Get away from the lager louts, unruly kids and English food! (Coastline Hotel (Salina, Malta))

Member Name: lellagrace

Product:	Coastline Hotel (Salina, Malta)
Date:	06/07/07 (575 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great hotel, could not fault it

Disadvantages: In the countryside

If you are looking for a good place to stay in Malta for a peaceful, relaxing holiday then this could be the place for you.

BOOKING

We booked through Expedia.co.uk and compared with the brochure prices saved a couple of hundred pounds. A week's stay, all inclusive, including flights from Manchester and car hire (pick up/drop off at the airport) cost us less than 420 GBP each.

The Coastline Hotel used to be a Thomson Gold but it no longer has this classification, although it is still used by Thomson holidays I believe. Other tour operators from Germany and France etc also use the hotel. One recommendation is that the Coastline is also patronised by the Maltese people for weddings and private parties, the locals would not go there if it was not good!

LOCATION

The hotel is in a commanding position on Salina Bay, a bit out of the main towns, the nearest resorts being Qawra and Bugibba and St Paul's Bay. Situated on a busy main road, but high on the hill above so no traffic noise, the hotel does not have its own beach. The sea is directly opposite but you have to cross the main road, via a pelican crossing, and the beach is only small and very rocky. There are however excellent beaches a couple of miles away in the more popular resorts.

However, unless you want a beach location, the Coastline is well recommended. Having said that, I would not really recommend it as a family hotel as I am sure children of all ages would soon become bored! The guests were mainly couples, young and not so young, and single travellers. There were a few families with young children, but not many.

FACILITIES

The Coastline is a modern hotel, with the usual marble floors etc found in continental hotels. There are two outdoor swimming pools - one for children and an adult one. The main pool is deep by normal standards so non swimmers should take care. In addition, there is an indoor pool, a jacuzzi and a fitness centre, although we never used any of these.

There are a lot of sunbeds around the pool and if you got there before 9.30 am there was no problem getting one. Additional lounger mattresses and parasols were available for use with the sunbeds.

There is a sunken bar by the main pool where you can sit on stools in the water and sip cooling drinks! There is also a tennis court, but it was too hot for us to use this.

There is a book exchange where you can borrow books if you have forgotten or finished your own book. There is tv in the rooms but amazingly if you wanted a remote control this was an extra charge! There is also a tv lounge on the ground floor.

There is a small gift shop in the hotel where you can buy newspapers, toiletries, gifts etc.

FOOD AND DRINK

We booked an All Inclusive package which entitled us to unlimited food and drink for the duration of our stay. There was a wide choice of food - at breakfast there was choice of cereals, fresh fruit salad, eggs cooked any way you liked (omelette, boiled, poached, fried), bacon, tomatoes, croissants, toast, jam, fruit juice, tea, coffee. Breakfast was served in the main restaurant on the first floor.

At lunchtime you could choose to eat in the main restaurant or the poolside bar or the smaller restaurant on the ground floor. On our first day we opted for the main restaurant where we ate a delicious buffet lunch, but realised afterwards that three huge meals a day was too much! So on the following days we ate in the smaller restaurant or by the poolside, where we could order sandwiches, pizza, salad, scampi and other lighter meals.

In the evenings we ate in the main restaurant. This is open from 6.30 until 9.30 pm so it was flexible if we had been out for the day and wanted a late meal. There was a good selection of food - hors d'ouevres, salads, soups, main courses with at least three choices and a vegetarian, and a choice of three luscious desserts (the Baileys' cheesecake was delicious!!!!) and cheese and biscuits. Wine was included as were aperitifs and after dinner coffee.

On a couple of days we set off sightseeing and the hotel provided us with a packed lunch box. This contained meat, cheese, salad, bread rolls and fruit.

We could have unlimited bottles of water - this in itself must have saved us a fortune as it was so hot we drank loads! There was a fridge in our room but mini bar and tea and coffee facilites were not in the AI price. We just made sure we had a supply of water in there. Also of course, unlimited alcoholic drinks of local brands. We did ask for an Irish Cream liqueur one evening but the amount we were given was very small, but no problem, we could have another.

As we booked AI we were each given a card and on production of this you were allowed two drinks at a time. I suppose this was to prevent people stocking up to avoid the queues at the bar at peak periods.

COMFORT

The rooms were comfortable and clean, bed linen was changed on alternate days and the bathroom towels changed daily. Shampoo, shower caps and soap were also provided, but not shower gel.

We opted for a country side view and our room backed onto gardens at the rear of the hotel. We were glad we had done this as the seaview rooms were at the front and we thought they would probably have been noisy in the evenings from the outside entertainment. The air conditioning in the rooms was not particularly powerful and we had to leave our balcony doors open at night. We were later told we could have asked for a fan.

ENTERTAINMENT

In the evenings there was entertainment outside on the terrace by the pool. This was the only downside of the stay as it was rather repetitive with mainly (not very good) singers and keyboard players each evening. If you like dancing there is a small area in front of the stage and on a couple of occasions there were latin american dancers performing.

DOWNSIDE

As this hotel is situated on the edge of the countryside there was sometimes a smell as the farmers spread fertiliser on the fields. We only noticed this to be really overpowering on our last night there, at other times it was hardly noticeable. There were also a few flies around but we bought a citronella candle and took this with us when we were outside. In the evenings each table did have a candle anyway. Some people believed these problems were caused by a rubbish tip on the hillside beyond the hotel, but it certainly seemed a "countryside" problem to us, rather than the rubbish tip. But don't let this put you off, it was not all that bad or we would not have stayed!

SISTER HOTEL

The Coastline hotel has a sister hotel and we had been warned by friends who had stayed there before, that we might be persuaded to attend a presentation about the holiday club they run. We did in fact get a phone call to our room, initially asking if everything was okay, then going on to say they had a bottle of wine for us in reception. I realised this was to try to get us to give up a day of our holiday to attend a presentation, so a polite "no thank you" ensured we were not bothered again.

CONCLUSION

Having read some reviews about this hotel on a holiday site, we were unsure what it would be like, even though friends had stayed there previously. We were really pleased with the Coastline and found it an ideal place to spend a peaceful holiday, away from unruly kids, lager louts and junk food Brits! If you want a rowdy holiday with sausage and mash or burgers for dinner then do not go to this hotel.

It is situated out of the main resorts and you need a car or use the courtesy buses to Bugibba from the hotel or the frequent bus service on the main road, at the bottom of the hotel drive.

As we booked independently we were not herded onto coaches at the airport or subjected to Welcome talks. On our departure at 5 am we were the only ones leaving and too early for breakfast. However the night staff very kindly provided us with coffee and biscuits. This was just typical of the friendliness and courtesy of all the staff.

The Coastline hotel has a 4 star rating and it is a place we will certainly return to.

If you want a good place to stay in Malta then try the Coastline.

Summary: A good place for a quiet and relaxing holiday