St Paul's Bay, Gillieru Harbour Hotel

A very well appointed hotel with lovely views over the harbour to st pauls island. The staff are the friendliest and most helpful staff I have ever met in a mediterainian hotel.

Food was excellent (although if you are the sort or person that can't live without an english breakfast you will have to pay a surcharge.) Continental Breakfast was lovely always fresh fruit available, dinner again was great, you might think a soup choice in hot weather is a bit odd but do try it as they are excellent.

Room was cleaned to a very high standard every day and the curtains drawn to keep the room cool. There was a fridge in the room that was very handy and a tv but we never even turned it on.

Buses are close by and the staff in the hotel will point you in the rght direction.

They dealt with our hire car return for us, leaving us free to go out and enjoy some more of Malta.

All in all an excellent place to stay, out of the main drag and away from the more gawdy establishments.

Overall we were very happy with our stay at the Gillieru Harbour hotel.The harbour closeby provided us with an additional swimming facility.The hotel staff couldn't have been more helpful and accomodating and were very welcoming.We enjoyed our holiday in Malta and our stay at this hotel so much that we would recommend it to our families and friends.

We stayed and fell in love with this hotel, the location superb and romantic views and lovely staff, which is why we would highly recommend this charming hotel and return. Its in a prime position and a classy location. Food was wonderful and intimate service which was great for our two children, a very "family feel" we cannot wait to go back, the pool was just the right size and breathtaking views!

Towels were changed & room cleaned every day. Hotel staff very friendly & helpful, especially reception. This was our first visit to Malta & won't be our last & we would most likely stay at the same hotel. We had continental breakfast although a cooked breakfast was available at extra cost. We ate at their seafood restaurant & was very pleased with the food & service.

Gorgeous views, huge, fresh portions of all dishes. Very reasonable wine. Service was alright, but not as attentive as I expected for such a classy restaurant. Different people delivering different parts of the meal, which I found a little distracting. Overall, great place in Malta. Gorgeous views, huge, fresh portions of all dishes. Very reasonable wine. Would 100% go back.

The staff at the Gillieru Harbour Hotel were friendly, but it is little different from a 3 star hotel, with average food.

The NOISE. I booked a seaview room but ended up with an inland room overlooking a very noisy road where the wall has an open vent letting traffic noise right through, boy racers at the weekend through the night and bin lorries at 3 a.m. during the week revving up for the hill - the hotel is at the bottom of a bank with a road going up another bank. Then there is the loud PA system from the adjacent church and an internal duct from the kitchens running by the room, and the air conditioning noise from other rooms.

When lack of sleep means nodding off on the local buses (if you've been to Malta and on these and the rougher roads etc) you will appreciate how bad things were.

Frankly, the inland rooms are in my opinion uninhabitable.

The bathroom needed some repairs but nothing drastic, and the TV had few channels.

The fridge was in a cupboard and overheated because of lack of airflow.

Overall, nice staff, clean & tidy, but a 3 star hotel and I certainly would not return.

Excellent base for exploring Malta.

The hotel is well situated, and provides very good amenities. Food standards are very good (though English breakfasts are only available at extra cost). The buffet breakfast can be as substantial as required, and fresh fruit is available. Dinners consists of a choice of 3 starters and main courses, plus a choice of deserts. Food at Dinner is a very high quality.

Rooms are more than adequate, with towels changed daily, and cleaning regularly and effectively carried out. Beds are on the hard side, uncomfortable for arthritis sufferers, but otherwise OK. Radios tend not to work, and the controllers for the TVs have to be obtained with a LM5 returnable deposit. The range of TV channels available calls into question whether it is even worthwhile paying this amount!

Rooms have a balcony with chairs and a small table, and even those facing the inland square are very acceptable. If you hire a car, then parking is on the streets surrounding the hotel. The hotel swimming pool is pleasant, but the position of the hotel on the harbour makes swimming in St Paul's Bay an even more attractive proposition. The hotel is within easy walking distance of the shops in Bugibba and Qawra.

An excellent hotel to which we would happily return.

Would go back for the location. Probably would only go on a B&B basis.

Now we know where to go in the evenings for some entertainment. O'Reilys in Bugibba or the Grape vine, or Fat Harry's. All offer good entertainment and only a 10 min walk back to the Hotel.

I would not recommend this hotel for families with young children, or people with disabilities, as the lifts were constantly breaking down.

I have to take this opportunity to speak up on behalf of the staff at The Gillieru Harbour Hotel in St. Pauls Bay, Malta. We have just visited Malta for the first time, and spent a delightful week at the Gillieru. We are 29 and 31 years of age.

::ROOM SERVICE

Now, if you're used to pampering yourself in UK 4* hotels you may be a little disappointed. However, the Gillieru matches any good UK 3* hotel, and is on a par with many Mediterranean 4* hotels. The room was complete with mini-bar, well-priced, and refilled daily. The room was tidied and cleaned daily, with clean towels provided, and extra ones available on request for the pool. The TV had a mix of channels - from the interesting TV Malta, through to the bizarre Italian channels, to BBC World and BBC Prime. Complimentary shower gels and shampoos were also very welcome.

::THE STAFF

All very friendly. We found that some of the early morning restaurant staff were perhaps a little over-efficient, with our coffee and tea being refilled as soon as the cup was emptied! We were made to feel very special by 2 particular members of staff, and now consider that we have two great friends in Malta! They even taught us Maltese - not the easiest language to grasp - but great fun. They'll give you a great 'Merhba!'. We passed some great nights in the bar, drinking Bajtra, Leila and Madlien, and having a laugh with the staff.

::THE FOOD

Breakfast was of the 'continental' variety. Dairylea slices, I'm afraid, but coupled with a selection of cold meats and fresh bread, cereals, toast and jam; tasty nonetheless. English breakfast is also available for a charge, but we found the continental more than enough.

Evening meals were superb. There was a selection of at least 3 - 4 starters and main courses each night, and no skimping on the portions! In fact, if we couldn't decide what to have, we were readily offered a mixture of them all! Great with the deserts, I have to say! The Gilleru specialises in fish dishes, with the public restaurant (attached) having international acclaim. They also do great stews, curries, and traditional Maltese fayre.

::OVERALL

The hotel is conveniently located around 5 - 7minutes walk from central Bugibba, but in a quiet end of the bay, so there's the best of both worlds. There's ample parking if you hire a car to sight-see the island.

We had a fantastic week. It was our first time in Malta, and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel to anybody. We'll certainly make it our choice whenever we return to Malta! A very friendly, professional and enjoyable place to be. Tajjeb!

We booked the Gillieru Harbour Hotel for 28 nights, endured 16 and transferred to another hotel, for the privilidge of leaving we had to pay the hotel direct a charge of £85.00.

We had paid extra for sea view, which was suberb, however DO NOT BOOK sea view on the winter months as these rooms are cold and damp receiving no sunshine.

The staff all try to do their best we tipped the maid on arrival in order to get decent towels(they buy the cheapest possible quality) as most of them are a pale shade of grey, and newer clean looking ones are scarce.

The heating was not switched on this was the end of November, demanding some form of heat we were brought a circa 1970 oil filled electric radiator, which was thermostatic, we could not raise the room temp above 16deg,so dreaded going back to the room showering etc.

FOOD.

Breakfast continental. Plenty of bread, slices of plastic wrapped cheese slices, plastic reformed ham, and fresh fruit (bananas rationed)

Evening Meal.

Three choices of main item, one choice of veg, one choice of potato, which were often croquettes, which I do not eat at home and certainly not in a so called 4 star hotel. This meal is served from heated trays (some form of candle underneath) hence never very hot. The chefs and waiters are there to help and they did make be an omelette for my main meal when they realised most nights I was eating soup. I think the food budget per person is set so low the choice is low. SUNDECK Idyllic over the sea however most of the sunbeds are filthy, blackened and grimey there were one or two newer cleaner ones but of course hard to come by.

The rear exterior of the hotel is in a state of neglect, paint flaking,plaster broken,tiles cracked.

We paid to leave and although location not great got good food,cooked breakfast, lots of choice for the evening meal, plenty of warmth and white fluffy towels at the next hotel.