soap bars were provided so it was good we brought our own shampoo & shower gels etc. Breakfast was simply disgusting. Stale bread, cheese, ham, hot food including scrambled eggs & bacon looked off colour. Breakfast room was ugly, dirty, full of loud people. We felt like we were at a cheap hostel rather than a 3 start hotel. We didn't have breakfast at the hotel after the first attempt. Every morning at 9am, a maid knocked and opened the door at the same time, asking if we needed a cleaning service on the day. It was quite annoying! There was only one receptionist at a time. Each time we had to wait about 5 minutes to retrieve our room key as the receptionist on duty was always on the phone. Checking-in and out took a while as one staff was dealing with 3 different guests as well as answering the phone. Staff were friendly but wouldn't say they are efficient! The mordern Portmoso complex by the marina is within 5 minutes walk from the hotel. Restaurants there offer excellent food, a lovely view of marina and friendly service. Pricey but worth it. Overall, this hotel certainly provides a great location but nothing else. Everything is just so old and rundown. It would've been better off staying at a hostel.

Hotel centrally situated for St Julian's bay and Paceville nightlife. Despite this not too noisy. Air-con rooms good but beds rather hard. TV only 1 English channel (BBC World) - surprise for Malta. Very small balcony. Bath water brown tinged but not harmful. Bonuses are good rooftop pool/lounging area and sun terrace and downstairs bar/lobby area. Staff very friendly. Brakfast buffet OK. Boiled eggs and 1 of scrambled/fried, sausages (good), bacon (fatty), toms, beans, bread/rolls, preserves, fruit (melon), processed cheese/mystery meat slices, cereals, tea, coffee, juices. Dinner buffet (unlimited) very good (add-on ?10 for B/B tarriff). Soups, salad, pasta, fish, meat courses and top-notch desserts. All in all - worth the bucks. Gozo full-day excursion unmissable - totally different from Malta. Also Valletta city and Grand Harbour area great one day walking tour.