Preluna Hotel Towers Reviews

The Preluna is a very well-managed hotel. The staff are well-trained, efficient, helpful and friendly. The reception staff in particular were outstandingly good. We booked one of the basic rooms. The large picture-window gave no view and there was no balcony, but the room was a good size, and had plenty of storage space. (The full specs for the various grades of room are given on the hotelâ??s website.) The beds were OK and the bathroom fine. We developed a dripping pipe, but this was fixed promptly by the hotelâ??s in-house maintenance engineer. The hotelâ??s various facilities all seemed well run, except for the Preluna Towers Cafe, where the staff though aimiable seemed to have little idea of what their individual jobs were. The buffet breakfasts in the Triton Restaurant covered all the conceivable requirements for a full British, a full German and a full French. The quality of the inidividual items varied, but it was not difficult to have a large and enjoyable breakfast. There were lots of Germans and Brits tucking in, and plenty of Italians and French too. We were on B & B, so we ate out in the evenings for the first five days, but though we found pleasant restaurants with ambience and good service, the food was not outstanding and it was quite expensive. The price of the all-you-can-eat evening buffet in the Triton was 15.75 Euros, and other guests enthused about it, so we decided to ask Reception if we could switch to half-board. This took about a minute to arrange, and the additional cost was only 12 Euros pppn â?? remarkable value, considering that it was easy to enjoy a six course meal of soup, pasta, various salads, a main course, desserts and fresh fruit if you so desired. Again the quality was uneven, but there were always some triumphs, and the carvery option in the main course was uniformly excellent. It was also a pleasant surprise when the drinks list turned out to be considerably cheaper than the prices outside, eg. a half-carafe of very pleasant local white wine was only 3 euros. There are ATMs just outside the hotel on both sides, a supermarket a block to the rear, bus stops just outside, and the shops start about 200m away. There is a busy main road just outside the hotel, and beyond that the sea, which is wonderfully transparent and a beautiful colour, and easy of access for swimming, or sunbathing on the rocky shelf running along the coastline.. But too cold to tempt us in early May.

Just returned from a week's stay at The Preluna. I have never stayed in a 4* hotel before so I can't compare it to any other. Although a decent hotel, it appeared no different from some 3* accommodation that I have stayed at in other countries.

We stayed in a Family Suite on the 5th floor of the block. The room was clean but in need of refurbishment. The room consisted of two bedrooms and one bathroom which led off the first bedroom. Access to the 2nd bedroom was via the first so we had to walk through the 1st bedroom to reach the bathroom. This is OK if you have small children but could be really awkward if four adults are sharing the suite.

Facilities in the suite were basic and sparse. There is only one wardrobe which was in the 2nd bedroom. There wasn't one in the first, only drawers of which there were none in the second room which also had no mirror or plug sockets. This was quite annoying as we had to keep going into each others rooms. So much for privacy! Our daughters are 13 and 17 with the youngest getting rather embarrassed with us walking through her room all the time.

There was a fridge/minibar in the 1st room but this didn't work. We informed reception on arrival but it still wasn't working when we left so no cold drinks for us. The aircon was insufficient. It barely worked. We had to keep the ceiling fans on whilst in the rooms as it was so hot. The fans are really noisy so it is worth investing in a pair of earplugs if you want to remain cool and sleep at night!

As we were at the back of the hotel we had a 'city view' which was mainly a view of the other side of the hotel plus a half built construction. If we stood on the far left of the balcony we did get a 'city view'!

The Spa pool is small but quite relaxing. It was pretty quiet most times. It was very stuffy in there though and you do need to take your own towel unless you are all inclusive.

The Triton restaurant was fine although some tables are a little bit close together. It is best to go early or late as it can get rather busy and you may have to queue to get a table. The food was good. Lots of choice with a different theme each evening. During busy breakfast times they were short of teaspoons, cups and glasses but after 10 mins or so they were replaced. Our daughter has Coeliac Disease which means that she has to have a special diet. We met with the catering manager who was really helpful and said that if there wasn't anything that she could eat at dinner they would provide an alternative. Luckily, she managed to find something each evening even if it was a little repetitive.

We had no problems with the lifts but they are small and slow. They will nearly always stop at every floor. Do visit the Sea view lounge on the 13th floor of the block. It is empty during the day and you get fantastic views of Sliema, Valletta and St Julians. The sun terrace on the towers block also gives great views and the chance to sunbathe. It does get very hot though and there is little shade.

We briefly visited the outdoor pool but weren't very impressed. It is quite small and rather tatty. Also the golf on the roof isn't great and they also don't tell you that you have to pay for it until you check out. It was 2 or 3 LM per person. Not worth the money.

The Preluna is in a great part of Sliema though. Although Tower Road appears rather busy it is much quieter than Sliema Creek/Harbour. The buses stop not far from the hotel which is great for getting around.

Beware of Time Share touts (Yellow or blue t-shirts saying Beach Club on the front) outside the hotel who pretend to work for the Preluna. We were approached by one who said that he was promoting the Preluna and showed us a card not unlike the ones used by the hotel to enter the rooms. He reeled off a list of travel companies (but not the one we were with which appeared odd if he worked for the hotel.) He said that part of the hotel (the block) was closing in October to be refurbished and that they were running a special promotion and if we went with him to look at the new rooms, over the road, we could have a free meal, drink and £200 worth of vouchers off our next holiday. We thought this odd as no-one form the hotel had mentioned this and the hotel had no buildings 'over the road.' He said that we needed to go with him there and then as he was finishing in 15 mins time. We declined his 'offer' and carried on with our plans. Needless to say when we returned an hour later he was still there. Be warned. Don't fall for it.

As we were half-board we had the majority of our meals in the hotel but had some nice lunches out. I would recommend Time Square, next to the hotel, and TGI Fridays over the road in the fort.

You must take a trip on the old buses. They are brilliant uncomfortable but great fun. They are going to be removed from early next year when Malta goes over to the Euro due to health and safety issues so make the most of them. The new ones aren't the same.

Take a trip into Valletta and visit The Upper Barracca Gardens. Fantastic views over the Grand Harbour. We went on our own but there are lots of trips organised by the travel companies. We visited a Festa, great fun but it goes on a little too long. There are only so many fireworks you can watch.

Would I go back to Malta? Most definitely. Would I go back to The Preluna? Probably but I would go for an upgraded room with a sea-view next time.

Stayed in the 'old' Preluna building (not the Towers). Found the accommodation comfortable and clean. The towels are changed every day and the bed line 3 times in the week we were there. We had a sea view room with a balcony on the 11th floor which has fantastic views across Sliema sea front and the harbour.

The air conditioning in the room was sufficient for the heat (40 degrees!). A card is placed in a slot near the door which we left in when out of the room but the staff must be under orders to remove this card. Got wise to this and nipped back to the room after it was cleaned and put the card back in.

First trip back to Malta in 27 years and it has changed alot. St Julians is unrecongnisable. This is the place to stay if you are under 30.

The Preluna has a pool on the opposite side of the road from the hotel with a lot of sunbeds available and a snack bar for refreshments. This facility can only be used if you are staying at the Preluna.
The Spa and sauna are in the basement of the hotel and well worth a visit.

Entertainment in the evening is either a singer or piano player. Your best bet is to take a stroll along the water front to Balluta and take in the atmosphere then return to the Sky room for a refreshing drink and wonderful view.

One word of warning. You will be stopped on your first day by 'The Chuckle Borthers' These 2 men target the least sunburnt people (easy pickings) and tell you they work for the Preluna and offer you a free drink and holiday voucher if you go into the hotel. They are part of a large team who are trying to sell apartments in the Preluna. They wear a different colour t-shirt every day, (orange, blue, red, yellow) with a big I on the back of the t-shirt. Being on the 11th Floor we could watch this activity. They start at 9am in the morning monday to friday (so you are safest on Saturdays and Sundays). There are 4 women who are on the 4th floor of the towers and their job is to 'sell' you these aparments. If you are interested in buying apartment then by all means go along for the hard sell. If not politely tell them you are not interested and they will tell you that they wont get their £2.50. Hard work for £2.50 I say in the Maltese heat.

Overall, loved Malta and will return again and again.

We found this hotel disappointing.

It is marketed as 4* but should be it would struggle to be 3*. The decor is dated and tired, the rooms are basic and the wardrobe (or clothes room)smelt stale. The photo's of the hotel only show the newest part, thats what we thought we were getting having booked a superior sea view room. Only the view was superior, maybe thats what they mean. There were only 2 small lifts to service 13 floors, which meant quite a wait at busy times. They were having problems with them during our stay which didn't help. 50% of the time one or other of them wasn't working and at one stage both were out of order. This meant a walk up 7 flights of stairs for us, we coped with this, although it was a little inconvenient, but there were others in wheelchairs and families with small children who obviously didn't cope.

We visited the beach club long enough to turn round and walk out again. It looked derelict, very tatty and the pool was half full of very dirty water. We were not impressed. The dinning room was set out like a canteen, not a table cloth in sight and not big enough to cope when the hotel was full.On the plus side,the food was tasty and well cooked, just not enough choice of veg. The only problem was the toasters. They either burnt the toast or left it untouched. Sort of sums up the hotel, every thing is there but nothing works properly! Not everything was bad however. The beds were comfortable, the air conditioning was excellant and the whole place was clean. The staff, on the whole, were friendly, efficiant and hard working.

The Sky Room was superb, very classie with fantastic views. This is the standard we expected from the rest of the hotel. We had no complaints about Mercury direct and the rep. Peter, was lovely. Had we paid the extra £400 and gone with one of the high street companies we would have been very annoyed.

We love Malta and had a smashing holiday, despite the hotel. We wil be returning at some point in the future, but NOT to this hotel.

We loved this hotel - travelled as 2 couples and stayed bed and breakfast - this is always best in Malta as there are so many good restaurants here!

The sea-side Lido and pool is lovely and the roof terrace with hot tubs is fantastic at the end of a long hot day. Spa and Gym is beautiful if small. Some areas are a little shabby and run down - but this is Malta, so is pretty much everything else. Someone once said going to Malta was like having a holiday in a ruin - I agree and we LOVE the ancient feel.

Only real downside to this hotel was the in-room air con (i.e. a fan and a vent), we got a heatwave so very hot but we took a siesta during the day and when everyone else's aircon was off it worked fine.

Hotel is in a great location - you can walk (when its not too hot) to Sliema harbour or to St Julians - and if you're feeling lazy there are some nice restaurants nearby - on the St Julians side of the hotel there is a tex-mex place (excellent pizza) and up a side street a great thai / chinese restaurant. on the other side, 2 corners over is a lovely traditional restaurant (with cow hide seats).

You HAVE to go to Valetta - take the bus opposite the hotel - walk down the hill to the cathedral then turn right to get the water taxi back to Sliema.

Highly reccommend Captain Morgans Evening cruise, but try to get to the blue laggoon on a smaller boat - the Captain Morgan one is just too big and crowded. Their gullet ship (wooden) looked better and let people swim from the boat.