Preluna Hotel - Malta — Hotel in Sliema

I stayed at Preluna Hotel & Spa in Sliema, Malta, expecting a comfortable, high-quality experience based on the positive reviews. Unfortunately, my stay was filled with maintenance failures, noise issues, and poor service, making it one of the most frustrating hotel stays I’ve ever had.

False Expectations vs. Reality

This hotel markets itself as a premium 4-star experience, but in reality, it fails on multiple levels. Several critical issues were never disclosed at booking, making it feel misleading from the start: • Ongoing construction meant loud drilling and hammering started at 07:00 AM every morning. No advance warning, no apology—just disruptive noise ruining any chance of rest. • The Skyroom rooftop restaurant was randomly closed on multiple days with no prior notice, meaning one of the hotel’s main dining options was unavailable with no explanation. • The Wi-Fi was unreliable and frustrating—slow, unstable, and required logging in with a password every single time, making it a hassle to stay connected.

These are major issues that should be clearly communicated to guests before booking, yet none of them were.

Room #1 – A Series of Unacceptable Problems

I booked a Suite with a Sea View, expecting a relaxing and comfortable space. Instead, I was met with: • A broken mini fridge. Completely unusable. • A disgusting sewage smell coming from the bathroom, making it impossible to use comfortably. • Hotel sent maintenance, but their “fix” lasted only a few hours before the smell returned. • Shower became clogged after one of the repairs, causing water to flood the bathroom. • Construction noise made it impossible to rest, even during the day.

After two nights of complaints, the hotel finally moved me to another suite on the 7th floor with free breakfast as compensation—but this didn’t solve the problems.

Room #2 – A Different Suite, More Frustration

I had hoped that moving rooms would provide a better experience, but this suite came with its own set of serious issues: • No hot water from Tuesday morning until midday Wednesday. Completely unacceptable for any hotel, let alone one claiming to be 4-star. • Multiple failed maintenance attempts—they kept saying it was fixed, but every time I checked, the water was still ice cold. • Instead of actually solving the issue, they blamed another room. • Constant interruptions from maintenance staff—they kept coming in and out all morning, but nothing was ever truly fixed.

At this point, it was clear that the hotel’s management was not equipped to handle basic guest concerns.

Other Major Issues Throughout My Stay • Customer service was inefficient. The staff wasn’t rude, but they offered excuses instead of real solutions. They seemed overwhelmed and unprepared to handle complaints. • Key problems like construction, closed facilities, and Wi-Fi limitations were NOT disclosed before booking. • The “compensation” (free breakfast) was a weak attempt to make up for constant disruptions, poor maintenance, and discomfort.

Final Verdict – Preluna Hotel & Spa in Sliema is NOT Worth the Price

This isn’t a scam hotel, but it is highly problematic. It fails at providing basic hospitality standards, from maintenance and noise control to guest communication. If one or two of these issues had happened, it would have been frustrating but tolerable. However, the combination of construction noise, broken amenities, bad service, and misleading booking expectations made this stay incredibly disappointing.

🚨 Do NOT book Preluna Hotel & Spa if you are expecting a peaceful, high-quality, or hassle-free stay. 🚨

There are far better hotels in Sliema or nearby that will not leave you dealing with constant frustrations. I regret booking here, and I cannot recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a relaxing...

Review of Preluna Hotel

Our arrival at the hotel was as warm and welcoming as always, which set a positive tone at the beginning of our stay. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience left us quite disappointed.

The room itself was okay, but it came with several shortcomings: for a double room, only one towel was provided, and the bathroom ventilation turned out to be a fake vent cover rather than a functioning system. The showerhead is permanently fixed to the wall, which makes it impossible to wash in a more individual way—for example, as a woman it is very inconvenient to shower without getting your hair wet. In addition, I would not expect a 4-star hotel to provide thin 1–2 ply toilet paper, which feels more like something from a highway rest stop than from a quality hotel. Also we had 2 days Water leaking from the wall as the AC Was not working properly. A shame that we as guest had to tell the "technican" how to solve the issue - He had really no plan or experience what to do or how to stop the Water. At the End my husband worked on it. Also request for a New room after the leak was denied. On a positive note, the hotel has invested in new elevators, which was much needed since the old ones were constantly breaking down.

Breakfast was repetitive with no real variety. Some of the fruits were even served partially frozen, and surprisingly, there was no regular still water available—only water from a machine, which was full of limescale and practically undrinkable. The evening buffet also lacked creativity—there were no themed nights or different dining experiences (for example, a German buffet night would have been a welcome change).

Another major issue was with the food and beverage vouchers I had purchased in advance to use at the Beach Club. Despite being assured that they could be redeemed, no restaurant within the hotel accepted them. This resulted in three days of constant problems and complaints until they were finally honored—without any apology from the Management. Instead the guy who calls him self beach Club Manager (turkish Name) was very rude and started an Argument with me why i complained about him at his Boss, as because of me He got trouble !! Similarly, I was informed that by paying a fee, I could bring my guests into the Beach Club, but this was not possible in practice. This made our holiday much more complicated and unpleasant, forcing us to spend our days at another hotel’s beach club, where we felt far more welcome.

The cleanliness of the Beach Club facilities was also unacceptable. The toilets were dirty, with visible stains (even traces of blood, as shown in photos). Also several cockroach was seen near the Pool and Lunch area. Furthermore, from as early as 7:30 a.m., sunbeds were being reserved by guests who did not show up until midday, leaving other guests without space. Staff seemed uninterested in addressing or controlling this situation.

Also safety in this hotel is a joke... The fire stairs or doors are not in EU norm and when you run down in an emergency you smash someone Else the door in his face. Also Not signs or any instructions ins case of fire or emergency. As its Not the first time the hotel catched fire. Also this is dicumented and will be Send to authorities for Inspection.

Overall, while the hotel still offers a nice welcome and has improved its elevators, the many negative experiences—lack of variety in dining, unhelpful staff with vouchers, poor cleanliness, uncomfortable bathroom facilities, and unaddressed guest behavior—significantly impacted our stay. After five years of choosing Preluna, we will now be considering another hotel with fewer problems and better management that genuinely...

I have been a guest in this hotel from August 3rd to August 13th. My review is based not taking into consideration the 'star ratings' of the hotel (it's a 4* hotel) since the star ratings varies from country to country, but rather on a ratings I give of several 'aspects' involved in my stay at this hotel. The aspects I will provide my feedabck are: 1) Location; 2) Ameneties; 3) Staff; 4) Room/comfort; 5) Prices Here we go....

1. Location: Hotel Preluna is located in Sliema a very 'pretty' place (of course this is personal opinion based on what I like). The hotel is literally on a seafront, you just have to cross a small road (remember that it's an English kind of system, hence cars drive on the left side of the road) and you are on a long (5KM) promenade that coasts the sea. The promenade is full of small cafes', bars and restaurants.
2. Amenities: The hotel has brilliant amenities. They have a private beach club (be aware that there are no sandy beach in Sliema, it's all rocks) with a small salt water pool and direct access to the beautiful and crystal clear sea (bring snorkeling equipment and you will be in for a treat). Hotel provides towels for the beach club. In addition they have an agreement with a local (accessible directly from the hotel) gym/spa. The SPA has a lovely (small) pool, a sauna, a steam room and couple of jacuzzi. Both beach club and spa are free for hotel guests.
3. Staff: just one work FANTASTIC! Everybody is super-friendly. We had a family emergency during our stay (our daughter needed to go to the hospital) and they kept on checking how she was. Everybody from the cleaning staff, to the front desk to the restaurant, was TOP, really a valuable asset for the hotel. Worth mentioning Milo & Giuseppe at the reception desk and Dejvid at the restaurant. Thank you guys!
4. Room/Comfort (room 4109): we had a double room with the additional sofa-bed (we were a party of 3) but didn't lack space. Room has airco, ceiling fan and a balcony (at least our room) facing the promenade/sea. Everything was top. With regards to comfort I am referring to the beds and this is unfortunately were things are not good, honestly bad (sorry to say but it's honest and true). The beds are basically wooden boxes, there are no bed springs! The mattress (foam) is basically resting on the wood and this is utterly uncomfortable to the point were I suffered from back pain. It got so bad at the end of the holiday that I didn't not sleep on the last night. Really a pity but definitely a deal breaker for me, considering also that the hotel is not the cheapest out there. Just to add I weight 94KG, not the slimmest but definitely not the heaviest guest I have seen around in the hotel.
5. Prices: hotel being rated at 4* is not the cheapest but considering the amenities which are included I would say it is priced ok. Also the prices in the hotel, like drinks at restaurant (we were on half-board) are not high. Having a rental car, I got also a parking spot which cost 10 euro/day, again in my opinion not too expensive. So we are at the final consideration and would I recommend this hotel? The hotel, is really nice, great staff, great amenities, but has some 'snags' (lifts are really slow, and you find yourselves waiting quite some time for one to arrive) and a definitely a deal breaker being the beds which to me are horrible. Would I recommend it? If the beds were just 'acceptable' I would say YES but unfortunately for me it's a pass. But this is my experience what you do with it is...