Another great stay at the Victoria Hotel. What more is there to say? Many Maltese hotels that I have stayed in before treat guests as an inconvenience, but at The Victoria Hotel every guest is treated like an old friend, whether they are a new or returning customer and receive a welcome which is so very genuine too.
You will also note that the management also reply to every Trip Advisor review and each is individual to the actual comment. Some establishments quote a standard reply whilst most do not bother at all. The Victoria Hotel is different in so many areas.
The staff go that extra distance to be helpful far beyond the bounds of duty and so are much better than in other places I have stayed. All staff seem to be very happy working at The Victoria and all will greet you as you pass. The public areas are kept clean and tidy at all times and make a great first impression that one cannot recreate afterwards. It is impressive.
The hotel has undergone and is still undergoing improvements, although as a guest you will not notice any ongoing works. The two new lifts are now fully installed and are superb. At most times you will wait just a few seconds to be whisked smoothly and effortlessly to your floor. The rooms are still being upgraded and mine now sports a shaving mirror, soap and toiletries, which one would expect ,but had been removed for ‘environmental’ reasons. These are now back and are superb and efficiently replaced daily where necessary. I am told that there are some ongoing improvement still to be made to some bathrooms but mine was quite satisfactory with no problems, most acceptable in fact. The chambermaid service is most excellent too.
As a returning guest of some years, I can see what great customer service achieves, I was looked after very well indeed, especially bearing in mind the hotel seemed mostly full or nearly full for all of the happy two weeks I spent there.
There have been some minor upgrades to the always most excellent breakfast. New cooked breakfast dispensers have been provided, but best of all, real fruit juices are at last used and this is, in my view, the best improvement to the otherwise most excellent breakfast. There are quite a few options for different teas and coffees which you can choose. Maybe sometimes the cooked food could be a little hotter and this applies to dinner as well, but this is a small point compared with all the other excellent service and presentation.
The restaurant staff were great, efficient, speedy, helpful and kind and despite how busy they might have been, were always happy to exchange a few words. Although there are so many choices, never overlook the Maltese bread. Sadly it doesn’t travel well, so it’s not easy to take home a freshly baked loaf from a local baker, but when fresh, as it always is at The Victoria, it’s wonderful. So make the most of it whilst in Malta. I don’t think I have seen so many choices for breakfast, salads, cold meat, cheese, butter or spread, fresh fruit and tinned fruit to add to the yoghurts and much more. There is a choice of preserves and Maltese pastries every day. I can make my breakfast feast last me almost all day!
There is a popular bar with friendly staff. Snacks and meals, along with special offers on food options are available too.
I feel sure that I will have missed out some improvements and unsung staff heroes but I don’t mean to. If you don’t mind the slight hill from the Chalet bus stop rather than the Sliema front steeper hill, then I feel sure that you will be delighted with this hotel. You still may not get a seat on the bus, but at least you’ll probably squeeze on. Just look at some of the other comments on Trip Advisor to see how many customers love The Victoria.
If I could put up with the sadly deteriorating bus service and the summer heat, I could live in this hotel all year!
Many employees in Malta treat customers as an inconvenience. This hotel shows how it should be done, which says much for the management too. In a happy environment the staff will happily provide a service of this quality and then the customers will keep returning. I know I will.
Thank you to all the staff for a great time and for arranging some nice weather too.
