The hotel is actually based on the outskirts of Qawra..a good 15-20 minutes walk from any of the shops or from any other civilisation! It is also not in any way anywhere remotely near a 4* hotel..or even the 3* that Thomas Cook rate it at.

Admittedly, we did not pay alot for this holiday, but even so, I was still majorly disappointed. We were stunned when we got to the hotel, on a busy main road and so far away from the sea that it is a 3 day donkey trek and first impressions were that it was shabby.
There were 10 other couples dropped off with us..and you could see the same expression of horror on all faces. There are no lifts or ramps for ease of access and people struggled to get heay cases up the flight of stairs from the entrance foyer to the actual reception desk. Upon checkin in, we were told that no rooms would be available until after 2pm and that we would all have to wait. We arrived at 11.30am and were all tired and in need of at least a drink. I decided to go to the loo and was mortified to walk in and discover that there was used female sanitary wear just thrown on the floor in the corner next to an overflowing bin..and I dont just mean one item..I mean several items as well as used toilet paper.

After this, we tried to contact the rep and request an immediate transfer to another hotel. Nowt could be sorted that day and eventually we were allocated our room shortly after 2pm.

We were on the 2nd floor..and there are 2 lifts to take you..but the corridors are poorly lit and we discovered that our room was pretty basic. Ok, I can cope with twin beds as we just pushed them together..but they were childrens beds..the sort you have extra in your family room. The air con did not work and we found that it was 21E to hire the safe, 5E to get a remote control for a very old telly with a very poor picture and 11E if we wanted to keep anything chilled in the fridge. The fridge even had a lock on it! There were no tea or coffee facilities in the room. The shower curtain was ripped.

The food was very limited..I really struggled to find anything at all to eat..which is not like me. There was a choice of meat, fish, boiled potato and then a distinct lack of vegetables..you could have soup and bread and there was a salad bar..but the choice was lettuce, tomato, cucumber, beetroot and cold meats or hard boiled egg. The desert selection was jelly, cake or cheese and crackers..one cheese, one type of crackers. There was also quarted oranges every night. I had been there 3 days before i noticed that all the best deserts were kept back at the coffee bar to be SOLD to customers. You were not even allowed a glass of water with your meal unless you bought a bottle at an extortionate price. breakfast choice was also limited...beans, sausage or fried egg..toast, a choice of 2 cereals..and the only fruit was cored apples quartered that were brown. This is the first hotel I have ever been to where no fruit or veg was readily available.

The staff-well the best girl was the receptionist Nadya..but the majority couldnt give a toss. I guess they were so used to people complaining and trying to leave. The maid came every day except Sunday and cleaned to room well. The towels were changed regularly..but they were tatty anyway and smelt of TCP!

I think in general, this hotel has alot of hidden charges and wants to extract as much money as possible out of you for as little effort as possible. It was so bad we ate out alot and we even went over to Gozo and stayed the night there as a means of escape. there were other people who came home after only 1 week and accept losing the rest of their money rather than stay for 2. Every day, there was a queue of people complaining. We just decided to go out every day.

if you are able bodied, go out the hotel, turn right and follow the road until you get to a tunnel..follow that and it brings you out the back. Turn left, then right and walk straight on down "Tourist Street" and you will find the bus station and a load of restaurants and bars and tat shops. It is about 15-20 mins. The hotel will book you a taxi but the guy will charge 10e..but it is only just over a mile...so dont pay it!

The hotel has a small pool in a courtyard which is under utilised..but that means there are always sun beds available! There is also a rooftop terrace with a jacuzzi, a pool table and a bar..and it has 3 vintage cars on show. There are a couple of computers for internet access..2euro charge and a small shop to buy chocolate and tat etc..

Basically, you get what you pay for, so I didnt expect luxury..and we put up with almost anything rather than bleat about it..but even so, I was very disappointed and feel this hotel lets down the reputation of Thomas Cook. The rep Michaela did a marvellous job, as did some of the staff..but the place needs a serious amount of money spent on it, the staff need to be happy in thier work and standards need to be drastically improved. I would not stay there again and I would not recommend it to anyone.

my wife and i have been to malta many times but never this hotel. from the moment we arrived we found this hotel to be very nice, clean, with helpul staff and not as far away as some would have you believe. i am reduced mobility(walking stick and chair) but i managed to walk to buggibba square quite easily, if i can do it surely it cant be a problem for an ABLE BODIED PERSON. we found that if you turn RIGHT out of the hotel door, follow the road to the main junction, turn right here and follow this main road, passing many bars and restaraunts then bear left you come to the square, then the promenade and if you keep walking you get your feet wet in the mediterranean. took us abut 15-20 minutes cause i walk slowly. anyhow,the hotel, what can i say. LOVELY. very nice clean place with very helpful staff, even when there was a power failure all over the island this hotel had there own generator providing limited electricity and still managed to put on a good evening meal, good food, excellent facilities,a reasonably priced shop for water etc. the roof top sun terrace gets the sun all day there is a spa/jaccuzzi and also a cafe/bar but we didnt find a pool up there. indoor pool is in the basement with a spa/jacuzzi and also an outdoor pool in a central courtyard. a tip for the less mobile: when entering, if you find the steps up to reception a little difficult there is a lift(elevator) in the corner to the right as you look at it. tip 2: if you need a lift into bugibba bus station the hotel provide a free courtesy minibus at 9am 10am 12noon 3pm and 5pm returning from bugibba bus station approx 10-15 minutes after these times but you must ask at reception to be put on the list. we will certainly be returning to this hotel again in the future because it is very good value for money.

The hotel is on the outskirts of town but if you can read this then you can Google the hotel and know that so only the small minded people would complain about this.

Like most 3/4 star hotels the evening entertainment is the same each week but it is of a good standard. If you want to sunbath then it has to be the roof top s the down stairs pool is in the shade.

The food is good value for money and if you expect al a carte then you should pay for a 5 start hotel (twice the price) rather than moan like a cheap-skate.

Put this in to perspective I paid

All the food was repetitive and a very low standard i.e turkey roast in a roll.Air con didn't work.Management didn't want to know it seemed the guest were a inconvenience.As for location anyone who has trouble walking or elderly forget this place it is at the outskirt of the town ,taxi to town 10euro(

We booked this as a last minute deal- we had a 2 bed apartment at the Bella Vista Aparthotel which was in a different part to the actual hotel, but was actually closer to all the restaurants/sea etc so we were happy.
Our apartment was spacious with a balcony and we had a lovely sea view
The breakfast was okay and all the staff were friendly and helpful. We did have a problem with the boiler in our room but it was pretty much sorted straight away.
The only thing we were disappointed with was the rooftop swimming pool which was very small and not very kid friendly as you had to climb up a ladder to get in.
If the pool was a standard one then we would definitely stay here again.

carnt complain for what we paid
hotel clean maid came every day but only changed towels on sunday
food was the usual basic stuff one thing i must complain about the lack of fresh friut i never saw any all week also the salad selection was poor
the hotel was too far away from the main resort if you came out of the hotel and turned left it was avery long hike to the sea and not a very nice walk dog poo all over the pavements and no lights on at night
it would have been nice to see the staff smile now and again
the entertainment was up on the roof and was usually two fellas singing also films in the downstairs bar that i found boring
i would not visit this hotel again it is definatly not afour star but may main reason is were it is situated

nice clean hotel was not offered any curtosy room on leaving most unusual would not rate this hotel as afour star basic food lacking in fruit never seen any but did not starve bella vista is in a poor location too far away from main resort areas quite agood walk if not too good on the legs
hotel staff not very happy at times helpful on the reception desk
not much going on in hotel singers on the roof bar at night and films on the tv in the bar
dont think iwould go back to bella vista asit is out of the way

Can't complain for the money we paid.We had a room at the front overlooking a new park under construction and a busy road and we were obviously on the outskirts of the resort.Rooms were comfortable but not much choice to watch on TV and only one thin pillow.The shower took some practice to perform at it's best and the bathroom door would not close.Breakfast was adequate but forgetable and often a queue to get a table(in November!)A queue at the bar during popular times was normal.Some entertainment was ok if you had had a few!If you hire a car you have to park it on the main road across the road from the Hotel.

we found this hotel to be very good the food had excellent choices and was served to you by the chefs,so it was not messed up by other guests,which i liked some AI are like school canteens but here we were treated like proper diners.The pool is quite small,but it was adequate for us, it was quite nice the fact that it did not have sun all day because it was still very warm.The staff were all lovely and the AI worked well but icecream had to be paid for.The down side is the main road outside main entrance abit worrying with 2 boisterous 4 yr olds, and footpaths not very wide to walk on and dodge the dog poo.We hired a car to get round which was quite easy cos they drive on the same side AS UK.hotel was great wish resort had beach.

Check in at reception efficient and quick. Room large and clean, beds comfortable. Hot water supply in bathroom, if hot selected hot came out of both hot & cold taps. this has been mentioned before.

Food was hot and there was plenty of it. Staff friendly and helpful.

At busy times service at the bar could be a little slow.
Entertainment was provided each night, the songs were the same though the groups/duos were different.

A bus stop is near the hotel and buses leave at 30 minute intervals for Valletta (between 1200 and 1500 they are hourly).

The hotel also runs a free shuttle to Buggiba bus terminal.
Plenty of bars and restaurants around but be prepared for a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel to them.

I stayed for 4 nights and was satisfied with the hotel offerings and would certainly stay again or recommend it to friends.