Imperial Hotel Reviews

Having never been to Malta before we decided to book into the Imperial Hotel at Sliema.

We booked bed and breakfast as we intended eating mainly at restaurants, because we would be exploring the island. Our room at the Imperial was basic but cleaned regularly and had a good, powerful air-con unit. I found the staff to be pleasant- as I did the Maltese people in general.

My one complaint would be the food. We ate at the hotel restaurant one night and were less than impressed by the meal; I would recommend a BandB booking if staying there and eating out at lunch and dinner-times. That being said, the hotel has plenty to recommend it- a quiet location slightly away from the sea front, a pleasant poolside area to relax and catch the sun in and a certain nostalgic charm- mainly in the communal areas. We were told that the WRNS has been stationed there during WWII, and that many return on holiday to see it again- indeed the whole feel of the hotel seemed to be from this era.

The bus to Valletta stops directly outside- though we hired a car for the week, (nowhere near as bad an experience as had been anticipated) which we parked outside the main entrance. Sliema is perhaps not the most pleasant part of the island, but St Julian's and Valletta are both easily accessible from it. I would thoroughly recommend anyone visit Malta- there are plenty of things to do and see- such a fascinating history. Regarding the Imperial- it's basic, but clean and an economical choice- as long as you are not expecting to get 5* treatment at a 3* hotel- it certainly has more than its fair share of returning customers. For us it made an ideal base to get out and explore the island. I will most likely be visiting Malta again soon as I really enjoyed it this time; though I will probably look to book somewhere in St Julian's next, as it is a little livelier than Sliema with better restaurants. Malta Direct were a good company to book with (owned by Air Malta) and were on hand to assist with any enquiries we had. The car was rented through Avis, who also were easy to deal with.

I can honestly say that this is one of the worst holidays that we have ever had.

We had visited Malta before (different area and loved it) but we were very glad that we were only at the Imperial for a week. It is a beautiful building, but sadly it cannot rely on this alone. The beds were stained, although sheets were clean, (no mattress protectors) Pillows lumpy and stained, chewing gum on the bedroom floor, atrocious bathroom - shower head so dirty, water barely came through, every where looked grubby, even down to the filthy stained chair.

We had various foreign objects in our food, ranging from plastic! hair! and fish scales - revolting to say the least. Some of the staff were very pleasant, others were downright surly, making us feel as though we were nuisances for actually staying there! The food was often recycled, with a very poor, cheap quality selection, we had to eat out in the end. It was not a cheap holiday as we went in October break, but if you are expecting a clean, relaxing holiday then please avoid Sliema, in particularly The Imperial Hotel!

After visiting Malta before in St. Pauls Bay, we were looking forward to our stay for a change in Sleima. There were some excellent boat trips, with Captain Morgan, and some really nice places to visit (Valetta,Rabat and Mdina to name but a few). We went on the Public buses which are a real experience not to be missed.Sleima however is dirty and litter ridden with loads of very sick looking feral cats.

The Hotel was a beautiful old building, but the standards left a lot to be desired. Dirty matresses with no mattress covers, hard pillows, and towels that should never have been put out (grey and dingy) The food was the worst we have encountered anywhere,(foreign objects in the food!) in fact, we ate out for half the holiday even though we had paid for half board. A couple of the staff were friendly enough, but some of them were outrageously rude, obviously hating their jobs. The entertainment was laughable, just there to say that the Hotel had entertainment, in fact some guests stayed out in the evening because of it.

So our advice would be not to go to The Imperial in Sleima, we should not have to put up with such low standards - so vote with your feet!

All i can honestly say of this `hotel` is dont go there. The rooms are extremly basic, the beds in our room (129) were made out of 2";x2"; wooden legs and plywood nailed on, both beds creaked keeping us both awake and the bathroom! dont even ask....

As for the resort rep, we recieved a hand written note on a scrap of paper, telling us to `report` to reception in another hotel for a holiday brief... They omitted to tell us which hotel and the rep was never seen or heard of again.

Breakfast consisted of the usual cereals, different types of breads, processed sliced cheese, sliced meat and small pots of jam. Ok for the first couple of mornings but became very tedious after this so we decided to eat out even though we were half board.

Evening meals were even worse. Supposedly offering a full three course menu, we usuall settled for the luke warm soup, a slice of bread, then off into the town for something more palatable.

Entertainment in the hotel was provided by a very elderly gentlemen playing a small upright piano. Described as `versitile` the only highlight was guessing how many mistakes he would make in a single tune. Guessess ranged from 5 upto 15 and we were usually guessed low!!!

This was genuinly a holiday from hell. I can only repeat `do not book into this hotel`, and be very wary of going to Sliema at all..Try St Julians, better food places, better bars, better night life, but dont quote me on it in case it all goes horribly wrong like our holiday.

The Imperial is a very nice place to stay at. The rooms are somewhat basic and certain elements of the hotel need a little refurbishment. However, the pluses far outweigh the minuses.

Reception staff were businesslike and quite afffable, all speaking English very well (2 of them were expats). The food was most acceptable with a decent choice for breakfast and dinner (but beware the starters - they are huge!). The restaurant staff were always courteous and helpful. The pool area was pleasant and well served by a bar and the public areas, although old fashioned (hence the title, Imperial Hotel) were very grand and ornate. The bedrooms are well served by cleaners who take a pride in their work; every time we came back, the room looked spotless with clean towels and neat beds. Most importantly for an August holiday, the air conditioning was a godsend and kept the temperature at a welcome 16 degrees.

There is a bit of a walk up from the main coast road around Sliema (about 15 mins) so the hotel may not suit those in a wheelchair. Next year, try to go to Sliema during the August Sliema Festa (first Sunday after the 18th). On the eve of the Festa we spent a great night following the band around the narrow streets, listening to a concert and watching the fireworks. There was a tremendous atmosphere.

The Sliema/St Julian's/St George's/Paceville area has something for everyone.

We travelled with Thomson and felt let down by them. Firstly, our flight was over 2 hours late meaning that we arrived at about 2 am. We were left a note telling us that the welcome presentation was at 9.30 the next morning in another hotel (The Park). However, we were given no directions on how to get there, and the locals did not know where it was, so we never got to it. We didn't see the rep all week as Thomson are cutting their costs by giving you a helpline number rather than having a member of their staff visit the hotel from time to time. Most disappointing; that was until we saved ourselves 10 Lira (about £18) by booking direct with Captain Morgan cruises for the round Malta trip rather than booking through the Thomson rep.

When will these companies learn?

Things you must do:

Find a festa
See Valletta
Sail around the island with Capt Morgan
Avoid driving (I would rather have my legs caught in threshing machine than endure half an hour at the wheel of a car in Malta)
Use the amazing bus service

I'm not sure that I would go to Malta again. The people there were genuinely fantastic and are the island's greatest asset. The island's infrastructure appears to be falling apart, however, and Malta needs a lot of investment if it wants to compete with all the other European resorts. It's also dusty and litter-strewn. It has an amazing history, though, and I have enjoyed learning about what is a fascinating place.