Pleasantly surprised. I've just come back from a weeks holiday at the 4 star Hotel Fortina. Being a single mum with 3 kids, it was far too expensive to book the dine around programme and therefore chose the cheaper option of buffet meals only. Upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised. We had a wonderful room with 2 queen size beds. The room was clean and our room
attendant very pleasant. All our meals were in the buffet restaurant.
Breakfast was extensive and eggs were cooked in front of you rather that being prepared beforehand and kept warm. Pasta dishes are cooked in front of you for dinner. The kids really enjoyed their meals and had a good selection. The swimming pools were very clean and needless to say we spent full days on the front pools. The staff were nice & friendly One evening, we paid a small supplement to eat in the Chinese restaurant which is on the 5 star side and in a blissful ambiance of a tropical garden. The only downside of the holiday was that we didn't really get to see much of Malta except forthe one time when we went on the Harbour Cruise. I did manage to escape from the kids for an hour whilst they were looked after by some friends we made and had a fantastic chocolate massage which was wonderful. Have already re-booked for next year. We all can't wait to return.

Hotel Spa resort five star. On our arrival,there were insufficient staff to deal with the registration of the new arrivals. Room eventually allocated and then had to find it yourself! We had paid for a sea view, our room allocated overlooked a building site and which work commenced at 05.30 every morning! I had queried this with the hotel before travelling and was assured all building work was complete and that the clients were expected to have occupied before our arrival..WRONG.

Also be prepared to have to stand in a queue to book your meals in the restaurants up to three days in advance..oh and if you want to eat before 9pm make sure you are at front of the queue

We have taken many All Inc 4* holidays over the last few years and I must say that this one was easily the poorest.

Firstly the 'superior sea view' room was in fact a 'rabbit hutch' of a room and was extremely tired and the on suite was so small that we had no where to even put our tooth brushes. I understand that some of the more luxury ones had a shelf. After a few nights sleeping we were woken every morning by the construction Lorries passing the hotel at about 6 am.

We had a word with our rep and she managed to change our room to one at the rear of the hotel. This was much quieter and yes the rumors were true this ensuite had a shelf.

Yes we did do the hard sell timeshare presentation and were given a tour of the 5* tower etc. 5* this was not. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, the quality of finish was poor and the concept of mixing 5* and 4* in the same hotel just does not work.

As an 4* All Inc guest supplements were charged in some of the restaurants and in one everything had to paid for except for the house wine. If you missed a meal time then that was tuff and there was no where to get any snacks.

However later on in the week we heard on the guest grape vine that there might be the odd cheese roll available behind the bar if you could manage to get the eastern European staff to under stand that you did not want a new type of

After reading other peoples widely differing views on this hotel we really didnt know what to expect. We booked a one weeks all inclusive break staying in a deluxe garden view room in the four star part of the hotel.

The location of this hotel is superb,overlooking Valletta,close to the shops and boat trips and yet in a peaceful setting.

The room was spacious and exactly as described,it was serviced daily my only gripe being that they did not replenish the teabags, whitener or the minibar even after I requested them to do so. Leaving me no alternative but to help myself to supplies from an abandoned maids trolley in a corridor, also the hairdryer didnt work and it took 24hrs for them to sort that out.

I attended the welcome meeting and was told to collect my free harbour cruise tickets from the timeshare sharks that were waiting outside the room, I told the aforementioned sharks that all I wanted was the harbour cruise tickets and nothing else my request was granted and I was not approached again during my stay despite them camping outside the entrance to the restaurant and cruising the public areas of the hotel througout our stay.

We only used La Vallette restaurant which had an exellent varied choice everyday and in which the staff were both friendly and helpful we had no problems and could eat as much or as little as we pleased.

All the other facilities were good including the bars,pools and the spa, with the exception of the adults pool in the garden which was in the shade all day.

The Putting Green has seen better days along with the lifts within the hotel which towards the end of the week were almost completely unuseable.

Yes there are one or two problems at this hotel but overall a good time was had by all, the most serious problem which needs looking at urgently is that of the lifts in this hotel.

We would use this hotel again in the future.

I have been monitoring this website since booking my holiday at the Fortina Spa Resort and was rather concerned with some of the reviews prior to our travel. Have now returned from what I can seriously consider as one of the best holidays my partner and I have ever had.

The Fortina operate two hotels with separate entrances. One is the 4 star Hotel Fortina whilst the other is the 5 star Fortina Spa Resort. We stayed in a tower room with a Seaview in the 5 star which, also shares some of its facilities with the 4 star. This hotel is not listed on this website for some reason. Only Hotel Fortina is listed and this is probably why our concerns initially arose.

Nevertheless, we rate our holiday as absolutely fabulous. Our accommodation was brand new and very spacious. Our view over to Valletta can only be described as majestic. Our balcony faced south and was so large that two sunbeds fitted spaciously. The All-Inclusive concept is exceptionally good with a choice of restaurants offering divine cuisine that if offered in London, would cost at least

The best thing about the Fortina hotel was the view from our room

A couple of days before my holiday, I was suddenly terrified that I had committed all this money and had no idea what I would fine on arrival. I eagerly searched the web to try to find out more and came across this website and promised myself that if all went well, I would make sure that I posted to help others as much as I had been helped.
I was very confused prior to my departure because the ratings were so disparate - the experience was either apalling or it was excellent. I am pleased to say that for me it was fabulous. I stayed in a spa bedroom and whilst booking directly with the hotel I asked if an upgrade was possible. I was told that they would try but it was not guaranteed. On arrival and check in I was told that I had a spa bedroom with a private swimming pool. I was delighted but apprehensive and wondered if the room would look anything like the pictures on the website. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was an exact match and the room was spacious, the mini bar was well stocked and all the equipment and toiletries were fully functional. The best bit was the private swimming pool that you accessed via a spiral staircase and it took you up to a lovely pool with jets and shower and barbecue etc. It was just fantastic. A skeptic at all times, I thought that the service would be abysmal but everyone was extremely polite, friendly and most importantly, very hardworking. There was a safe and sachets of all types of treatments to use with the different machines in the bedroom, ranging from a therapeutic bath, jacuzzi in the bedroom, shower and steam room, Dermalite machine. It was just spectacular and really decadent. The cleaners were so friendly and would thoroughly clean the rooms and refresh the minibar etc. and any products used on the prior day. Towels, robes and slippers were changed daily and it was just very well taken care of. The rooms were cleaned impeccably and one morning, I watched the cleaner who took so much time lifting each bit of furniture and thoroughly cleaning around it.
The food in the hotel was really good and I ate in Taste, the Healthy Cuisine and the Japanese restaurant. The food was great. I was not too thrilled by the Thai and did not bother to try the Indian or Italian as I do not like those cuisines. It would have been lovely if there was a Maltese restaurant as I never got an opportunity to eat the local cuisine!
Since I had read all the reports of the cold selling of packages, when approached, I firmly told them I was not interested and they very politely retreated and I was never disturbed during my 7 day stay!!
My only area of improvement was with the entertainment - this was really non-existent and think the hotel should invest in this as the evenings are quite boring if you have made the journey for a rest but want something to do in the evening that is not too strenous. The gym was not great either but hey, as long as the machines work ...

All in all, I loved my time in Malta and I really loved the hotel. I paid a lot of money but think it was worth it. I think this is the reason for the disparity in reports. I think you need to invest in the best category to enjoy this hotel. It was steep but I had such a good time that I am thinking of visiting again for a long weekend. I really had so much fun.
I hope this will help someone else make the right decision and right choices.
Thank you to all those who posted before me, it really helped me to structure one of the best, most relaxing holidays I have had in a long time!

The hotel was wonderful clean and very wellcoming, the staff could not do enough for you and they allways had a smile on their faces.

The staff in the spa department were attentive and as I suffer from trauma induced osteo arthritis in my knees took great care of me. The room that we stayed in was gorgeous and cleaned every day and there was always tea and coffee a biggy for me :-)

The food was to die for and I can imagine that it would not take much to pile on the weight:-) The only complaint I have about the hotel and its only a small one at that, is the reps that try to sell you the spa bedrooms....my feeling is that we had already paid for a holiday and were there to chill out and not be hassled and once I explained that to them politely then they left us alone.

All in all it was a lovely holiday and I would not hesitate to go back again.

Anna Brown

Reception good, arrived in time for buffet lunch, food throught the week very good, good selection, staff very attentive.

There are various other restraunt in the hotel and you have to pay extra in some of them.Xmas day entertainment was very good, with various act throughout the day.

Car parking is very limited and double parking is the norm. Shopping is good,buy all your duty free locally, buses and ferries are quite near 1/3 mile near the shops.

Reception good, arrived in time for buffet lunch, food throught the week very good, good selection, staff very attentive.

There are various other restraunt in the hotel and you have to pay extra in some of them. Xmas day entertainment was very good, with various act throughout the day. Car parking is very limited and double parking is the norm.

Shopping is good,buy all your duty free locally, buses and ferries are quite near 1/3 mile near the shops. In the entrance to the main restraunt ther are time share sellers and that is the only complaint.