It has to be Sliema, please feel free to ask me any questions about any aspect this wonderfull town and I will do my very best to help you, Sliema incidentally is very close to St Julians in one direction and the magnificent Capital City Valletta, the city of the Knights in the other direction.

Regards
Sliema2

I agree....Sliema.

We went there in June 2003. No beaches though. We stayed at Crowne Plaza, booked through chevron http://www.chevron.co.uk and we really liked it. The Crowne Plaza is fine, but not really genuine 5*. It is worthy of a 4* rating though.

Rooms big, pool huge. Another pool/lido at the waterfront. It's situated between the two promenades of Sliema, I think they're known as Sliema Ferries and Tower road (Triq il Torre). You can even walk to St Julians from there, but quite a long walk (not one for the high heels!).

Hotel has good facilities, by the pool there's a bar and restuarant, and prices are good for a crowne plaza! It's about £1.20 for a coke, and about £2 for a plate of chips. You can get a bus from just along the road, either into Valetta, or to st julians (I think). There's also a courtesy but provided by Dragonara Casino in St Julians with one pick up per day from the Crowne Plaza, and other hotels along the way.

Valetta is really nice but hilly. You can take the bus into valetta, walk through the town, some shops, nice square (where I had a coke and chips and read the paper while hubby went to church!), and then you can walk down to the ferry and take that back to Sliema.

I want to go back now!!!

Hi Lesley, glad you enjoyed Sliema it is a really nice town and somewhere that we are very much at home in, however, I feel that we should point out to those who don't know Malta that there is a lot more to Maltese cuisine than just chips and coke, and to demonstrate this I have included this link http://www.aboutmalta.com/grazio/cuisine.html for anyone who may be interested in knowing a bit more.

Ciao for now
Sliema2

Hey Sliema2!!!! Other may like chips and coke too!!!

I suppose you're thinking I gave it too much of a british reference?? Yes, I guess it is quite British though...HP sauce everywhere etc.

However, as Sliema too says, many other things to eat and drink. I loved the pasta, bruschetta etc. I love Italian food, so Malta really suited me! Also the wine is good and my husband like the local beer, Cisk. Sorry, but we thought Kinnie was rotten. We were actually going to bring a bottle home for a friend who is nicknamed Kinnie (abbreviation of difficult surname). Unfortunately couln't find a can or a plastic bottle though! Why is it all glass bottles over in Malta???

Hi Lesley, yes the chip comment did make it all sound a little too "british", don't get me wrong I love chips with HP sauce on them, in fact it is without doubt a marriage mad in heaven, but not on holiday in a country where you can sample excellent fish and other mediteranian delicacies but horses for courses of course, and as you quite rightly point out there are some excellent Italian restaraunts on the island, and yes the wine and beer is good to, we are back in Malta in a few weeks and counting the minutes as always.

Ciao for now
Sliema2

I'm veggie, so tend to miss out on a lot of 'local' cuisine when abroad. As you said fish (which I don't eat), and there's rabbit etc. Hence I really was chuffed to see HP sauce for some chips at lunch time! Saddo or what, eh!!

Lucky you, going back to Malta. We still don't know where we're going this summer, although Malta is on the shortlist (along with Florence, New York and Las Vegas). Really not sure.

We're off to Tenerife next friday though...so we have something to look forward to meanwhile.

Will try not to have too many chips and cokes!!!

Munch away with my blessing Lesley and have a great time in Tenerife, we are off to Pisa and Florence in June so I will let you know how we got on.

Regards
Sliema2

Thanks for that.

I'll be having some pasta and pizza too, which I consider a bit maltese now too!!!

We're staying at the same hotel we stayed in last January and really liked the food there, so I'll be munching away!

Hope you have a nice time in Malta too!

Thanks Lesley, I am sure we will

Hello Monica,

I'm going to reccommend Mellieha to you. there are some lovely walks in and around this area, it is also near the port where you can catch the ferry to Gozo. The trip over to Gozo only last approx' half an hour so you could explore some of Gozo for a day or two. There are plenty of fine restaurants in the town and the views are breathtaking.
Wherever you choose have a great holiday.

Thank you for all replies!

We have gone ahead and booked now and we chose the Riu Seabank Hotel in Mellieha and we're going for two weeks leaving from Gatwick on May 10th. The hotel looks lovely and there is a sandy beach right nearby, which we thought was important. All the outdorsy activities like the walks and watersports also apealed to us.

Have any of you stayed at this hotel before?