An excellent 4* hotel complex in a popular area of St Paul’s Bay, it has stunning views across the bay from your balcony on the front of the hotel, and provides a range of services for guests including indoor pool and outdoor pool areas across the road. Staff are very helpful, and there is a welcome meeting in the bar for all new guests, including a cocktail drink, where you can find out about the island and book any excursions. Rooms and public areas are well-cared for, clean and comfortable as you would expect from a refurbished hotel part of Ax Hotels group, there is free WiFi, and it is an ideal location for exploring the island of Malta using public transport.
The hotel restaurant serves a comprehensive range of beautifully-presented dishes, including typical Maltese dishes, although you need to book a table beforehand during busy times of the year, and there is plenty of choice for an alternative menu at restaurants nearby. There was a leaflet in our room with 10% discount voucher for the bar and restaurant over the road, including a 2-for-1 offer on cocktails between 5.00-7.00pm so it seemed churlish not to take up the offer. Great, except when you ordered two, they brought you 4 very large cocktails rather than having just one each. A bit more than we planned but we managed to drink them between us.
A lovely sunset and warm, balmy evening seemed perfect for relaxing on our balcony after a long day being tourists. It is only a 10-minute walk around the corner into the busier centre of Bugibba with bars open until early morning – note we never felt unsafe or threatened at all when walking back along the main streets to Seashells Resort in Qawra, always a positive factor when choosing a hotel.
Everything in the hotel was perfect for us as the last two nights of our 2-week visit to Malta and Gozo, and being so close to the bus station, we were able to catch an airport bus that got us there in plenty of time. There is a bus stop directly across the road from the hotel, but as it is often busy on the bus once it gets to Qawra, we thought it best to walk to the bus station with our bags. In fact, it wasn’t too busy at all on the early-morning bus, and the hotel would be happy to book a taxi for you if you prefer. Overall, a most enjoyable stay in a lovely hotel that we would certainly choose again for a stay in this part of Qawra.
