Barcelo Fortina Malta

We stayed as a couple in late August/early September for 7 days. We have stayed at Barcelo hotels before and like the set up and style which is usually very modern and minimalist, and that's reflective of the Fortina. Pros: Staff are incredibly polite, friendly and helpful, you genuinely feel valued and looked after. Food: We stayed half board, breakfast was very busy but plenty of food and great buffet selection. Dinner, food was again excellent but restaurtant was very quiet, not many people seemed to take up the option. Room: We had a superior room, large room with bed, sofa and small fridge, lovely big bathroom and plenty of storage space. I paid extra for a room with a stunning view over to Valletta which was fabulous. ~ Only downside - we just hadn't factored in the noise from the road at the front and which our balcony overlooked. It's a busy road next to a tunnel which means you hear a lot of traffic noise and also 'boy racer' car and motorbike noise particularly at night. A fresh bottle of water is left in your room every day and that's a real welcome bonus. The housekeeping staff are amazing, work tirelessly and the room was cleaned immaculately. They never encroached, and offered to clean again in the late afternoonn if you wanted. Location: is good, plenty of taxi options (Bolt, Uber), local buses and ferry service. We spent time in Valletta, Mdina and visited Gozo as part of guided tours. Hotel is right next door to a huge shopping mall with a Spar for food/drinks and food concessions as well as plenty of shops to browse (clothing/perfume/jewellery/tech etc.) Cons: Hotel is on a busy road, so enjoying the balcony wasn't as much of an option as I'd hoped. The outdoor pool option is across the road and doesn't belong to the hotel, but hotel guests can utilise some areas of it for free. I was really disappointed in this area, I really wanted a decent sized pool you can swim in, and this isn't it. The outdoor pool is for drinking and posing and definitely not child friendly or appropriate. I really hadn't appreciated that from the website - those photos were clearly taken at a much quieter time of year. Especially as we stayed at the hotel in the blistering summer heat, you want a decent outdoor space to relax and a pool option you can swim in, so this was a real disappointment for me. The hotel does however have a larger indoor pool as part of its Spa option.

Overall, I loved my stay in Malta, this is a lovely hotel, and I will definitely visit Malta again in the future. But if I were to return, it would be a city break option for me and would need to be a quieter time of year and in the slightly cooler months.

Don’t stay here if you want a top of the range hotel stay, especially having to book the night before your pool space

Fantastic stay from start to finish. Hotel is beautiful and extremely clean. Staff were very attentive and helpful. Room was spacious and had everything you could need (tea/coffee, mini fridge, robes, slippers, hairdryer and nice extras in the bathroom). Pool is part of the beach club opposite. The section for hotel guests has a lovely little pool and the sun beds were really comfy with waiter service at your sunbed. View was incredible. You can't have a sunbed by the main pool, unless you want to upgrade, but you can still use that pool and all the other facilities. I wouldn't say this pool was suitable for children, and it was very modern and "Instagram-able" rather than low key/relaxed, but we had a fab time. Will definitely return.