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| "Breathtaking Malta" This post was written in the first person but was experienced by my partner and me. |
Malta is well known for its historic sites where three of the country's sites "The City of Valletta, the Megalithic Temples and the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum have been listed on The United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO's main purpose is to preserve and maintain a list of heritage site around the world to show the people and help them to be aware of it's importance to them and future generation.
Located, in the Mediterranean sea, between Sicily and the northern coast of Africa you can find Malta. Consisting of three islands Malta, Gozo, and Comino these isles is a must see if you decided to visit.
Malta has been on my travel list for quite some time and finally getting the opportunity to travel there in September to this medieval city I would love to share my experience with you all.
Planning the Trip
In planning the trip all expenses were covered for two persons in seven days. Having a budget of £3,100.00, £500.00 was allocated to flights, £1,600.00 accommodation, £500.00 clothing expense, and £500 spending allowance.
Money Saving Tips for Planning
The best time to travel to Malta according to your purpose of travel is after the peak season of the summer holidays mid-September onwards where kids are back at school. Flights amounted to £200 less and accommodation amounted to almost £1,500 less than the original price compared to peak season.
Shopping allowance is up to your personal preference on what you actually need for the trip for myself it amounted to £300.00 since I used other summer clothing I have from my country Trinidad and Tobago.
Spending allowance for the seven days was well budgeted, getting the local bus pass for seven days "Tallinja" instead of using taxis, or wearing the most comfortable shoes, sun cap and walking around doing the tours yourself. For entry tickets to the museums and tourist sites ensure to carry your National Student Union (NUS) card if you are a student this allows you to pay half the price for these tickets. Food expense was reasonable and restaurants served large portion well worth the price. To cut food cost it is recommended to have a large breakfast at the hotel while expensing only on dinner.
Getting there
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| At Gatwick Airport waiting on the flight to Malta |
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| Flying in EasyJet on my way to Malta |
EasyJet airline was the cheapest airline in getting to Malta from Gatwick airport. The holiday plan was to spend three days in Malta while touring the historic city of Valletta then the balance of the holiday relaxing in a luxurious hotel in Saint Julian Malta. Arriving at the airport in Malta a taxi cost £18.00 to drive to the center of Valletta straight to the hotel.
Valletta
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| "In the Streets of Valletta, this historic city is so beautiful". |
With everything a footstep away, wearing comfortable shoes, sun Caps, and having your own bottled water is essential as there was a lot of walking involved in this trip. Tap water in Malta is not safe for drinking the taste is awful since its desalinated sea water which is heavy in minerals and has a very harsh taste almost impossible to stomach. So when getting around ensure to have enough bottled water for your journey or take breaks between tours to go back to the hotel for a water refill.
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| Kristal Water was one of the cheapest I found while there |
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| Be sure to get your Kristal Water |
Things to Do "Valletta"
Valletta is full of endless things to do from walking around in the beautiful city one must visit the impressive St John's Co-Cathedral which was built between 1573 and 1578 with its breathtaking interior and design, and The Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens which overlook the harbor. One must see The Manoel Theatre constructed in 1731 and named after The Grand Master Fra Antonio Manoel de Vilhena. Fort St Elmo-National War Museum houses a great collection of items displayed in chronological order which dates back to prehistoric time.
Be sure to grab a ticket to see The Malta Experience a must see to discover the 7000-year of history for the island which gives a better understanding of the countries history. The Grand Master Palace the home of all the Grand Master Knights of St Johns till Napoleon invaded they fought to the death against the Ottoman to defend the church altar.
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| In the street of Valletta |
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| I love finding my Karen Millen chains when I travel |
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The View from the Upper Barrakka Gardens
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"The Coleridge Hotel" Review
When I arrived at the hotel my first impression was it did not look like any hotel I stayed at before and it's quite new in the hotel business. From trying to fit a big suitcase through a narrow door when I entered the building there was no one at the receptionist everything was just left open. Trying to find my way around the hotel I decided to look for the receptionist almost 30 minutes passed and when I found her she had now finished cleaning the room.
Finally reaching the exciting part of checking in the room my excitement was soon demolished "these fucking people gave the room to another couple that checked in before us since their room that was booked was occupying someone that check out late". I was very upset, no notification was sent by email from the hotel manager "they just gave the room that I legally signed and paid for due to their lack of preparation". I felt like I was begging for something I paid for and disrespected in so many ways. The hotel manager had no courtesy for this and it was not acceptable after paying for a specific room and expecting this on arrival.
The receptionist tried her best to win us back over after talking to her manager on the phone offering a bottle of champagne and giving us the opportunity to swap room the next day to their newly only luxurious penthouse that had not been booked or slept in yet. There was nowhere else to check-in this late and we were only there for two night so accepted the offer.
The Rooms
Stanhope room was the room I was downgraded to and it was completely different to the room I had originally booked. The interior of this room was more on the traditional side and was not as pretty as the Christabel.
Breakfast
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The breakfast area was quite small but very pleasant and clean. To get to this area one would take the lift as it's down in the lower deck of the hotel. Walking down was very dangerous as the hotel ceiling is quite low with no health and safety signs. My partner damaged himself badly bouncing his head on the hotel's ceiling.
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| My partner's head bleeding |
The New Room upgrade "Hatley"
Hatley, the hotel newly refurbish penthouse was quite similar to the Christabel as it included a beautiful painting behind the bed. However, moving over to this room was no better than staying in Stanhope room. The penthouse was not properly prepared for us there was no safe in the room, no working wifi, the air conditioner was not working well, not to mention the shower leaked out into the room after you took a shower which was a bad health and safety issue as the floor became very slippery.
The Positives view of my stay at "The Coleridge Hotel"
Free mini bar the first time on arrival
Comfortables bed
The breakfast was ok
The Negative view of my stay at "The Coleridge Hotel"
Too helpful staff come across as intrusive
Would I recommend this hotel??
Thumbs up to this hotel for their unique interior design of the room but one must consider respect for guest bookings and payment. With all the work put into designing the room, the hotel should consider the health and safety of their guest that stay. Due to these reasons and so many more, I would not recommend this hotel to any friends and family as this was the downfall of my partner and I stay while in Valletta which created a bad start to our holiday.
Hope this post was helpful to all those who plan on visiting Valletta. Look out for Part 2 of my trip in Saint Julian Malta.
Fantastic travel piece, keep up the great work!
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