ME Malta by Meliá

Amazing brand new beautiful hotel. Probably the most modern building in all of Malta.

Currently staying at the hotel and visually, it’s absolutely beautiful. From the sleek room design to the stylish pool area, the whole aesthetic is next to none. It definitely has that ‘wow’ factor and feels like a proper luxury stay. On arrival, we were warmly greeted with a glass of prosecco and friendly staff, which gave a great first impression. Unfortunately, so far day one has quickly revealed some cracks in the service and setup. Firstly, ordering drinks by the pool turned out to be much more complicated than expected. Staff clearly prefer to take your order from your sunbed, which is fine in theory but we didn’t see a single team member actually coming down unless they were delivering food or drinks to someone else. So unless you managed to catch someone mid-delivery, getting served was a bit of a mission. When we tried approaching the bar directly, it was discouraged. Secondly, we were recommended Luciano by Gino D’Acampo (within the hotel) by the receptionist at check-in and decided to book a table for 6:30pm. Later, we realised it might be a bit early and called to change the time to around 7. They told us that was no problem and we could just go up when ready. However, when we arrived, we were told reception had overbooked and the only available time was now 10pm. After a long day of travelling, we were really looking forward to a proper meal so that was quite frustrating and disappointing. We ended up scrapping the dinner plans altogether and went to a lovely restaurant outside the hotel. Third issue was a bit of a nightmare: I’d popped next door to my friends’ room and accidentally left my key card inside, locking myself out. I called reception from their phone and explained the situation that I was in just my swimming trunks, no top, no shoes and asked if someone could come to the room and let me in. I even said I’d be happy to show my passport once inside. They said that would be fine. I waited outside my room for 10 minutes, but nobody came. They then rang my friends’ room back to say the information I was given was wrong, and I’d have to come to reception instead. So off I went, only to then go through another back-and-forth about showing her ID (which obviously was inside the same room I’m trying to get into) before being given a new card even though it was obvious I was locked out of my room. It just felt like a very overcomplicated and illogical process for something so simple. Lastly, the lifts. I don’t even know where to begin. You have to scan your key card to access them which in theory is great for security but once inside, there are no floor buttons and it doesn’t tell you what floor you’re on. You just stand there and hope the doors open on the right one. We’ve only been here a day and already ended up on the wrong floor multiple times. And to make things worse, after a certain time of day, you have to go all the way to reception just to get staff to take you to other floors which was already an issue during the

We booked this hotel last minute, so when we arrived to find one of the best hotels we have ever stayed. Staff are so friendly the food is excellent. St Julian, where this hotel is situated , has everything. Lively, if you want it, secluded harbour with lovely restaurant. Great shopping. Valletta is just a short trip away on a bus. The best bit is the hotel it's a very modern up to date classy hotel, with a spa, a rooftop bar, and a restaurant.