An Ideal Setting (Luna Holiday Complex)

Member Name: meah

Product:	Luna Holiday Complex
Date:	19/04/02 (1210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly and attentive staff, Ideal setting, Not too big

Disadvantages: No children's pool, No air conditioning in apartments

We have had some wonderful holidays on Malta and have stayed in a few different hotels in three resorts on the Island, all good hotels and we could not complain about anything but one hotel in particular has really impressed us, it’s the type of hotel you return to time and time again. The Luna Holiday Complex is a three star aparthotel offering a range of self-catering accommodation at Malta’s north coast resort of Mellieha Bay.

The Complex is split into two buildings standing side by side with a wide private walled terrace at the front of the buildings, the terrace leads you onto the main road into Mellieha Bay, which is less than five minutes walk to the beginning of the beautiful long sandy beach.

The main building has four floors and two lifts and offers studios for two to three people and one-bedroom apartments for up to four people. The other building is on three floors with one lift and houses two bedroom apartments for up to six people, both buildings together have a total of one hundred and fourteen bedrooms.

The Apartments

Our apartment was a studio for two to three people on the third floor of the main building. Our studio was clean and comfortable with twin beds, fitted wardrobe, ample drawers, a sofa bed, dining table and chairs, kitchen units with adequate kitchen utensils, a four ring hob with grill and a fridge with ice box, direct dial telephone and safety deposit box (there is a small fee for the safety deposit box).

All apartments have a balcony with either a country or sea view, we looked out over the Med; our balcony was not large but had room for a couple of patio chairs and a small patio table and the rail appeared to offer adequate safety for children.

Our bathroom was fairly large with a walk-in shower cubicle, hand basin and toilet (no bath or bidet).

The apartments are cleaned daily, bed linen was changed twice weekly and towels were changed daily.

The onl
y fault we could find with the apartments in the Luna Holiday Complex is they do not have air conditioning, there is a ceiling fan but in very hot weather this is not really adequate.

Facilities

All areas of the Luna Holiday Complex except the apartments have air conditioning. As you enter the main building there is a large airy reception area with comfortable seating; the reception leads you into the cocktail bar and through the cocktail bar there is a fairly large lounge with a big screen television, board games and a small library, entertainment is provided in the lounge two evenings a week. There is a large patio area off the lounge with stunning views out over the Med and ample cane style armchairs and tables for you to enjoy the views in comfort.

The sun terrace can be reached from either the lounge or cocktail bar and here you find patio tables, chairs and free sun beds; the sun terrace is large with ornamental arches covered with trailing plants along the back wall with views over the Med. There is a small pool with an ornamental wall around it and access to the pool is gained through an open gateway and down four steps, there is no separate children’s pool at the Luna Holiday Complex, but you are only five minutes walk to Mellieha Bay with it’s glorious long sandy beach gently shelving into the Med.

The second building of the complex with the two bedroom apartments leads onto the far side of the sun terrace and this is where the games room is housed, the games room has pool tables, table tennis and bar football amongst other things. There is also an unsupervised fitness room next to the games room, the fitness room is kept locked and you get the key from reception in exchange for your apartment key, the key is only given to adults.

You can buy bar meals and sandwiches from the cocktail bar and pool bar throughout the day, the pool bar also sells a wide selection of ice creams.

The Luna Holid
ay Complex also has it’s own well stocked mini-market selling all your daily essentials, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, milk eggs, etc. plus sun tan lotions, beach accessories and toys, newspapers, books, magazines and souvenirs.

The hotel dining room is not large; there are approximately twenty-four tables of various sizes for two, four and six people plus six booth style tables. Tables are set with crisp white linen tablecloths, proper cloth napkins and a small vase of flowers. There is a full and varied evening meal menu offering British, Italian and Maltese cuisine and an excellent wine list, the breakfast menu was either full English or Continental and both meals were waiter service. The dining room is closed one evening each week but the hotel has a barbeque on the sun terrace.

Two afternoons each week the hotel offers massage sessions and you can book in advance at the reception; the hotel also has a mini-bus service three evenings per week into St. Julian’s Bay, which is renowned for its nightlife, the mini-bus leaves St. Julian’s at midnight so you are back at the hotel in time for last orders in the cocktail bar. The return fare for the mini-bus depends on the number of passengers but it is never very much and it is advisable to book your seat well in advance.

To Sum Up

The Luna Holiday Complex is in an ideal setting for those who prefer a fairly quiet resort and enjoy the beach, the views from the front of the hotel are of the country and Mellieha Village and the back of the hotel looks out over the Med. It is a five-minute bus ride to Mellieha Village, the village is at the top of a very steep hill and the majestic village church stands high on the hill overlooking the bay and surrounding countryside.

The village has some lovely restaurants for evening meals, if you take the bus into the village get off just around the first corner of the main street, opposite St. Joseph’s Bakery,
you are on fairly level ground then and you can always walk back over down the hill. We took the bus into the village a few times and then enjoyed a slow walk
back down the hill to the bay; the hill is full of s-bends so it is a fairly long walk but about half way down there is a lovely pub where you can stop for a rest and a drink.

There are some beautiful bays to explore around this part of the island and it is ideal for those who enjoy walking, there are regular buses into Sliema, St. Julian’s and Valletta (it takes about one hour on the bus to Valletta). We hired a car for half of our holiday and were quite happy with the buses and walking the rest of the time.

Within a few minutes walk of the Complex there are a few nice restaurants and bars serving bar meals. We had a few breakfasts and evening meals in the hotel, a few in the Village and a few in the restaurants and bars between the hotel and the beach, everywhere we ate we were very happy with the service and quality of the food.

Out first holiday at the Luna Holiday Complex was booked through Sunspot and we were so impressed with the friendly and attentive service we booked direct with the hotel for a later date. This is one of those hotels that once you have found you just want to return to. We were also rather pleased when we received a Christmas card from the hotel two years running.

The Luna Holiday Complex is on Marfa Road, Mellieha Bay, Malta, SPB 10
Telephone (356) 521645
Fax (356) 521727
Email lunacomplex@waldonet.net.mt

Book online through
Sun Dreams Travel
www.sundreamtravel.com
info@sundreamtravel.com

Or from a Travel Agent
Sunspot Summer 2002 Holiday Brochure Malta, Gozo and Comino

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