Riviera Spa Resort - Adults Only — Hotel in Mellieha

What a lovely location this hotel is in, with views over to Comino and Gozo. This was our first visit to Malta, and the hotel is not in a built up area/resort, but lovely and open at the top of the island (about 45 minutes from the airport). The boat/ferry over to Comino is directly outside the front of the hotel (15 euros including stopping in the blue lagoon and viewing the caves on the way), the large 24 hour roll on-roll off ferry (for cars and foot passengers) is less than a mile away (4.65 euros return), the buses to the rest of the island go from just up the road and are frequent, efficient, clean and cheap (2.5 euros fixed fare, and you can get on and off again within 2 hours). The express bus to Valetta (more like a coach) goes from there too. A member of staff commented that some guests find the hotel too remote, but based on the above, we found it really easy to get around the island. We also used Uber taxis and found these were very cheap (especially for four of us) and the hop on-hop off bus even comes into the hotel at the front if you wanted to have a day trip round the island too.|The good and the bad - views are stunning - well worth paying extra for a sea view, although the hotel kindly upgraded us when we arrived (be aware - if you book an "inland view", you may be looking directly on a level with the car park!). We found the food was always luke warm (a microwave in the restaurant to heat your food up would be a good idea), and plates were generally cold (even though the sign said that they may be hot. I sometimes struggled to find things to eat (I don't eat red meat), and whilst the hotel management advised I could always ask the restaurant staff for something else, (and once did), it is a bit of a pain having to wait for something cooking, whilst the rest of your party has already started eating. A plain chicken dish might be a good idea to have available for picky eaters.|If you have booked all inclusive, this does not start on your first day until 3 pm (and finishes on your last day at 12 noon). This is quite random and means that if your flight arrives early, you either have to wait or pay for some food/drink (although we were told that we could have lunch - reception staff intervened when we were told we couldn't). It is a bit strange, because whilst snacks are available (and cooked to order so the food is hot), you can only order these from 2.30 pm to 5 pm, whereas if you are paying for them, you can get them from 11 am til about 7 pm (I think). If you are all inclusive, this needs resolving because we didn't want lunch as such, a snack was good but we had to wait until 2.30 pm! The hotel is also bed and breakfast or half board.|We also found that for all inclusive, the drinks were mostly branded (including a good selection of cocktails) which was very good, but again, some drinks were available in the reception bar but not available at the pool, or available in the upstairs bar and not elsewhere so you needed to check before ordering, otherwise you might end up paying for things you weren't expecting.|We would have expected that a visit to at least one of the a-la-cartes would be included in the all inclusive but they are not. We didn't visit them.|I have not slept on such a comfy bed on holiday for a long time, it was proper medium rather than firm which we liked. The room was spotlessly clean and I think they must have all been freshened up recently. There was plenty storage/drawers etc and everything worked, eg lovely hot shower, air conditioning, British plug sockets etc and the hotel's lifts were large and efficient too.|There are absolutely loads of sun loungers - I think there is so much to do and see on the island that not everyone was using them, but I don't think the hotel will run out of them generally. The pools are quite small (too cold for me to use in October) and don't allow inflatables of any sort. There is no beach at the front of the hotel - there is one but I believe it is part of the other hotel nearby. Other than a small pop-up shop outside and an ice cream stall, there is absolutely nothing in the way of shops and bars - if you want anything of this sort, catch the bus into Mellieha Bay, just up the road (which also has a beautiful sandy beach).|The staff were always friendly and helpful, guest relations were great for information on ferries, hop on-hop off buses etc and the hotel prides itself on its green credentials - there are water filling stations located on each floor and in the restaurant, so bring your own bottle to fill up.|In saying all of the above, we really enjoyed our stay in Malta at the Riviera Spa Resort and are already looking to return next year to finish off the visits to places we didn't...

After some consideration about whether to post a review I thought I would offer some constructive feedback as the hotel is actually nice but it could and should be better for a 4/5 star rated hotel.

I travelled with a friend, we booked a twin room but arrived to find we had a double, alittle awkward . After a trek back down to reception, this issue was resolved straight away, can't complain but probably could have separated the beds while the room was empty rather than when we were trying to unpack. Beds were only separated by less than a foot apart.

The lifts are painfully slow so if you're on the 5th floor as we were, you really are in for a wait. This did get very tedious after the first couple of days. The signs need to be updated. Still says children should be accompanied etc. This is very surprising that this wasn't updated after the move to adults only and shows a lack of attention to detail.

The drinks service is also very very slow. We had been out in the car, went to the lobby bar for a drink to take up to our room. 1 glass of wine, 1 beer. I was asked 5 times by 5 different members of staff what I'd like to drink. Why ? Why does it take that much effort. Just order, pour and away but they insist you sit down and they bring it to the table. I didn't want to sit in the bar. When we did try to order drinks at the table in the evening, we were just totally ignored more often than not. Wearing the all inclusive band, we felt very 2nd class. We even tipped 1 guy €10 to see if this made any difference, it didn't so it almost felt like a filter system so you don't drink too much. Very frustrating.

Even in reception, there seems to be alot of staff but no one being very attentive. I stood at reception for nearly 10 minutes waiting for a spare room card, there was 4 members of staff and not one asked me what I needed and yes I did try to get their attention several times.

The food is very average. I think you should offer less choice but better quality. So much waste here. The juice is very very watered down. However I did ask for freshly made omelets and did get them and that was probably the best thing we eat the whole week. They didn't look happy but they made them. A separate made to order or freshly made area on a few selected meals would have been amazing but to have food sat going cold didn't appeal to me. The service was 100% here though.

We attempted the indoor pool, it was very busy. No seats at all. The water was cold. The sauna was lovely but unfortunately there was a group in the smaller pool talking very loudly and it echoed everywhere. So not at all relaxing. Shame as the signs do say it's a quiet area but it was ignored by some.

Only stayed for 1 nights worth of entertainment and that was a lovely female singer on our last night. We didn't bother with the rest. Just sounded abit dated and not really aimed at younger adults.

Saying all that, we had a nice week. Big shout out to Anudeep at the pool bar who went above and beyond. Nothing was too much bother. Service was excellent. Really nice guy too.

Thanks to Martin in Guest Relations who sat and listened and did a great job trying to help everyone.

The room was great, view was lovely. Really nice pool/sun terrace. Perfectly located for those looking to relax but for us, we were thankful to have a car. It's very remote. No bars or restaurants close by, other than hotel. Flip side, perfect for visiting the islands and great bus service that stops outside.

Nice place but for the rating, we did expect a little more especially in the food quality...

Labranda Riviera was mostly great for our first trip to Malta, an exceptional and must-visit island. Upon arrival, we were kindly greeted with welcome drinks, however were left clueless of our surroundings post-check in as staff didn’t inform us of any directions or amenities etc (not even towards a lift..). Upon finding our room, it was large, modern and had a beautiful view of the sunset which we thoroughly enjoyed every evening. The room was kept well-ordered every day, although the balcony door was not locked on day 1 and 2. We kindly wrote an appreciative note to request the door to be locked after cleaning, as this was followed on day 3 despite the cleaning standard then falling below the previous days. The note remained in case of a different assistant and on day 4 we returned to a 31°C degree room as the balcony door was left completely wide open, which in turn caused the AC to turn off, and the note had been removed. After complaining I was ensured that it would not happen again: it did. The following day was left unlocked, therefore only 2 of 6 days our balcony was locked after cleaning. Despite being on the top floor, this is completely unacceptable as the balcony are linked and access is effortless. There is no other reviews on this so we are unsure why this happened to us. No other compensation or explanation was provided. The half-board option only allowed access to the buffet restaurant, which was unknown prior to booking but in hindsight can be found online, nonetheless it featured a different cuisine every night and contained lovely food at breakfast and dinner. By night 3, we had learnt it was easier to grab our own cutlery and napkins as staff were never completely attentive; they were mostly clearing tables, often walking straight past guests who were seated, hence drinks also took a while to order and arrive. This was particularly frustrating when seated outside all week with 2 servers catering for only 20 tables. Despite this, staff were mostly kind and helpful, helping with requests etc.. On the other hand, the morning AM servers in the lobby bar were fairly rude almost every day to my girlfriend as they rolled their eyes or sighed when requested for Iced Coffees. There is not many amenities around the hotel, but it boasts easy access to the rest of the island via low-cost buses, as well as Gozo and Comino via nearby ferry terminals. Highly recommend Mellieha bay. The pool area is clean and well attended with well-shaded areas but also locations for all-day sun. Beautiful sea nearby accessed from rocks. Good place for family holiday, nice guest mix of nationalities and ages, good daytime and evening entertainment. Overall a great trip, thanks for the...