InterContinental Malta

We are extremely disappointed with our stay and service at the hotel, which we have been visiting for the past few years as regular IHG customers. The pool area is no longer a 5-star hotel, but a jungle gym for small children jumping into the pool over the heads of other guests, with shouting from all directions. It's impossible to find even a modicum of comfort. The service at the pool is terrible, both in the pool area and at the bar. You can't wait to see the menu or place your order; they are arrogant and rude. Unfortunately, people smoke on the loungers in the pool area. When I asked the staff if this was acceptable, they told me: What's my problem!!! Yes, I have a problem with smelling stinking cigarettes next to me!!

Very disappointing – nowhere near 4/5-star standard

We were really disappointed with our stay here, especially considering we paid around £3,000 for just four nights.

We arrived at 11:30am after being up since 3am for our flight. We understood that check-in wasn't until 4pm, but our room still wasn't ready at 4pm and we didn't actually get into it until around 4:40pm.

Then, just 15 minutes after getting into the room, the air conditioning broke. Someone came to fix it, but it lasted around 15 minutes before breaking again. By the time it was finally sorted, it was after 6pm and around 35°C outside. Not exactly the relaxing start to a holiday we had hoped for.

Unfortunately, there were plenty of other issues. The hotel, in our opinion, is nowhere near a 5-star standard. We regularly stay in 4- and 5-star hotels and this felt more like a 3-star hotel at best.

The pool was small, hot and dirty, the changing rooms looked very dated and were incredibly hot, and the beach toilets/changing facilities smelt strongly of urine. Our shower also leaked every time we used it, leaving the bathroom soaking wet.

Overall, the facilities and general standard of the hotel were really disappointing. For the price we paid, we expected a much higher standard and unfortunately feel that the hotel was nowhere near worth £3,000 for four nights.

There were some positives, but unfortunately the number of problems we experienced completely overshadowed them. We have contacted jet2 who we booked through to make a formal complaint and are hoping they will offer some form of compensation.

Definitely not what we would expect from a 5-star hotel.

Overall a great stay. The staff for the most part were all great to deal with and very attentive. The staff in the lounge were especially great, remembering drink orders, food preferences, etc. Service in the restaurants and lounges as well as room service were especially quick. The only downfall was the timeliness of service at Skybeach. On all four days I was up there it was difficult to get a server quickly for an initial order or even refills, sometimes being almost 45 minutes to get someone’s attention. A minor inconvenience, but overall a great stay.