Best Western Premier Malta — Hotel in Saint Paul's Bay

A Disappointing and Inconsistent Experience – Not What I Expected from Best Western

I booked this hotel for the spa facilities expecting the reliability and consistency that comes with a major brand like Best Western, but my experience was anything but that.

Pricing Issues & Inconsistencies • I originally booked through the Best Western website, I made an error booking just for 1 at €62 instead of €71 for 2. • However, I was charged €92 (€62 + €30 extra) at check-in for the second guest. • This wasn’t just a last-minute price change—the €71 rate had been consistent for weeks and was still the listed price even on the night of our stay. • When I contacted Best Western HQ in the US, they confirmed that this shouldn’t have happened and that hotel pricing should match the website. • The hotel, however, insisted they could set their own prices, making the entire process feel misleading and untrustworthy.

Spa – Unusable • We specifically booked this hotel for the spa, but when we arrived at 10 AM (its supposed opening time), no one was at the desk. • No staff had shown up by 11 AM, which was the only time we had to use the facilities. • The sauna wasn’t properly heated (only 40°C, which is not a sauna), and the steam room wasn’t even turned on.

Room Issues • The shower in our bathroom flooded, which I later saw mentioned in another review, so it seems like an ongoing problem they haven’t fixed. • The rooms are not soundproofed at all, and you can hear everything happening in the hallways. • We think our room was next to a cleaning or maintenance room because from around 8:30 AM, we kept hearing a door opening and closing constantly, along with noises from inside. It was really disruptive.

Attempt at a remediation • After complaining, the front desk offered us a free drink from the. • We asked for a smoothie instead, and the staff said they could only offer a blended frozen pineapple on its own(not really a smoothie). • It took 20 minutes to get this drink because the staff member needed to discuss/check with their manager. • To top it all off, there was a hair (looked like an eyelash) in the drink.

Overall, this was a bizarre and disappointing experience. The inconsistency between Best Western HQ and the hotel staff, the misleading pricing, the semi-functional spa, and the poor service make it clear that I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

I would highly recommend the AC Hotel in St Julian’s or Hyatt Centric over this one!

Also, while this isn’t the hotel’s fault, it’s worth mentioning that the area feels very low-budget holiday, and there’s a lot of dog poop around—just something to be aware of if you’re considering staying here.

Edit following reply by hotel: the receptionist at check-in told us it would only be an extra tax charge when we signed, which we understood is only 50 cents a night. We were then phoned by reception at 9:30pm clarifying we needed to pay an extra €30. The whole ordeal was unprofessional and inconsistent leading to a...

Was meant to spend a week. Checked-in around 9pm after a long day of travelling. Got a room literally in front of the hotel bar and next to the elevators. Once I got in, I knew already it wasn't going to be quiet. After half hour, went to the reception to ask if it was possible to change rooms and got a negative answer. "We are fully booked."

Went for a shower and immediately noticed that something wasn't right when I got water above my ankles with the shower door completely closed. There was a massive leak to the entire bath which eventually got bigger as soon I left the shower. Within minutes more than half of my room was completely flooded including the carpet on the floor.

Returned to reception to explain the situation even with video footage and the best answer I got was "someone will come to you with more towels so you could contain it." Again, denied a new room. No one came. Badly slept through the night due to the noise until late hours and the sewage smell.

Woke up in the morning and there was still water on the floor, so went again to the reception. Someone else than the previous staff saw the videos from the previous night and "immediately" reported to her supervisor. "It's going to be fixed this morning." Again, requested another room and got another negative answer.

After a day of working, returned to the hotel to see my door opened. Someone left the lock all the way so the door didn't close. Thankfully I didn't left things valuable things inside but someone could have gone in, check around my stuff and leave if they wanted.

Fortunately, someone managed to find me another hotel room so I packed out and went to check out. The staff from the previous night recognised me, knew I was staying for a week, didn't asked any questions on why I was leaving, if there was any problem or even apologised for the flooding situation. Just said "everything is OK with your reservation."

I might understand the hotel was fully booked so it was indeed impossible to change rooms but I believe the way the situation was handled wasn't OK at all. Noisy room, flooded room after a shower, leaving the door open, checking out really early into the reservations, should all be red flags on something bad happened and an immediate solution should be provided.

The room and the hotel bar were fine. Breakfast a bit chaotic but good overall. Staff could be more supportive and...

My sister and I have been staying at the BWP in St Paul’s, Buggiba, Malta. We have had the best experience at this Hotel and want to thank all the wonderful staff, front desk, bars, restaurants and house keeping for their excellent hospitality. My sister has food intolerances and the kitchen and dining room staff were amazing, always being sure she had the right foods and plenty of it, thank you to Sofi, Regie, Surdip, and Kumar plus all the kitchen staff who’s names we didn’t have. The food at breakfast was excellent with so much choice, both continental and cooked, always hot and plentiful with staff constantly restocking and checking quantities. The hotel is well run, organised, clean and modern, with all the facilities you could possibly need. The reception staff are extremely friendly and helpful, nothing is too much for them and they are always pleasant and welcoming. Shout out to Michaela, Kelly, Jose but all staff were equally kind. Bars are well stocked, and well staffed, including the swim up pool bar. The rooftop pool is unheated, but we used it and once in the temperature was okay. The pool itself is large and the same depth all over. Our room 304 was light and airy, lots of space with a separate seating area, kettle, teas and coffees which you can have more of anytime by asking at reception. The bed was so comfortable, we both slept really well. We requested the bed was made up as 2 single beds which was perfect. Toppers on the mattresses make them very comfortable. Excellent aircon units keep the room cool if preferred. Lots of 3 pin sockets, UsB and USBc charging ports. The bathroom was large and spacious with a lovely walk in overhead rainfall shower, good water pressure and temperature. There was also a small powerful hand help shower head too. We had one unfortunate criticism and reported it to the front desk, the shower door seal had worn causing the water to seep out of the shower and wet the floor, but we had ample towels to mop it up and it wasn’t a problem. The small balcony had a table and chairs is pleasant to sit out on. Housekeeping crew keep the rooms clean and tidy daily with clean towels supplied daily. We loved our stay at PBW and when we return to Malta together or with husbands we will...