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Our first visit to this hotel since its reopening, following its major rebuild. Having been to the old Fortina, we were interested to see how the "new" hotel would fair.

The Good: 7

We stayed in Room (1034), which has a fantastic view across the bay to Valetta (see photos). The room itself is lovely, a bit corporate maybe, but we like it. It's roomy enough, a great bed, and a nice large bathroom with separate bath and excellent large shower cubicle with rainfall shiwer. The provided toiletries are decent. The  balcony is large with a table and two chairs. It would be better if some relaxation chairs could be provided.  A fridge is provided. And a nice touch is a daily provision of quality bottled water.

Housekeeping of the bedroom is top notch, with daily towel changes and turndown and chocolates in the evening.  The housekeeping staff, themselves, are absolutely lovely. In fact, all staff are lovely and mainly very helpful, except the Spa staff who are rude.

Breakfast choice and quality is  generally very good.

The Not So Good:

The TV in the room doesn't work all that often, with the picture breaking up or going off completely. We were told they are waiting for a fix, but I know from other people who have stayed at the hotel, that there has been a problem with the TVs since the hotel opened in the new year.  We don't come on holiday to watch TV, but it's nice to have it at night.
Evening meal was a themed buffet each night. Unfortunately, choice and quality was sadly lacking on occasions, and at times, the food was not sufficuently warm. Certainly not 5 star standard in our opinion.
 
The Downright Unacceptable:

The hotel claims to have an outside swimming pool. This isn't actually the case. The outside pool is owned by another company, and is open to the public for a fee, and so is not spontaneously available to hotel guests. In order to access the pool, one has to book it 24 hours in advance, and even then, one has to book a morning or afternoon session.  For a five-star hotel to not have its own outside pool in a summer resort, is totally unacceptable. The hotel also only has a small allocation of sunbeds at the pool, and so one may not even get access when one tries to book 24 hours in advance.

It's bad enough having to book in advance, but once there, the sunbeds are packed together like sardines and so it is difficult to move between the beds, even the waiting staff struggled. Not only that, but one has then to suffer the ridiculous cacophony of drum and bass music from morn to night with the volume increasing as the day goes on. One can't use the small pool to swim as there are groups of  people standing in all areas of the pool, smoking cigarettes, and drinking out of glass beer bottles. It's more like a pool party in a run-down resort in Spain than a five star resort. It really isn't on.

Similarly, one can't relax on the balcony because of the constant thump of bass and loud music emanating from the pool.

There is an indoor pool advertised as open until 7.00pm but when I went to use it at 6.00pm on a Sunday, it was closed and when politely raised with the spa staff that it states open until 7.00pm, the Spa manager snapped at me and told me it was not their problem. I raised the issue with hotel reception, and they agreed it should be open until 7.00pm and they would raise the issue with management. I didn't hear anything from them afterwards.

Conclusion:

The Fortina has the potential to be a 5 star hotel, but unless guests can have spontaneous access to an outside pool that doesn't pretend to be an Ibiza rave resort, and evening meal choice and quality is improved, then it really does not live up to its rating.



Lovely Stay, But Problems Need Sorting 

Great hotel.  Very friendly staff , very clean and modern. Staff very attentive and always happy to help. Great buffet breakfast ( Anthony the breakfast chef makes great omlettes) and evening buffet is also very good with good choice and chef cooking fresh meat and fish on the grill. Will definitely return

Very friendly and helpful staff

Hotel and staff lovely 9/10 but the pool situation ruined my holiday having to book a sunbed then from 12.30 it morphes into a 18/30 holiday spot day guests drinking smoking in pool with DJ playing high vol high bass dance tracks!!!  Unable to relax poolside, guests are left to do what they want nobody seems to care the pool was full of drunk guests making out and smoking!!🤬

Worse holiday experience

The aesthetic was definitely the best I’ve seen! The reception is stunning! The rooms are literally gorgeous. I would 100% come back. 

I would definitely come back and recommend.

It's been said in may of the reviews, one of the main issues with this hotel is the lack of an external pool area, given the one in front of the hotel is owned and run by a 3rd-party, leading to guests feeling unwelcome and an inconvenience over the paying daily guests.  The second issue is the amount or construction work near the hotel, both to the side and rear, plus apartment refurbishments to the left of the hotel.  Construction work noise starts around 8am and goes on all day, banging, angle  grinders, heavy lifting gear, you name it.  There are better hotels in Valletta and would advise staying there until construction  work is completed and the hotel resolves pool access issues, maybe next year by the looks of it. 

Modern hotel - work in progress

The Barcelo Fortina Hotle is located on the picturesque seafront promenade in Sliema. The hotel offers stunning panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea and the historic city of Valletta. Its prime location in Sliema places guests within easy reach of a variety of shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions, making it an ideal base for exploring the island.

Dining at Barcelo Fortina Malta is a treat for the senses, with a range of international dishes and local specialties designed to impress even the most discerning palates. The hotel features an outdoor swimming pool surrounded by a sun terrace, complete with loungers and parasols. Additional amenities include a well-equipped gym and an adults-only spa offering a variety of treatments.

The hotel boasts 183 rooms, most with terraces or balconies that offer breathtaking views of the sea and Valletta. These air-conditioned rooms are designed in a contemporary style and come equipped with modern amenities such as WiFi, a hairdryer, tea and coffee making facilities, a minibar, a telephone, a TV, and private bathrooms.

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Barcelo Fortina Malta