So, hotel thought itself posh but it really wasn't. Looked very glam on the surface, but you could see signs of wear everywhere. The staff were great, very polite, very helpful and friendly - often with a big twinkle in the eye and twitching lips. DD was overcome by the cuteness of some of them and got very shy and blushy; indication of what we have in store for us in a few years.
Hotel very cut off from real Malta; it's trying to be a rich man's paradise, but simply doesn't have the class. I liked it's architecture which is quite harsh and geometric, but you could see the stone eroding almost in front of your eyes.
Food was pretty bad. Wanting to be 5 star, not making it, and not very inventive.
Kids club looked fun, but dd felt too old for it (while secretly yearning to go and do some of the stuff!). Indoor pool really warm. Outdoor lagoon very cold. Beach lovely but the sea was freezing! I swam in it for nearly 20mins while dh and dd refused to put more than a toe in; I wanted a medal but they wouldn't give me one, spoilsports! Nearly went snorkelling but dh managed to accidentally arrange for us to do something else so we missed it. I could have rearranged it, but the same thing would have happened. STill, dd had a chocolate wrap spa treatment while dh's back was turned. She wanted one really badly, but was a little uncertain about whether she really enjoyed it or not! It certainly looked relaxing, but I think the whole thing was too alien for her. Still, she's looking forward to showing off to her friends over it.
The island is beautiful in a harsh, craggy way. It is very dry and rocky, but small and beautiful. The architecture is sometimes very arab and sometimes straightforward mediterranean, and once in a while you catch sight of something which should really be in England. I love it, but it's a quality of the light which makes it really special. I can see why artists used to go to the Med to paint.
We were there at the same time as the Pope. There was much excitement as Malta is 97 or 98% catholic, but we did meet quite a few Maltese who thought this Pope certainly should be in jail, so not unalloyed enthusiasm. They have 365 churches on the island which is pretty amazing considering its' size.
Climate was brilliant for ms. Nice dry heat and I felt better than I have for years. Very windy everywhere, but I guess nowhere is very far from the sea, there are very few high buildings (I didn't see any real 'high-risers' at all) to stop the wind and no mountains.
We hired a car (pretty cheap, about £5 per day I think) which came with half a tank of petrol. It tooks us nearly a week to get through that much. Everywhere on the island is much closer than you think it is when you look on the map. We would assume it would take ages to get to the other end of Malta but, even getting lost (dh's speciality!) it took less than an hour.
We went to the Aviation Museum, where I was thanked for the things my dad did when he was stationed there in the 2nd WW. They couldn't find a specific reference to him but that didn't matter to them. They only cared that he'd been there during that awful awful time and therefore had to have done what everyone did - including being cold hungry and scared. They made me cry. I have to send them a scan of his pilot's log and a photo. It was the most moving time and I'll never ever forget it.
Yes, they did want us to buy timeshare. The presentation was very gentle, there was no push to it. We got on very well with our salesman and spent the entire day over it, with many deviations into music, life, the universe and everything. It really was like spending a day with a mate.
Now, given that:
we all loved the place
we all want to go back
dh and I were thinking of even retiring there
that I have a largish lump sum coming from mum's estate
do you think we should buy the timeshare or not?