Hotel Bella Vista Reviews

dont expect 4* its more like 2* food was o.k. but limited choice its the first all inc. ive been on where no fresh fruit was included it had to be paid for,even tomato juice .
its so obvious the managment are trying to cut corners to maximise profit.
staff were well presented and good service though.theres nothing nice to look at around the hotel its very scruffy and sitting outside with drinks on an evenig is a nightmare with traffic hurtling past all the time be very carefull when crossing this road, we would never go back to this hotel.

besides these moans!malta is a lovely place the people are so friendly and theres loads of places to visit with fantastic bus service and very cheap.
beware of timeshare tricksters they are a nuicence and pester you all the time one of them became aggresive when i told him to get off.
the weather in feb is warm and makes a welcome break from our winter.

after reading the web site didnt know what to expect but found the food allright and staff very friendly rooms were clean spent a lot of time on roof top and out and about in malta no sign of rep at all till last day only problem we had was time share people in town square stopped five times in an hour there was plenty to do on a night time and entertaiment was okay as well went to gozo with the tour guide alliance would not recomend this firm at all they were very poor would go back to malta as people are lovely

There are people who will complain about anything and everything, and if I was one of those I would probably find lots to complain about.

";The food was rubbish."; Well, no it wasn't - it suffered from poor presentation, but if you ignore that, and accept the buffet (almost 'school dinners') delivery you will find that the food is quite good.
";There was limited variety on the menu."; So how do you provide choice AND something for everyone? Yes, there was beef on the menu most nights, but for some people that's all they will eat. The food was always edible, was not ";dried up"; and was not ";covered in the same tomato sauce."; The vegetables were prepared with a view to allowing Brits to indulge in the national past-time - complaining about the veg. and only once did we have superb mediterranean style vegetables - and the Brits complained! The potatoes were not ";awful"; - they were double cooked, semi-sauteed/roasted with herbs and were not boring british boiled.

";Breakfast was bad."; Not when we went! A choice of cereals, meats, cake, cheese plus scrambled and fried eggs, tomatoes, sausage, toast (that was toasted to order on a rotary machine, which was a darn sight quicker than some I've experienced) every day. Juices, coffee and tea ad. lib.
";You have to queue to get to the dining room"; - only if you insist on going to dinner 30mins before they close!
";There are only 37 sunbeds for 157 rooms."; - No, there are more sunbeds than will fit round the pool and more upstairs on the roof terrace.
";The place was never 4*"; Well no perhaps not - maybe 3.75* or perhaps 3.175* or .... what does the odd star here or there mean? It was clean, the rooms were cleaned regularly, the air conditioning DID work (if you gave it a chance). OK, the cool box didn't work effectively, but we were warned against hiring it by the reception staff.

";The pool was small"; - perhaps, but we had no problem using it in the height of the season.
There's a super, quiet (if the kids aren't being allowed by their undisciplined parents to splash water everywhere!) roof terrace with a 'compact' jacuzzi and occasional evening (fairly cringeworthy) entertainment.
";The hotel was on a busy junction."; There was a T-junction outside (with an apalling, but interesting, pot hole to catch the unwary or uncaring driver)

";The staff were unfriendly."; NO. The staff were polite and helpful, having to enact the money-saving tactics of the management. OK, Oliver might have been a little overzealous in his position as head of the fruit police, and Dracula took a while to smile, but at the wages they were on, I'm surprised they were able to smile. The younger boy staff were a cross between friendly and surly youth (we have those in Britain, don't we?), and they did get up my nose at times. But even the management were as helpful as they could be within the same parameters.
There is NOT dog excrement everywhere on the back route into town (there are very few dogs!)

";Long walk to Bugibba centre"; not if you used the back door (up to 5.30pm), found the short cut (out of the hotel, turn right, past the restaurant on the corner, through the walkway under the building on the right - and you end up down the way from the back door. Bit more difficult to find on the way back with a few bevvies inside you!) or used the hourly courtesy bus.

Bugibba is a bit like Weston-super-Mare, Southend or any number of tacky British resorts in an oven, but it's not a bad resort - jewellry, glass, 'souvenirs' pound shop (sorry, 1 lira shop), bars, casino.
With no sand (and the sand there is is inhabited by sand flys) the locals set out their towels anywhere - on the slipways, the rocks etc.. leaving the boats to push semi-naked bodies out of the way to embark and disembark.
Traveling by Maltese bus is 'fun'and seemingly disorganised, but its cheap and it gets you there.
Trips are always cheaper booked direct than through the hotel reps. Just go down to Bugibba for a 40% - 60% reduction.
Must trips are Mosta Cathedral, Mdina and Rabat, Valetta and Comina (although there is possibly too little space for the dozens of boats and hundreds of people who visit)
There are probably better hotels and better resorts on the island, but regards value for money at Bella Vista - you get what you pay for.

A tip to keep your battery charger and the air conditioning working when you're out of the room - take a piece of wood or plastic 25mm x 6mm x 65mm with you and insert it after the maid has cleaned the room! (I've only just realised, that's why they weld the key ring up - to stop you taking the 25mm x 6mm x 65mm key tag off!)

Oh and one more thing to be wary of - the guys inviting you to sample the delights of Salina (timeshare) resort. They've visited your home town and know the street you live in (yeah right!) They have two piles of free draw envelopes. The wife gets the free wine and the husband gets the star prize jewellry, which the wife is supposed to persuade him to accept. The couple get driven off to the resort in order that you can claim your free gift and the guy can claim his £2/£10 reward so he can go home (you're his last customer that night/day) never to be seen again until the sun goes down!!! Don't be stupid enough to fall for it. Even though the web reports of the complex are good, why do they have to sink to such low tactics to get people in?

just got back from bella vista the hotel
it is clean and modern
it is on a busy main road and they have just started building opposite pile driving starts at apprx 6 30

the food can best be described has motorway service station frozen vegtables and turkey roll type meats
the only thing they seem to cook fresh is potatoes the bread is normaly hard
if you want fresh fruit or yogurt it is extra ive never known this anywhere else
the fridge is extra but it works from the same plug has tv so goes of when you leave the room
dinner starts at 1745 and finishes at 2000 of a weekend if you are still in the dining room at 2030 you have to pay a suppliment of approx £5
it is about 15 minutes walk to the main part through dirty back streets or about 45 on the main road with a very narrow pavement
this is a 4 star hotel in name only even at dinner you have paper napkins
for a hotel that boasts 157 rooms ours had 4 beds there is only 37 sunbeds around the pool
most rooms only have a view of a wall or someone elses balcony

you have to queue to get in the dining room and to get served with your food twice we had eaten our dinner before getting a drink
all the hotel seems interested in is getting more money from you there are loads of kids space invader type slot machines

all in all i would not recomend this hotel especially now they have started building right opposite

I have been going to Malta with my parents for nine years now and we have always stayed at the White Dolphin apartments in Qawra.

This year, I took my girlfriend to Malta and we decided to stay at the Hotel Bella Vista. We had actually booked the Buggibba Holiday Complex, but then I became aware of this site and after reading the reviews I was soon back at the Travel Agents to enquire about changing our accommodation.

Unfortunately, the alternative options were pretty limited and I ended up choosing the Bella Vista despite the reviews on here not being the best.

Firstly, Malta is a great place - the people are - on the whole - very friendly, the weather is unbelievably hot and sunny in the summer months and there is a good choice of restaurants in Qawra and Buggiba. I have been surprised at some people claiming that Malta is a very dirty place - let me asure you, that while it may not be completely 100% immaculate, it is by no means 'dirty'. The one thing you will notice in Qawra/Buggiba is the amount of developments (apartments etc) that have been started and not completed - I often think how much money has been wasted on these unfinished preojects.

If you see any sort of litter anywhere it's likely to be bits n bobs thrown into these building site type areas. But as I say - all in all, Malta is very good cleanliness wise and that's from someone who's been going for nine years.

It's true that some of the pavements are pretty narrow and you'll have to walk in single file - i.e. the one leading to and from the bella vista but if you go left from the hotel, the pavement soon widens out. The same is true if you go right as well and this is the way to go if you want to get to the square in Bugibba quickly. However, follow the pavement left from the front of the hotel and you'll soon reach a variety of restaurants and min markets and the like. For the young ones there's a club called Fuego down this way, which seems really popular - didn't head in ourselves though - maybe next time.

For food, we ate dinner mostly in Luzzu - a fab restaurant with fair prices, some nice sea-view tables and attentive staff. We tended to eat breakfast and lunch at the White Dolphin Apartments (the Il Garra - the restaurant/bar attached to the apartments and independently owned by William offer good food too).

One thing I have noticed about Malta this year is the number of boy racers who seem to be going about! All the young ones are out in force with the neons on and exhausts blaring - perhaps I'm noticing this more as I get older but I swear I don't remember it being so prominent before this year. Not a problem as such but I fear if the police don't start to act on the idiots driving too fast, there will be serious accidents.

Now - on to the Bella Vista hotel!!

I was nervous about what it would be like given some of the reviews on here but the main thing for my gf and I was that it was clean. When we arrived at the Hotel after a 3.5 hrs flight from Glasgow, we were informed by the female receptionist that our room wasn't ready yet and that it would be ready in 15mins. 'Here we go I thought' but I bit my lip and got us both a drink from the bar. I decided to head up to our room on the fifth floor to see if it was nearly ready. The lifts are nice and clean and when I got to my room I asked the maid cleaning the room next door if my room was ready....'about 1 hr was the reply'!!! I then explained that my gf and I had just arrived and she very kindly started on our room right away and let us put our luggage in our room so we could go and do our own thing (we arrived at 12.30pmish).

The room is a good size. The wardrobe has some hangers and all of the furnishings are in good condition and clean. There is also a hairdryer attached to the wall which was good and you can use it for free obviously. The bathroom was clean as were the towels. You are supposed to put a hanger type 'clean my room' sign on your door handle if you want your room cleaned - we never bothered but the maids came in every day and made our beds and gave us fresh towels - this was good. However, not once did they actually clean the floor and when you're coming in from the beach everyday etc it doesn't take long for the floor to get pretty grubby. I had to ask the maid to clean the floor and behind the beds about 4 days in and even then it was only half done.

Later on the day of our arrival, I decided to eat a cake I had taken with me from the inflight meal! I put the cake case on my bedside table and my gf and I dosed off. When I awoke an hour later I turned to find the cake case absolutely covered in ants with a long trail of ants going down the side of the bedside table to the balcony outside! I shiver thinking of it now. We killed them all and shut over the balcony door but I was paranoid for the rest of the holiday. I always made sure that the balcony door was shut as there were always ants moving around outside - horrible!! I didn't think the hotel would or actually could do much so I didn't see my rep or anything - plus I din't want the hassle.

I then decided to go to reception and pay 5lira (about £8) for the key to cool box in my room so we could keep water and biscuits in it etc. The same female receptionist from earlier said I would need to come back after 8pm! I don't know how I kept my cool but I did! 8pm came and I was informed by the male now on reception that I shouldn't actually expect the cool box to keep anything cold because it's very hot outside! He advised me to get a pint glass of ice from the bar and place that in alongside the water and biscuits in the cool box! It would be unfair to say that it didn't work at all but all I can say is it was very very poor - we bought a multipack of 6 btls of water from the local mini market and only drank 2, choosing instead to buy ourselves small bottles of COLD water when out and about. My advice would be the cool box is a waste of time and don't bother with it.

Food - I can't comment on. We were half board but after heading down for breakfast on the first morning, I decided I did'te like the look of it and we went elsewhere -you may like it however.

The staff on reception and at the bar aren't all that friendly but I guess I'm used to having people around me who I know at the White Dolphin. Nonetheless, It doesn't take much to smile and have a joke or two.

Our view from the balcony was privately owned aprtmnents straight ahead, a car junk yard to the right and a building site to the left - however, there was no noise from the site waking us up or anything during our week there.

The key to getting to the square in Bugibba quickly (you'll find most of the shops and bars here) is to turn right when you leave the hotel. You'll soon come across the EMPIRE cinema all lit up - head up by it and you'll soon find yourself in Bugibba. You can also go left at the hotel where the walk will take you about 30-40 mins. This sounds a lot but you'll pass lots of eateries and entertainment venues on the way, you'll enjoy the nice coastline walk and you might even choose to get a horse drawn carriage ride down to the square. One word of advice here - HAGGLE. When you ask how much to the square? you'll be offered a 'lovely ride around bla bla bla' we just wanted a ride to the square - the first time we paid about 9LIRA (£15 approx) but the next night with a different horse we decided to haggle. We were quoted 10 lira, we said no, we were then quoted 9lira, we said no, said 7lira? he said 8lira, we started to walk and hey presto....we got it for 7!!!!(£10 odds).

Going back to the room again - the aircon didn;t seem very good - cold air definately came out but it didn;'t seem to chill the room as such. It was nowhere near as good as I had been hoping for so this was definately a big letdown as in Malta's summer heat - good aircon is essential if you're to get a decent sleep at night - especially after a day of sunbathing when you'll probably be really hot anyway.

One really good point about the hotel though, is the indoor pool and jacuzzi. They were generally pretty quiet and we spent hours in the jacuzzi - sooooo relaxing. There are also sun loungers down here (no sun though) and there is a fitness room which we tried out too - all really good!

so.....if you've booked the bella vista already and are wprrying you've made the wrong choice I'd say this... it's defo not a 4 star hotel - maybe a 3 I'd say. There will be things that annoy you - probably the things I've listed above! but you could go and love the place! Personally, I wouldn't go back and I think I'll stick to Thomson or Thomas Cook as I don't really rate Airtours. If you're thinking of booking the bella vista I'd be inclined to say don't - there must be better out there for the money - the Whitedolphin is only one example (I also like the look of the Coastline! mmmmmm).

Nest of luck with the choice!

Martin