A little bit of Luxury does you good! (Hotel Intercontinental Malta (St Julians, Malta))

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Hotel Intercontinental Malta (St Julians, Malta)
Date:	06/02/06 (1082 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 5 Star Luxury, great service

Disadvantages: You have to come home after apying the bill, of course!

Kidnapped by a timeshare tout we viewed this hotel and fell in love. It has everything you need when on holiday, although we do leave to go sightseeing and walking, we are always happy to return to this oasis of calm.

+Located where?+
In St George's Bay, St Julians, Malta. Just a few minutes walk from a busy shopping centre, entertainment and the sea front. Just 10km from the airport and about 7km from the capital Valetta.

+ Reception+
Very large and airy, with revolving doors as well as two swing doors, usually with a doorman on duty to help with cases as you arrive. The reception desk is manned 24 hours and if you are amongst the elite there is a carpeted section cordoned off especially for you! There is a separate desk to arrange car hire and a concierge to help with getting a taxi, finding out information on a tourist attraction or answering any other questions. Smart receptionists speak many languages and are quick to get you checked in. The porter takes care of your luggage and takes it to your room. There is currency exchange available and clocks to tell you the time in New York etc! Reception also provides you with a card to take to get free parking at the underground car park, as there is no parking outside the hotel this is a useful addition to the facilities and saves a parking ticket!

+The Lobby Bar+
This is opposite the Reception and great if you feel the need for a drink as soon as you arrive. It is open from 08.00 - 02.00am and serves not only tea and coffee, but can rustle up whatever cocktail takes your fancy! In addition, tempting cakes are in a covered display and are well worth sampling! Relax in comfy seats, have a quiet business meeting or listen to the grand piano being played in the early evening. The staff serves you at your table and are happy to help.

+The Rooms+
All rooms and suites are elegantly furnished and I think this has been done with care for detail. The colours are warm and calming in corals and teal colours, in the rooms I have seen, the wood is light in colour but looks expensive. The headboards are padded material attached to the wall and extras, like a small wool throw, and cushions lie on the bed. There is air conditioning with individual controls, and I'm pretty sure each room has a balcony although views vary. Each room has a safe, colour television with satellite programmes and an option to pay for movies. Should you need to press your clothes there is an iron and ironing board and of course facilities to make a coffee or tea, or a minibar if you want something stronger. There is room to use your laptop and also a fax and modem if this is a working stay, plus three handsets with your telephone! Linen is changed daily and the cleaners are very efficient. Inter connecting rooms are available, if you have young children.

There are 451 bedrooms, but only 3 specified suitable for physically challenged people. There are standard rooms, deluxe with King size beds, and different suites. There is a Presidential Suite but no doubt at a cost! The hotel has 15 floors in the different sections, the 3 top most floors are for Club Inter- continental, which if you travel worldwide and stay regularly you can join for benefits. There are 113 rooms and suites in this section. One of the benefits in this hotel is, meals prepared to order and complimentary buffet breakfast, which is served on top of the world with a magnificent view. Other guests are not allowed in this area.

Before leaving the bedroom, I must say that the bathrooms are clean and modern with a bath, toilet, washbasin and walk in shower. Hair Driers are standard and efficient! White towels are plentiful, large and fluffy and dressing gowns and face cloths are also provided. Small bottles of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, body lotion and soap are provided, also tissues, sewing kit and shoe shine cloth. The doors are heavy and sound proofed, card type keys are provided. The corridors are wide and deeply carpeted so noise is kept down and have some lovely large pictures of animals taken by a member of the family on his travels abroad. There are huge tables at the lift areas with large bowls of Pot Pourri, and signs informing of you which floor you are on and necessary directions.

There is a 24 hour room service if you can't bear to leave your room and also valet and laundry service, which we did not use.

+Places to eat+
Harubba Restaurant
I love to eat! I have already mentioned the Lobby Bar, the other most popular place is the Harubba Restaurant, which is on the first floor, and this has an International Buffet. Breakfast is served here, and like a lot of restaurants has everything you can think of, and also a buffet in the evening. On some occasions chefs come from other Intercontinental hotels and it was a Greek buffet whilst we were on holiday. It is above the reception, but open plan so you can see what is happening around you.
Soprano Restaurant
The Soprano Restaurant is on the same level and can be opened up, with the Harubba, to make into one large restaurant. It is advisable to book in advance as this is a smaller restaurant and they do not take too many at a time. It is called a theatre as you can see the chefs performing! They cook a la carte Italian and seafood dishes. They always bring tempting things to nibble on, so I find I don't need a starter, as I love the sweets! The starter of a Caesar salad comes in a bowl made from crispy bread, it would be sufficient as a main meal for me! The fish trolley has some wonderful specimens and they can be cooked in many different ways. I had tasty potato mash with horseradish and wilted spinach stacked on top and my fish was cooked in garlic oil with a tasty lemon sauce dribbled skilfully around. There is an excellent wine list.
Al Fresco Restaurant
This is open in the summer months, weather permitting. Lunches and dinners are available, sitting under the huge umbrellas in the landscaped gardens.
Narcis bar and Restaurant.
This is in the pool area, which is on the roof of part of the hotel and overlooked by the Club area. Sitting and enjoying a lunchtime snack or light meal and absorbing the sea view is very pleasant on a summer's day. This is open depending on the weather too. Grills are most popular and also cold drinks and coffees are served to people lying around the pool.
Carissa restaurant
We have eaten here several times. It is on two levels and the staff race up and down a spiral staircase with pizzas and pasta dishes elegantly balanced! It is more relaxed eating here than at the Soprano. Pasta, Pizza and risottos, plus fish dishes all feature on the menu, bread and oil and other dips are brought for you to nibble whilst waiting for your starter to arrive. Service was slow the one night as there was a party of around 16 local people celebrating a special birthday. Our waitress apologised for the delay in the main course arriving and brought us free drinks! We had a very pleasant relaxed evening! There is also a Carissa bar with comfortable settees and chairs and a wide screen television if you want to relax.
Eastern Breeze Restaurant
I've left the best to last. We did not eat here the first time we stayed, but really enjoyed our evening this year. My husband had booked a table and we strolled down and were soon seated in the attractive restaurant. It overlooks the street, and the window was tastefully disguised behind a wooden frame with all things eastern. The girls were dressed in Japanese style dresses and many were of Eastern origin, which added to the ambience. We were given our menus as the cocktail trolley arrived and sipped our chilled martinis as we choose what delicacies we should sample. The Eastern Breeze takes you on a culinary journey from Asia through to the Mediterranean. We choose the Japanese sushi, sashmi and maki rolls as part of a selection of the Nine sins! At least I think it was nine! This was a starter for 2 people but it was no trouble to provide enough for the 3 of us. I had a noodle dish for the main course, and can't remember what the others had. I even managed a delicious coconut ice cream for sweet! The meal was not rushed and was a very enjoyable experience. Little sweetmeats were served with coffee, which we just had to eat!

+Health and Fitness+
After all that eating you need to burn off a few calories! You can be energetic and go to the Cynergi health club, accessible through the garden, which has state of the art equipment. Sit pedalling your bike and watch a film, lift a few weights climb the wall. Brad Pitt used this gym before his own equipment was shipped over whilst filming a couple of years ago! Changing rooms are available, towels provided, and a juice bar with seating is a good place to recover! There is a lovely indoor pool, which can also be reached from the main hotel, it is 17 metres in length with separate changing rooms, and a lifeguard was always on duty when I was there.

The outdoor pool is enormous! It is on the roof and is 47 metres in a lagoon style, shallower at the one end for children. Cool to get into at times but you soon become acclimatised! There are toilets and changing rooms near one of the lifts, and showers near the pool. Soft music is piped around the area and there are neat garden areas with palm trees and bright flowers.
After all that exercise, I felt in need of a massage and the Beauty studio can oblige. Sauna and steam baths are available and hot stone massages. Facials and manicures are amongst the vast list of treatments and all priced at a similar range to good beauty salons in Britain. A facial and shoulder massage taking an hour was 20 Maltese pounds, which cost about £32.

+Shops+
All this eating and exercise left me in need of a bit of retail therapy. There is a lovely jewellery shop, where I window-shopped and a small boutique where you can buy swimwear, sun ream or bits and pieces you've forgotten. Books, maps, postcards and plenty of gifts are also stocked.
There is a shopping centre with more restaurants just across the street if you feel the need to explore a little.

+Gardens+
The gardens are well maintained with lots of water features, the fish are large and colourful and the turtles are interesting to watch as they lie and bask in the sun, or race around the pool, playing follow my leader. There are plenty of areas to sit or lie in the sun, and we never had a problem getting a sun lounger when we wanted one. Some of the trees are really tall and give the gardens some character.

+Conference Rooms+
There are 18 different meeting rooms, including a large ballroom. We have seen several conferences going on whilst we stayed, it can cause some delay at Reception, and make the lobby area busy, but they tend to eat in one of the function rooms or at other hotels with other delegates so it doesn't cause too much of a problem. The largest room can cater for 740 for a drinks reception or seat 400 for a banquet, these rooms are found on different levels and named after the owner's family De Cesare or after planets.

+The Lifts+
The hotel is a maze at first! There are North and south lifts, they are large clean and shiny with a television giving you the news, they are quick and so far I have never had a problem!

+ Complaints+
In every room, there is information about the hotel and also a questionnaire to complete about your stay. We were not happy that our cases had not been delivered, so after an hour, I phoned and they arrived soon after. On our return, we received a letter and apology from the manager, who assured us it had received his attention and hoped we would soon return! I often wondered if anyone looked at those forms!

+Cost+
I suppose there has to be something nasty in every review! You can book direct, make your own travel arrangements, and choose what type of room you want or use a travel agent and book everything together. Prices range from £379 in April to £589 in August for a week including flights for B &B. Supplements are £4 for a panoramic view per person per night and £15 pppn for HB, which is eating at the Harubba restaurant.

+Conclusion+
An excellent hotel for the discerning guest. No loud rowdy bars, karaoke singing or people trying to get you to do a quiz or join the aqua aerobics! But a place to relax, recharge your batteries, enjoy good food, and in a very good area to get around and sight see if you wish. It gets 5 stars from me.


Roll on May 2006 when we return for our next weeks holiday.

Summary: Great hotel, choice of restaurants, good base to tour Malta