InterContinental Malta

I’ve stayed in many Intercontinental hotels and this one misses the mark on so many levels. The lobby is decent, but the hallways and rooms are stark and barren, as though any warmth or color might appear too welcoming. Our “upgraded” room was the exact same as the booked room, but with a general musty, not quite clean feel. The staff, with the exception of the bell desk, was unhelpful and not accommodating. While waiting for our room we had lunch at their beachside restaurant Paranga. An hour after taking our order, our entrees had still not arrived.. It set the tone for the rest of the stay. Intercontinental is a solid chain, but this hotel doesn’t deserve to bear the name. I con not recommend staying there.

We took our granddaughter for a week before she returned to school. As IHG members we thought we knew what to expect and booked a club room which gave us access to the very nice Club Lounge. Reception was bright and welcoming and we were taken to the Club Lounge to check in and offered a drink. The lounge is a real highlight where you are waited on at breakfast and it offers afternoon tea, a light buffet and drinks on each evening. Staff were attentive and very obliging. Room 1 As we were travelling with our 11 year old granddaughter the usual configuration would be a king sized bed and a single or sofa which converts. This small, dark room had 2 double (4ft 6in) beds. This was not acceptable but the first response was that we didn’t request a king sized bed! No where in the marketing was a room with standard double beds and in a ‘5’ star hotel I wouldn’t have expected one. Room 2 Still on the club floor which has a frayed and worn carpet and a faint musty smell. This room was very efficiently turned into a king and single bed. The carpet was old and worn. No sofa but one plastic chair in front of the mirror and an upholstered chair. The bathroom was large and well equipped but the shower temperature fluctuated while in use. On the first afternoon we lost water to the room for a couple of hours and the following morning we were without water when we awoke and it remained off for the morning. The fridge was not working and was replaced within 2 hours of us reporting it. There were no charging points in the room and one of the sockets we used to charge devices needed some fiddling with to work. The small balcony had 2 plastic chairs and a small table. The only place to drying wet costumes was over the chairs on the balcony which then meant you couldn’t sit out. All together this was a tired 3 star room.

Pool This was large but when you consider how large the hotel is and that the sister hotel guests can use it, it was inadequate for anything other than a dip to get cool. Rules for the pool included the usual no running or diving but also no floaties, not sinkers, no balls etc. Given that there isn’t a slide, kids’ club or entertainment team I wouldn’t recommend this hotel for families. Pool furniture was generally plentiful but consisted of basic plastic beds - no padding, no Bali beds. Staff were efficient and friendly and occasionally came round with iced watermelon slices. Changing facilities were small and there were only 2 toilets which were kept clean.

Water Biscuit Restaurant We ate here twice and found the food to be of a high quality and the staff lovely

Staff Great staff, very friendly especially the guys cleaning the rooms. They spend a lot of time dealing with complaints from my observation. All badly let down by the managers who have let this hotel become severely run down.

Location Plenty of bars and restaurants suited to a younger crowd. It’s a bustling area - plenty of neon and noise.

We go on holiday to enjoy ourselves and we did, but without the Club Lounge and lovely Water Biscuit Restaurant we would have asked to move hotels. This hotel is beyond tired.