42 Reviews
Traveller Rating
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Excellent2
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Very Good13
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Good11
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Average7
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Poor2
Review Overview
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Cleanliness
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Entertainment
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Food
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Service
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Location
Travel operator: mercury direct
The hotel staff were not in the slightest bit helpful and were often rude.
The hotel was cleaned on a daily basis which i thought was good.
The entertainment was poor so we often had to travel to find a good night out.
Travel operator: travelcare
The hotel was very clean and the staff helpfull
The food was good, although the staff took your plates away before you had a chance to put your fork down!
As we were half board we didnt stay in the hotel much in the evening but what we saw of the entertainment didnt look to good.
Dont go there expecting 4* this is not a 4* hotel
Overall not a bad holiday this hotel has obviously improved this year
Travel operator: last minute.com
We went expecting a 4 star as stated in the brochure - this was not in our opinion a 4 star not even a 3 star.
The food was cold most of the time only the soup was hot, they had to tell people what the food was as you could not tell from looking at it or tasting it for that matter. None of the outside pools were open even though there was a large picture of the pool in the winter brochure. Some of the guests complained but I don't think the management were interested. Most of the guests we talked to said they would not stay there again. We met people who had changed there, they said there room was so bad they could not have stayed in it, they complained and got a better room, but to be fair ours was ok. There were holes in the curtains and the airconditioning was not on but the people we talked to said they could not get theirs to work some said they had asked the staff but nothing happened so we had to sleep with the patio door open.
The best thing we could say about the hotel is that it was clean, we would advise people there are some realy nice hotels in Malta so don't go to the Soreda.
Travel operator: Mercury
The room, when we found it, was awful. We had booked half-board but were given an apartment so kitchen was in bedroom, it was in a bad state of decoration, there was no window and the bathroom wasn;t very good. To be fair when we complained we were moved, still to an apartment, but a nice light airy one where I could shut the kitchen away, signs of damp but OK while we were there, shower was rubbish.
Food was OK once you got used to the buffet system, did not have a 'bad' meal at all. Also because we missed a meal when we arrived we were given a lunch voucher to use later in the week.
There was one shop, as advertised, and that was open daily.
None of the outdoor pools are in use at the moment, There are no signs of the rooftop pool being in use in the short term, but the lower level pool was being worked on while we were there so that may be back in use later in the season.
The indoor pool is indeed dark and dingy - nothing like the brochure shows and the lockers and changing rooms were dreadful. Took my clothes and left them on a chair by the pool in the end.
Entertainment pretty run of the mill, basically background music.
Must admit the Hotel was clean enough and there were no obnoxious smells anywhere, an great effort has oviously been made to iron out many of the problems people have experienced.
We probably won't return to this Hotel again, mostly because of the lack in facilities and because it did not seem to be a 'young' hotel. I am glad that, in spite of the comments I read, I went and made up my own mind.
Travel operator: Sunspot
This hotel is NOT 4* as you are led to believe from the brochure and our overall impression was one of huge disappointment.
The first thing we were looking forward to was the swimming but our children were unable to use the pools very much as they suffered from painful and sore rashes from the water. The pool on the lower level was dark and dingy and seemed to be the main cause of the rashes. We saw only a handful of people using this in the 2 weeks we were there. Having spoken to a number of other guests we soon realized we were not alone in this problem. The indoor pool was disgusting with a ceiling pipe above it continually dripping water and broken and dirty tiles all around. The roof top pool was much smaller than you are led to believe from the pics in the brochure. The shower areas on the roof had about 8 inches of black mould growing up the walls and there was a grimy tide mark all around the inside of the pool. The lining of the pool moved under your feet where it was all coming away and all in all it is not a pleasant experience.
The food was vile most of the time and the atmosphere in the restaurant was very subdued and quiet with most of the guests just wanting to get the whole thing over and done with. The worst aspect of the dining room for me is the way they scrape all the leftovers into plastic slop buckets right in front of you. Very reminiscent of school dinners! The fruit was often mouldy and the baguettes could be used as a dangerous weapon they were so hard! No thought is given to presentation at all. The staff in the restaurant were very nice to us. The 'coffee and tea' in the mornings is self service from a machine and is disgusting.
The reception staff were very rude and stand offish and as All Inclusive guests we were made to feel like 2nd class citizens. This also applied to the bar staff especially Claude The Henchman and his grubby shaven-headed sidekick Justin upstairs on the roof terrace bar. They don't like All Inclusive guests as they don't get the tips every time you have a drink and they make this obvious and will even ignore you completely sometimes. The lounge bar is supposed to open at 11.00 am but was never open much before 12.00 noon. But as soon as the clock strikes 11.00pm everything closes. You are not even allowed to buy drinks after this time and they take all the bottles down from the shelves and pack them away presumably in case any of the guests come down in the night and nick it!
The entertainment is pretty awful although our kids did enjoy the disco. This is probably because they knew exactly which record was coming on next due to DJ Arthur's rather limited cd collection and could prepare their dance moves accordingly!
The disco is on about 3 times a week with Friday being their 'big' night. They do a barbecue every Friday at a charge of about LM3 each. We didn't actually fancy this ourselves as we watched them putting out the salads and cakes hours before it started ready for the many flies to feast on. The big act on Fridays are two precocious children called Clive and Angel. They sing (rather badly) and dance. Again our kids loved it but they are only aged 6 and 10 and anyone outside this age group just found it all slightly embarassing. They go round the audience afterwards collecting money and hand it over to their mother.
We did get to the stage where we just wanted to come home and asked the rep if she could arrange it for us but she persuaded us to stay and after we spoke to her they suddenly went mad cleaning everything. The upstairs pool area was cleaned up a bit but by then we'd decided not to use it anymore. Everyone we spoke to hated it there and we have all decided to write to our tour operators to complain.
We felt cheated out of our money and it put us off Malta altogether. We were told while we were there that Maltese hotels are awarded their stars by how many rooms they have!
The best part of our holiday was a day on the Charlotte Louise sailing ship which takes you to Comino. You can swim in the Blue Lagoon and the crew prepare you a beautiful lunch. There is as much to drink as you like and you are really treated well. The restaurant attached to the hotel called 'Olio!' is excellent. The food is wonderful, the staff are really nice and friendly and the chef Roberto is brilliant. He was really good to us and will cook you something special. The place really is a waste of his talents and the rest of the hotel staff should learn from him the art of customer service. The restaurant is managed by the hotel owners arrogant moustached daughter Cruella (think that was her name!) and she swans around while you are eating barely able to hide her glee at getting even more of your money!
Apart from this and the lovely people we met at the hotel (guests not staff!) the only memories we have are horrid ones I'm afraid.
We would be very interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar expereince.
I could go on and on but it is suffice to say DON'T GO THERE!!!
Travel operator: Unknown
Travel operator: Unknown
My husband and I took my mother with us this time,and to say she is fussy is an understatement,but we all had a fabulous time.
The rooms were very clean,towels changed daily and the bed linen changed every couple of days.
As for the food,if school dinners had been this good,i'd have stayed every day.In the 2 weeks we spent there we never had the same meal twice.
I used the pool next to the lounge and found it very clean,and the upstairs pool was always spotless when i went up there.
The staff were very friendly,and on the one occasion we asked for maintenance,the job was done on the same day.(nothing major granted,only a curtain needing a missing hook.)
We found that alot of the comments made last year had been acted upon,such as fried eggs on the breakfast menu,which had to be ordered last year.
I would go to this hotel again.
Travel operator: Unknown
we went all inclusive which was good, lots of local cocktails were included although usually you had to wait ages at the bar - the staff didnt rush
I am a keen swimmer so was attracted by the adversised 'large rooftop pool' that was a joke, it was 10 metres and the water was disguisting, I got a mouth infection and a rash from it. the other pool was even smaller.
there is not a lot of room around the pool so I would definatly not go in august but it was OK at the start of July although you needed to put towels out by about 8am
food was 3 star, the only fruit was melon and that was for every meal, the salad is the same every day and often the veggies were recycled from previous meals. not sure about the meat or fish, both of which were available at every meal
they knew I was veggie so did a special meal for me so it is worth telling them. however, as nice as these meals were, they were not the most balanced - a massive plate of garlic mushrooms for example, I shared these with my parner and got some salad from the buffet to go with it
the pool bar was quite good (free to all inclusive guests), it had salads or burgers and chips
hotel entertainment not great but OK,
I probabaly wouldnt go back again although if there was a really cheap deal I might consider it
Travel operator: Unknown
The hotel has obviously had 3 stages of development. if you are in stages 2 or 3 then the room accomodation is ok, but if you are in the older part above the reception area then you will not recognise it from the adverts. Everything about this part is the pits, from the furnishings to the housekeeping in the rooms.
There is only one shop not the 5 advertised.
There is only one restaurant, the other was full of building rubbish.
There is no hairdresser.
The swimming pools are all there, but the pictures of the basement pool are very old and show as it was before it becoming a dingy hole. The locker room is a laugh. (The water was warm though.)
Don't expect the sea and country views proclaimed in the publicity - Most external rooms don't have any view except into the surrounding streets because the Soreda is in a very
built up area and is surrounded by apartment blocks. Internal rooms (above the reception area at least), have a view of the light well down to the small ground floor swimming pool.
Between the hotel front and the sea view, a building was being erected when we were there in December 2002.
You can get good views of the surroundings by going on to the roof though.
All in all, there are much better appointed and better sited hotels in Qawra and had I known that at the time I booked my holiday, I would never have wasted the money on the Soreda Hotel.
Finally I believe that star ratings in Malta must either be very easy to come by or that, hotels once appointed, are not checked often enough by the Malta Tourist Authority.
Travel operator: Unknown
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