Hi Lily, and welcome !

I live in Gozo, and visit Marsalforn as little as possible !
(I think Marsalforn is not as bad as the worst parts of St Pauls Bay/Pacevil(l)e, but fail to see any redeeming features aside from the beach and the Calipso Hotel. Xlendi is less developed, largely through a fate of nature, meaning one side of the bay is too steep to build cheaply on. Other parts of Gozo are far better, but you will probably get others disagreeing with all of the above ! I think Gozo is one of the most wonderful places in the world, but Marsalform plays no part in that)

beach - Marsalforn
restaurants - Xlendi
relatively unspoilt and quiet - Xlendi

which hotels/apartments are you deciding between ?

also think about staying at The Grand Hotel, Mgarr, near the harbour. September is a great time to come here - the sea is warm, hopefully there are no jellyfish, and its not packed like in August

ps
best beaches are Ramla and San Blas
best restaurants are Sammys at Mgarr, Noel and Sandra's at Mgarr Ix Xini, It Munn in Victoria, Jeffries in Gharb and D-Bar in Qala
best bars are Gleneagles in Mgarr,Cafe Jubilee in Victoria and Rosina's in Sannat

note Xlendi and Marsalforn don't feature in either list !

Hi there OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH a full topic on Gozo. Mark must be pleased.Don't forget Gozo must be mentioned in every topic in this forum, it is an unwritten rule!

Hi Mark - thanks for all that info. We've never been to Gozo before so know nothing about the island! We were looking at the Calypso Hotel in Marsalforn or the St Patrick Hotel in Xlendi. Haven't come across any of the other places you mentioned - do you know which tour operators go there from the UK?

Our main criteria is that we want to be somewhere where within walking distance of a beach during the day and able to walk to a selection of restaurants in the evenings. We don't want to stay anywhere so remote that we need a car or bus to get around (although will probably hire a car for 1 or 2 days just to see some more of the island).

Any further suggestions would be very welcome!

Hi Lily

sorry, don't know about tour operators for these hotels, but if you want to contact the hotels directly

http://www.gozo.gov.mt/pages.aspx?page=En

then click on accomodation - gives details for all the hotels in Gozo

walking distance of beach - if you mean sandy, then only Marsalforn applies, if pebbly, then Xlendi as well
walking distance of restaurants - Marsalforn , Xlendi or Mgarr (the harbour)

another possibility is to stay at Comino, the island between Malta and Gozo
http://www.cominohotel.com/

I've never stayed or eaten there - anyone else ?

Hi Mark, no I've never eaten or stayed there either .

Sahha
Sliema2

Hi there (oops , my wave is out of action so just use your imagination) If you are beach lovers I wouldn't stay at Xlendi. It is my fave place on Gozo and I would love to stay a couple of nights at the St Patricks Hotel, It looks fab. i think that i would get a bit bored after a couple of nights as the locality is rather limited within walking distance.