Point de Vue — Hotel in Mdina

I stayed for 6 nights which included breakfast. Good choices from which to select.|I used as my base because most buses went through Rabat to get me everywhere.|Tallinja card waiting for my collection upon check-in (I'd ordered several weeks prior before I left home)|All things explained upon check-in by staff|20% off dining at the restaurant - nice selection and lots of locals dine there, so that is a good sign for me! This suited me as I had big days every day, despite restaurants in Rabat only being a few hundred metres away from hotel.|A neighbour of a friend emigrated here, so I asked to visit his elderly sister. Staff telephoned her in Maltese and I arranged to catch bus down to meet her.|One evening I dined out in the back room of the restaurant and noticed RAF pilot photos on the walls. After dinner concluded, I went back to the front bar (where I had dined evenings previously) and asked about the photos - I did not know (despite my many hours of research for my holiday) that this hotel was used as the base for all RAF pilots - airstrip was only 2 kilometres down the hill (see photo) where they could see from the hotel and close to move when required during the war. I was chuffed!|Room was unusual around a circular staircase (bathroom through small doors and toilet was up a step from the bathroom) but it was clean, large enough with two single beds, television (which I had some issues with and staff came up to help me several times during my stay) and had air conditioning.|An affordable, central, clean stay with food downstairs for breakfast and dinner (if you'd like). I'd definitely...

More akin to a school dinner than a dining establishment.

I cake here as part of a guided tour, which included a three course meal and glass of wine. My opinions of the place were initially high, due to the location and apparent busyness. However, all highs must have a low, and this low just kept getting lower.

I sat down, and was informed the meal would be a pesto pasta starter, lamb main (and an undisclosed vegetarian option for those who didn't eat lamb) and imqaret dessert. Sounds wonderful, does it not? Wrong. The pesto pasta came as just a few pieces on a large plate, but at least it was edible. When the main came out (or attempted to come out, as the kitchen had miscalculated the number of meat and vegetarian options, leading to a scene not at all different to a school where we had to put our hands up for the meal option we wanted, and still instead of rectifying their mistake, they tried to force the spare vegetarian meals on people!) it was cold, beige, and there was more bone on the pork than there was meat! The dessert was somehow even worse, being a burnt and somehow tasteless take on what is otherwise a delightful food. And the icing on the cake? The wine was the same brand I had seen in the local shop for €3, and no non-alcoholic options were offered (unless you wanted to pay €1 for a lukewarm bottle of water that you had to drink out of the plastic bottle because having another glass was somehow too demanding!).

But hey, at least there was a nice view out of...

I ate here as part of an organised day trip via TUI, I had made TUI aware I was coeliac requiring gluten free menu options. As part of a group of 9 we arrived on schedule but the restaurant seemed surprised and promptly split us across 2 tables (6 & 3). The guide ( who was brilliant) spoke with the staff and they seemed non-plussed but thought they could come up with something. 1st course, my fellow travellers were given a plate of pesto penne with parmesan & I had a plate of dry lettuce with sliced tomato a few onions and 2 olives. Main course was chicken, veg & potatoes with gravy - I queried this as even in the UK gluten free gravy is rare in restaurants, the staff member looked confused but took it away & I then waited to be served dry chicken dry boiled potatoes and veg while the others ate. For dessert I was given a Maltese pastry but I pointed out that I could eat it & I asked for an alternative, which duly arrived with great flourish in the form of an apple, a very nice apple but nonetheless just an apple, and at least our group enjoyed the sight of me crunching my way...