115 The Strand Hotel and Suites

Stayed here for 3 nights in August, following a terrific 7 nights in our own villa on Gozo. Perhaps moving from a 3 storey villa with a pool to a single hotel room was always going to be disappointing, but there were a couple of things that made me rate the experience as average, when it could've been good.

Firstly, it took an age to check in. We were there a couple of hours before our room was ready, but it still took the best part of 40 minutes to sort everything out and drop our luggage in the designated storage room. There only seemed to be 2 computer terminals and staff members allocated to this, and I'm sure during busy periods there must be a large queue and frustrating wait. Then I discovered the hotel pool was in fact across the road and shared with other venues. Luckily we got a sun lounger but the music was very loud, there wasn't much space and from where I was standing, the pool looked almost dirty, with hardly any room to move, let alone swim in it. I don't consider myself that old, but there were groups of lads just standing around in the water and I found myself feeling extremely past it. I didn't think Malta was a place people went to if they wanted a lads holiday, but I guess I was wrong.

When 2pm came and we went up to the room, we discovered it was pretty small. Clean yes, but small. There was also a leak coming from the bathroom wall (which I reported to reception and it got fixed whilst we were out), a hole behind the shower controls and a toilet flush that my wife and children could barely push in.

The air con appeared to be centrally controlled (it said "guard" on the screen) and nothing seemed to happen when you touched the controls. Only after a very stuffy first night did I figure out you could in fact change it after much experimenting.

You are also told not to drink the water. A bit of an inconvenience, but there is a water and ice machine in the corridor. I was pleased to discover it was right outside our room (618). However, during the night I soon realised that was not a good thing, as we were woken up 4 times by people talking loudly outside and collecting ice/water with little to no consideration for anyone else. For the next 2 nights I had to use a white noise app on my phone to make sure any corridor noise was drowned out.

Breakfast wasn't bad, apart from the scrambled eggs that were obviously powdered. Even a glutton like me didn't finish my plate, something that I pride myself on doing whenever we go away. Nothing annoys me more than seeing someone pile their plate high, then leave loads on the table as if everyone in the world has enough food. The sausages also were a bit odd, and I avoided them after that first morning.

Plus points, the staff were pleasant, the cleaners did a good job, the location was good for a few days and it's not that far from the airport.

Would we stay there again? Probably not as a family, but if it was just me and the wife I don't see why not. Just as far away from the water and ice machine as possible!

Many reviews criticize the breakfast and the thin walls between the rooms. We agree with these points, but honestly, they were the least of our problems during our stay.

Our problems started with check-in. Check-in only begins at 2:00 p.m., and even then, guests can easily wait at least 30 minutes in the lobby, as it seemed that everyone had to check in at the same time. The staff appeared completely unprepared to handle the situation, resulting in pure chaos and very long waiting times.

The elevators were another major issue. Most of the time, at least one elevator was out of order, and this was not always clearly indicated. In some elevators, it was not possible to access the 4th or 7th floor. The elevators also move extremely quickly, which can be quite alarming the first time you use them. The doors open very slowly, and while they are opening, the elevator continues moving slightly upwards, which feels unsafe and poorly maintained.

When we entered our room, we were shocked. First of all, we were given a room that was not the one we had booked. The room had no windows that could be opened, there was an unpleasant smell, and the bathroom was dirty and covered in mold. The faucet was loose, unstable, and appeared to be broken.

When we complained, we did not feel that our concerns were taken seriously. We were simply told that there was no other room available. On top of that, the staff reacted to our concerns in a very unfriendly and unprofessional manner.

As if that were not enough, the light in our room suddenly started switching on and off uncontrollably. At that point, we realized that we would not be able to sleep in the room. We went back to reception, and maintenance staff were sent to our room. It took approximately one hour to address the problem, starting at around 8:30 p.m. Despite this, the hotel still could not guarantee us another room for the following night.

As two underage girls, we felt that we were not being taken seriously, so our parents had to intervene. Earlier that day, when one of our parents called the hotel, we were assured that someone would come and clean the room. This never happened. After the lighting problem, several parents had to put considerable pressure on the hotel before anything was done. After several hours and heated emails, we were finally given a different room the next day. However, we had to check out at 11:00 a.m. and could not access the new room until 2:00 p.m. The hotel also refused to provide any compensation for the first night.

Overall, we felt extremely uncomfortable at the hotel, especially because of the dismissive and disrespectful attitude of the staff.

The pool is another point worth mentioning. The hotel advertises it as its own pool, but it is actually a kind of beach club shared with another hotel and outside guests. It was extremely crowded, and at only 1.17 meters deep, it is not really suitable for swimming.

Based on our experience, I would strongly advise against booking a room here. If you already have a reservation, I would recommend cancelling it as soon as possible.

Location was great, family room with see view was fine, what was missing were shelves to put the clothes on. Breakfast was quite poor with scrambled eggs made with powder. Albo juice was mixed with water. In bathroom smell was unpleasant and we killed 2 cockroaches.Spa on 8 floor was closed, we went once and only a really small swimming pool was available. Staff was quite helpful but we were waiting 1 hour for the room - should be available at 2 but we received the card one hour later. Not possible to regulate the temperaturę in air conditioner. Aqualuna was great. Good drinks in hotel restaurant.