Barceló Fortina Malta

There are so many things to say about this hotel which are very positive. A superb breakfast buffet (almost a contradiction in terms) lovely staff. Housekeeping were amazing. Rooms clean and they went above and beyond! Rooms were smart and modern if a little dark. We want to go back! Couldn’t quite give it a five star review because of the beach club. It was very nice but on one day most of the venue was booked up for a private event which meant that all of the hotel guests were packed in like sardines on the section which had ridiculously loud music which gave us a headache and completely unfitting of the demographic. The women’s loos were broken - I reported one of the toilets and went to the other loo half an hour later and found that was broken too - so no working toilets. They should have closed the beach club to hotel guests. Other days were ok but the at the weekend - the other part was rammed and not available to guests to us and instead people interested in posing more than enjoying themselves! I haven’t included in the stars my views of the area - lovely view spoiled by the silly rusty footbridge - area is not nearly as nice as fifteen years ago, nothing to do with the hotel of course. It is overcrowded and much of Malta is rammed and the lovely Maltese culture isn’t what it was.

The hotel is near the Sliema Ferry, which is really great, because this way Valletta is easily accesible. The hotel rooms are really comfortable, from cheaper ones, to the more expensive ones. (We had a premium room, but based on the pictures, even cheaper rooms look really great too). Breakfast is buffet style, and really varied, there is a big variety of meats, and fruits. The staff is very kind and helpful, making communication very easy even if someones first language isn't english.

We stayed here during our trip to Malta and had a mixed experience. The first thing to be aware of is that the pool shown on the website isn’t actually part of the hotel – it’s the neighbouring beach club. If you want comfortable sunbeds, you’ll need to pay extra, which we did, and we’re glad we did. Midweek, the beach club has a lovely atmosphere. The food is very good, and it’s nice being able to press a button for drinks service at your sunbed. We also booked the bottomless brunch. The food was excellent, but the drinks service was disappointing. Despite it being advertised as bottomless for a two-hour sitting, the service was incredibly slow and after just two Bellinis each it became very difficult to order any more. It certainly didn’t feel like a genuine bottomless brunch. On Friday, the pool area was quiet, relaxing and really enjoyable. Saturday, however, was a completely different story. The venue appeared to prioritise selling large amounts of alcohol over guest safety. Staff made a huge spectacle of groups ordering magnums of rosé, with parades of staff, dancers and social media cameras delivering bottles around the pool. As the day went on, several guests became extremely intoxicated. Children were in the pool with little or no apparent supervision, while heavily drunk adults were continuing to be served alcohol. The most concerning incident was when a man in his twenties, who had been drinking rosé throughout the day, became so intoxicated that he lost consciousness and sank to the bottom of the pool. There was no visible intervention from a lifeguard. I ended up stripping down to my swimwear, jumping into the pool, pulling him from the bottom and dragging him to the steps. Staff came over and watched but did not assist with getting him out of the water. It was genuinely frightening and could easily have ended in tragedy. There is a nice venue here with good food and a great atmosphere during quieter periods, but the management of alcohol around the pool felt irresponsible. Guest safety should always come before creating social media moments, and after witnessing what happened, I wouldn’t feel comfortable returning.

Just returned home from 10 lovely nights in this hotel, we had room 1255 very spacious and lovely shower and comfortable bed, rooms are very clean and all staff are very friendly and helpful, water, tea coffee and milk replenished daily, one of the best hotels we have stayed in highly recommended. We didn't have the breakfast but heard from other guests it was lovely. Will definitely book here again.

I absolutely loved staying at this location for over a week while I hosted a speaker's retreat and spoke at a conference in Valletta. The staff were beyond gracious and helpful, the rooms and views were wonderful, and the food was delicious (especially the breakfast buffet! There was such an assortment of food, I couldn't believe it!). I will definitely be organizing future retreats there and recommending my friends and clients to stay there as well.