Where to stay in Malta?

[cori]

I am looking for recommendations for a family holiday in Malta. Where is the best place to stay?. I have benn told Silema is very nice but it doesnt seem to have a beach.

Westin Dragonara in St Julians is nice and so is Hilton there - we didnt stay but went to look as dh is in frequent flyer club for both. We stayed at Corinthia Mistra Village - kids really enjoyed it. We hired a jeep which we took to the beach - something like Paradise Beach?? Good for diving near where we were. Many beaches there are rocky. Mistra Village had good pools. Don't go to see the prehistoric elephant museum - very very boring, very hot and no cold drinks.

Mellieha Bay has a nice beach , and a hotel literally just over the road.

I'll see if I can find details...

\link{http://www.melliehabayhotel.com/hotel/index.asp\Blimey! It's expanded a bit since I was last there!}

melliah bay DEFFO

went a LONG time ago but it was TOTALLY fab!

\link{http://www.meldives.info\but if you're going to dive, recommend Meldives rather than the ones in the hotel}

worst holiday I ever had in my life, Malta.
I don't recommend it at all

We stayed at 115 Strand Aparthotel in Sliema and thought it was great. Very close to food and shopping, great views and just a ferry ride to Valetta. No beach though. Depends what you are after. We had a one bedroom apartment with kitchenette - nothing flashy but was a good price and good enough for our requirements!

Hope this helps!

ditto Suzy Wong! The only good thing about Malta was conceiving dd, thanks to a chronic stomach bug I picked up there which rendered the pill ineffective. If you must go to Malta I wouldn't recommend Bugibba/Qwara.

Avoid Bugibba (sorry can't do accents) area like the plague (unless you are concentrating on diving and spending most of your time underwater, in which case it's great because of its location).

The sandy beaches on Malta are mainly in the north, which as a result is very built up and touristy. The centre/south of the island is much less developed and more attractive (well, the north of the island is attractive in and of itself, but the built-upness is less so).

How old are your children? For a family holiday with small children just pottering about and going to the beach I'd probably recommend Gozo rather than Malta itself somewhere around Ramla. There's not huge amounts to do in Gozo, though, and the pace of life is much more relaxed so if you want to do touristy stuff as well then Malta is probably a better bet - probably Mellieha Bay.

We stayed at Sliema and did "day-trips" to Valetta, Mosta Dome, Mdina, Blue Grotto and fishing village (starting with "M" ending with "x"?) mostly by bus (carrying buggy on board). We also did one of the touristy cruises around the main harbour but even that was nice and relaxing. Didn't make it to Gozo or the other places mentioned in the thread below, but we had a lovely time. Weather was great and people were lovely. I'd recommend it - at least the parts that we did - it was our first holiday away with baby (5m.o. at the time) as a family and was a good introduction to the family holiday!