We stayed at this hotel for a Saturday to Saturday week (23-30 Dec 2006) - over Christmas.

Getting there
We hired a car (don't use Drifter Car Hire!) and got a bit lost on the way to the hotel as the roadsigns in Malta are non-existent or not very helpful.

Location
Very central for visiting all parts of Malta (and Gozo). Very close to main road number 1. Nothing is more than 20km away in any direction. Well located for local eating out, walks and driving.

Arriving
We arrived late at night (11pm) and had to queue to get into the adjoining multistorey car park (competing with the local clubbers and partygoers) and luckily got one of the last remaining parking bays, on the lowest level. We were disappointed that there is no direct access from the parking garage to the hotel... we had to drag our suitcases up three levels of ramp and then along a street packed with moviegoers and clubbers to reach the hotel. Parking is chargeable (I think about MTL 4 per day) unless you're in a Suite. Although the parking garage is seperate, it is owned/operated by Eden Leisure who also operate the hotel and cinemas (it's ultimately one company).

Checkin
The checkin was swift (it was quiet at 11pm). I had booked a Club Room and was hoping for my free upgrade on Priority Club Platinum level, after the receptionist approached her supervisor to authorise this I was told there were no upgrades available (availability) but the supervisor said that if I was to upgrade to InterContinental's Ambassador programme (for USD150/GBP75/MTL50) I would be guaranteed a room upgrade to a Suite and gain other benefits like free parking and a free weekend night in the next year. I took them up on the upgrade (my main reasons were the weak US dollar and the fact we were staying a week, and I've got more InterContinental stays coming up in 2007). The Ambass. documents were supposed to be sent to the room (these arrived 2 days later, only after a reminder) and the welcome fruit and water never arrived all week (despite a reminder).

Room
We were allocated Suite 1202 (12th floor, accessed from South lifts). This style of Suite is the size of two regular rooms. The first room is a lounge containing a large desk with lamp and internet connection, an easy chair with footstool and a velvet couch. There is a TV and Hi-Fi with mini-bar in the corner. (I'm pretty sure the website said there'd be DVD players in the club rooms, but there weren't). The lounge leads to 2 balconies, one front facing with views of the 10th floor pool deck and the bay - with wooden recliners and a table with chairs and umbrella, the other facing the side with views over other balconies and the neighbouring building's rear - with two chairs. The lounge also leads to a guest bathroom (toilet and basin only) and to the bedroom. The bedroom contained a large (king?) size bed, two sidetables, an easy chair and a TV. Two sets of cupboards (containing digital safe big enough for a laptop, ironing board, iron, more hangers than usual, laundry basket). There are extra pillows available in the room. The bedroom also has a balcony with views similar to the side on described above. The main bathroom is very spacious with seperate bath and shower. Included are shower gel, conditioner,shampoo, body cream, mouthwash, soap, sewing kit. Wall mounted hair dryer. The room is decorated in neutral tones (cremes, light greens). The blackout curtains are effective. Club ROoms and Suites are offered a turn down service in the evenings, with a little chocolate.

Room Issues
+ Damp - there was a damp issue in our room, probably from an earlier flooding. The room smelt damp and the glass sliding doors were almost permanently foggged up as a result of the damp. On one day there was a damp patch on the lounge carpet below the airconditioner unit.
+ Sliding doors - these didnt close easily and it wasnt clear if they closed shut properly or not
+ Noise - despite being up 12 floors and in the middle of the hotel, the bass from nearby clubs in Paceville was audible - especially on the weekends
+ Pillows - were a bit soft
+ Suitcase rack - only one was provided
+ Bathroom - had a speaker in the ceiling and a volume control but was not connected to anything
+ Shower flooding - there was a sticker on the shower door offering a warning, but unless you are very careful water will seep out from the shower tray and spill all over the bathroom floor

Club Room
If you take one bit of advice from this review - it's that you must book a room with Club Room access! The club room on the 15th floor is big and the features are great. There are a couple of TV's with different news programmes on, there is a large balcony with views in all directions, the staff are friendly and helpful and most importantly there is the free food and drink. The club room is open from 6:30am to 10pm (pity its not open later). Breakfast is served from 6:30 to 11am. There is a range of cold items (coffees, juices, breads, pastries, fruit, yoghurts, cheeses, cold meats, med. stuff like olives - as well as hot items like beans, bacon, sausages and mushrooms). Eggs are prepared to order and the poached, scrambled and omeletes are all recommended. Afternoon tea is served from 3 to 5pm. This includes sandwiches, scones and cakes. Beware, this is not replenished, so if you are not there at 3pm you may miss out. Canapes are served from 7pm to 9pm. Once again, it pays to be there at 7pm prompty to benefit fully. Soft drinks and beer are available throughout the day, but the spirits (hard tack!) come out at 7pm. It's self service. THere's two laptops available for internet access.

Club Room Issues
+ Should stay open later (beyond 10pm)
+ Need better control, the door roomkey control was broken so the door was ajar and we werent always challenged for our room number. I'm not sure but I'm convinced that the club room was being used by those not entitled to it!
+ Need a better system of controlling internet laptops. The policy is that they're for over 18's only (this was not enforced) and some individuals would hog the computers (sometimes for over an hour) and just to sit on instant messenger and social networking sites... when I needed to sort out flights! Even approaching the club room staff elicited a "sorry, I can't tell her to move"
+ Not prepared for busy period - christmas and new year period is busy and they weren't ready, breakfast tables weren't set.

Hotel General Areas
The hotel is big and it takes time to move around. There is no (publicly accessible) 1st floor. The second floor is one below ground and is the business centre and conference rooms. The ground floor is also the 3rd floor... reception, concierge, guest relations, lobby lounge/bar, jewellers, hotel shop. Fourth floor is the main buffet restaurant Harruba, the Soprano pasta restaurant and the Eastern Breeze restaurant. Fifth floor is access to the indoor pool, gym and beauty centre. Six and seven give access to the Carissa Italian restaurant and bar, also the gardens and (seasonal) Al Fresco restaurant. 10th floor is the rooftop gardens and outdoor pool with (seasonal) bar. Club Room is up on 15. There are two banks of lifts, south and north. South goes all the way to 15. Lifts have wall to ceiling mirrors inside with TV's!

Food Service
+ Room Service - prices are very reasonable for a 5 star hotel. Delivered within 30 minutes. Comes on a trolley with builtin warmer. Also came with free bread and butter and a candle.
+ Harruba - we used this once for the Christmas day buffet. Massive selection, some unusual options but quality very good. Attentive service.
+ Eastern Breeze - very good. Big servings, tasty. Smart decor. Worth booking on the weekends - popular with locals.
+ "Seasonal" - as we were there in the middle of winter, some restaurants and bars weren't open (including all the Beach Club and outdoor pool facilities)

Staff
+ Concierge - brilliant, friendly, helpful - they helped us with everything from casino shuttles to stamps to booking our Sicily daytrip.
+ Reception - efficient
+ Instant Service - quick to answer and responsive, but not all requests satisfactorily fulfilled
+ Club Room - well intentioned, but need to exert more control (see above)
+ In general... very friendly and helpful
+ As were there for Christmas we were given a panettone with compliments of the general manager and his wife.

Pool & Gym
Indoor pool was good. No opening hours published, assume its open 24 hours. Rectangular, 1.1m deep throughout. Lifeguard on duty. Spacious changing rooms. Free towels. Water warm, not hot. Also Sauna and steamroom available. Pity there's no whirlpool spa. Didn't use the gym, but it looked huge and popular. Squash court at the back.

Beauty Clinic
We checked the prices and there is better value along the road at the Radisson Hotel!

Nearby the hotel
+ [Recommended] Hard Rock Cafe (across the road) - keen prices by HRC standards and massive portions and friendly attentive staff
+ Corleone (Italian - across the road) - give it a miss, bit pricy and food not fantastic
+ Chinese Restaurant (a short walk past the Dragonara Westin, and adjoining the Golden Tulip hotel) - good food, staff struggled with English
+ Ten Pin Bowling (across the road) - very popular so get in early or book in advance. Free shoe hire with your key card
+ BayStreet mall (across the road) - good selection of shops (Mexx, M&S, Newsagent with British papers & postcards, Choclatier) and other restaurants (Cafe, Pizza, McDonalds, Argentinian Steakhouse)
+ Bureau de Change - just along from the hotel on the right
+ Off-licence - just along on the right

Overall
We would stay again (we'll go in summer next time). We do recommend the hotel.