Where to stay in Malta
March 24, 2014 7:08 AM   Subscribe

Heading to Malta in a few weeks, but not very sure where to stay. Valletta or one of the tourist areas?

The previous wisdom on AskMe seemed to suggest that Valletta was pretty dead at night, but that the livelier resorts were pretty tacky. That was several years ago. Is it still the case? I'm looking for somewhere with a modicum of life, perhaps a few bars and restaurants, but I'm not interested in clubs. Suggestions for general locations and/or specific hotels or apartments are welcome.
posted by Jakey to Travel & Transportation around Malta (3 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I stayed in Sliema and it was pretty dead quiet as well. But I recall there was a nice set of hotels in St. Juliens and Paceville and there was a bit more nightlife there, although it may border on noisy-brit-pub territory IIRC. I bet the Westin Dragonara is nice without being tacky.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:37 AM on March 24, 2014


Best answer: I've stayed on St. Paul's Bay (not too far from, but not in, Buġibba). I rented an apartment there that overlooked the rocky coast and absolutely loved it. Buġibba has lots of nightlife, but as JoeZydeco mentions above, there's a definite element of loud, loutish, drunken tourism (mostly from the UK) across much of the northern coast of Malta. Seriously, it's awful.

Another place I've stayed that was more remote but much, much more peaceful was near the Xaqqa Cliffs on the southern coast. I stayed in an entire villa that cost the same as an apartment on the northern coast. If you rent a car (which is easy to do), this is what I'd recommend.

Valletta is nice, and it's full of tourists from lots of places, so while you won't be up all night drinking, it's better than the popular tourist towns. There also used to be a big, open party on St. Elmo Place right near the fort every weekend. I'm not sure if it's still there, but it was a lot of fun when I went.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:42 AM on March 24, 2014


Response by poster: Thanks, yellow and Joe
posted by Jakey at 5:25 AM on March 28, 2014


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