Qawra, Soreda Hotel

The picture in Liverpool echo of the soreda hotel is not the true picture it is very misleading? ALTHOUGH THIS HOTEL WAS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL ONE THAT WE WERE IN IN MY OPINION IT WAS NOT A 4star but maybe 3

Good points, not many to talk about. Bad points, Having to go up to pool bar when wanting a drink - lounge bar could have been opened to save having to take lift from ground floor to pool area. Food in general at the Soreda Hotel is average - in my opinion hotel not 4 star we would not use it again.

As an all round hotel the Soreda makes for a reasonably pleasant stay, though certainly not the best hotel in Malta, with its limitations it would not spoil a holiday in Malta. The surrounding area is quiet wit the two cherries bar on the next block, which for inexpensive drinks I would reccomend. The hotel is close to the centre & 5 to 10 mins from the bus station. So if you are looking for a reasonably priced hotel withgood rooms & adequate food the Soreda will meet your requirements.

Helpful staff at the Soreda Hotel. Nice room. All Inclusive drinks. Low price!! Average hotel.. Not 4 stars.... maybe 2 or 3...

Now I'm not the kinda person to complain but out of the 7 days we were at the Soreda Hotel there was only ONE swimming pool open for 2 DAYS! The other swimming pool was cold there was no one in there as there was no sun getting to it, the other one was being refurbished.

The staff were generally not smiling accept from one man who really did try to make your stay a good one.

I wouldn't say it was a bad hotel but there was some better ones near by such as Qwara Palace and many more what were all still 4*, the Soreda Hotel should have been a 3*.

Serial wingers and whiners. These are the only people who would complain about a holiday at The Soreda Hotel. My wife and I had the good fortune to stay at the Soreda from October 24th to November 7th and can honestly say we had no complaints whatsoever. Not that we're 'Put-up-and-shut-up' types, I can assure readers of this review that I'm always the first to complain if I find the slightest thing wrong with a hotel and/or its facilities that I'm paying good money to stay at.

Having read other reviews, I think it would be best to also include responses to specific 'complaints' of other contributors. So here goes.

LOCATION:

Contrary to comments in other reviews, the Soreda is NOT located up a steep hill. It's on a perfectly level street. However, if one wanted to go to Qawra sea front - not much there at all, except for two large hotels, a couple of smaller ones, a hotel lido and no beach - one would have to walk up a hill to get back to the Soreda. I have prolapsed spinal discs and have difficulty walking, yet I found the 100 yard walk up the hill was easy. Steep? Absolute rubbish. But, if there is a complaint to be made about this hill, don't blame the Soreda, blame the Tour Operator for not mentioning it in their brochure. However, if you wanted to go to Qawra centre, with all the shops, eateries and the bus station, it's a leisurely 10-15 minute walk away - with no hills to climb.

There is a new building being constructed in a street at the rear of the Soreda, 150 metres from the hotel front door and around two street corners, but there is no loud banging or obtrusive noise to spoil a holiday. All the 'noise' work has been completed and the bricklayers are on site. Apart from this new building there is no building work being undertaken in the surrounding area.

ROOM:

Our room, with balcony, was large and far better than we expected. It was spotlessly clean when we arrived and was maintained in that condition by the daily visit from the chambermaid. The whole floor was cleaned every day, beds were freshly made each day, bathroom cleaned each day and we were given fresh towels each day. The chambermaid was always smiling and extremely pleasant every single day. The air conditioning was perfect and our TV picked up seven English speaking channels, including CNN, BBC World News, two movie channels - English speaking and no subtitles - a travel documentary channel, Eurosport and a wildlife channel. A good mix bearing in mind one is on holiday and Soap Operas are best left at home.

FOOD:

Excellent and plentiful. Breakfast buffet had a variety of cereals, plus eggs - fried, boiled, scrambled - bacon, sausage, fried bread, beans, tomato's, toast, bread & butter. Plus, a variety of cold meats, croissants, cheeses, etc, for those preferring a continental style breakfast. Ample tea, coffee, fruit juice and fresh fruit was also readily available.

We only had lunch on one day - we arrived late evening, had missed dinner and so were given a complimentary lunch. The lunch was again plentiful and there was a choice of four main meals with accompanying veg. We had the poached salmon......yummy.

Dinner was an absolute treat to look forward to. And the selection was second to none. With a soup starter, one was then spoilt for choice as to what to have for the main course. The gammon was succulent, juicy and perfectly cooked; as were the joints of beef, pork and lamb, all fresh from the oven and carved with a friendly smile by the chef. As well as the roasts, one could also opt for fish dishes, braised beef, lamb/pork loin and chops, stuffed veal and an abundance of various pasta and vegetarian dishes. These were accompanied with roast/boiled/mashed/saut ed potato, cauliflower, carrots, peas, broccoli and a choice of two gravy sauces. (One day, my wife counted the dishes on offer and found that one actually had fifteen main meals to choose from.)

The sweet course varied from apple sponge or crumble, pear sponge, rice pudding, bread & butter pudding, apple tart, all with a variety of sauces - custard, lemon sauce, chocolate sauce etc. There were jellies, fruit salads and fresh fruit too, and, of course, the obligatory cheese & biscuits.

My wife and I have stayed at different hotels throughout Malta during the 22 years we've been visiting the island and we can quite honestly state that the food at the Soreda Hotel is second to none.

FACILITIES:

From 11:00am to 11:00pm (midnight during winter months) there is a bar open. Be it the roof-top pool bar, lounge bar or terrace bar. So soft drinks, alcohol or tea & coffee are always available. There is an extremely comfortable and tastefully decorated piano lounge with leather Queen Anne chairs ( and a massive sheepskin rug that wouldn't fit in our suitcase - wink) to relax in and there's the main bar with ample soft seating and nightly entertainment. On the roof there is a well proportioned pool and Jacuzzi, with loungers and a bar. Yes, as with all resort hotels, some people did go there early in the morning and put towels or a book on loungers, but there were enough to go round and not once did we find them all 'occupied'. In fact, on every occasion we went to the roof top pool area, we found ourselves spoilt for choice as to where to sunbathe as there were always empty loungers available. The Soreda is also a net caf area, library and TV area showing Sky TV. Indoor pool, gymnasium - with more equipment than our local leisure centre - and three restaurants. The hotel has seven lifts giving access to all six floors and easy-to-understand signs are clearly posted indicating which lift goes to which floor section for easy access to rooms. We were at the Soreda for two weeks and had no problems with lift breakdowns. The facilities are what one would expect for the star rating and the Soreda Hotel is well worthy of its 4 star status.

IN SUMMARY:

If anyone is considering a holiday to Malta, we would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending they stay at the Soreda. The staff - from reception to maintenance - are friendly, helpful in every respect, (I forgot to pack my phone charger and was able to borrow one belonging to a member of the reception staff) and extremely courteous. And to elaborate on the helpfulness of the staff; the cereal dispensers - made in Italy - in the dining room aren't on the market here in the UK and two friends we'd met asked where they might possibly be able to purchase them. One of the waitresses, knew of a store in Buggiba which sold them. So, at the end of her days shift, she met our friends, took them in her car to the store, waited for them whilst they bought a couple of the dispensers, then drove them back to the hotel before continuing on her way home. What one might call 'Service above and beyond the call of duty', but exactly the type of service one gets at the Soreda.

If you're planning your first trip to Malta or, have been before and want to stay in the Qawra/Buggiba area, go to the Soreda; you won't be disappointed. We'll certainly be returning there, that's for sure.