Hello all, well after a few weeks to think about it, I put on paper a long list of things I wanted to say about our last holiday to Malta, it would have taken to long to write it all down on this link so here is the smaller version.

Our 5th trip to Malta started with a late night flight from Birmingham airport with Air Malta, getting to the airport handy so we could have a beer befor the flight we asked for a seat by the window and before the wing only to get row one, what a great start. The food on the plane was not fit for a dog and thats the best I could say about it.

Transfer to the hotel was by mini bus and we were first drop of, this is were it all started to go wrong. The hotel was the 4 star Kennedy Nova, we had stayed there once before and thought it would still be alright (big mistake) we had read that some of the rooms were by the lift and asked not to have one by the lift, and yes we got the one by the lift, it was also a bit tatty in as far as the shower had mold and paint work was dirty, so I went down to complane and was told it is to late and a new would be sorted in the mourning. Also we had asked for a bath not a shower, we did get a new room next day with a bathroom, but this one was by the service lift with the cleaning staff banging about in the mournings.

Our room was on the 3rd floor under a A/C unit on the 5th floor this made a noise all night and made it hard to get to sleep even when we had a few beers. The food at the hotel was its saving point, we were on flexi dine so we also had some meals out (see below) the pool was like a lot of Maltese hotel pools on the roof and you could always get a sunbed and shade as it was never full, there is a pool bar for snacks and drinks but the price of there icecreams is a rip off. Entertainment was a joke at night so we went looking for the bright lights of Sliema.
So would I go to this again? Never, Never, Never.

The sites of Malta and its history are the reason we have been here 5 times, we got round all the sites in Valletta even though we have seen them before, as with M-dina and the three cities. Perhaps the best bit that turned into a bit of a let down, I finally got into Fort St Almo it is well run down, any thing should be made good on the island of Malta this fort should, what a great place for the War Museum or a museum of the Knights of Malta.

Also visited for the first time this year two private palaces, the small Casa Rocca Piccola Valletta and the bigger Palazzo Parisio with its fine Gardens Naxxar and most say this one is better than the Casa Piccola. Had a trip to Fort Rinella very good as was the In Guardia at Fort St Elmo. Had a walk round the Cottonera Lines as you do nearly died in the heat, did a bus trip to Marsascala and again walked in all the heat round to Fort St Thomas must it was not worth the walk. Went over to Gozo hired a car for the day and got round most of it, had lunch in Xlendi bay had a drive up to Sannat to see a man about a dog and the new golf course( just my luck he had gone the UK for the week) but had a great day out anyway. One place to visit if you are in Gozo is the small Museum at Gharb full of every day things from years gone bye, most intresting.

So I come to the things that put me of Malta this trip, don't get me wrong I had a great holiday in as far as I got to see all the things that I wanted to see its just that there seemed to be that something missing that me and Mrs Holidaymaker like to do.

First there is a Time Share thing going on in the hotel we stayed at and no matter how many time we told them we did not want one they would always get up our noises.The next thing was the way the Maltese seem to have there hands out all the time for anything they do, tips at the end of a trip that cost a lot of money anyway, or the time I asked the wife to take my photo in the lower leval of the Upper Barracca Gardens not with the new cannons but with the view of the harbour but the men who run the new twelve a clock gun useing the cannons wanted 1Ml of me just for going in there, so I never did get the photo.

The night life in Sliema is dismal once the world cup finished the bars put nothing on at all, this my be alright if you just want to sit and get drunk but sitting by the road with all the fumes an't my cup of tea. Its not to much to ask for a bit of entertainment of some sort of a night time (is it)
the thing that did it for me though was when I went to toilet in the Black Gold pub near our hotel there was no locks on the doors no light ether and to top all the chains did not pull and somebody had had a number 2 all down the pan and there was no paper in the pan ether and to think they served food in the pub. This above all did it for me.

Sorry if this goes on a bit and the spelling may not be what it should, but this is how I see our holiday this year. So its back to Portugal next summer,I will never say I will never go back to Malta but if I do it will not be Sliema. In case you all need to know I am going to Spain in October and Fuerteventura for new year, Happy Holidays.

Dave