Golden Tulip Vivaldi Hotel

I would describe our stay at the Vivaldi Hotel in St. Julian’s as one big series of disappointments.

We were placed in Tower C, the old part of the hotel, and the room standard was far below what the photos of the renovated wing suggest. The décor felt like the 1990s. There was a strong chlorine smell in the bathroom, along with several rusty elements. The sink overflow was visibly dirty with a revolting green buildup — we placed a cotton pad in it to hide the disgusting dirt, and even after housekeeping noticed it, it was not cleaned!

Although we booked a king-size bed, we received two separate twins. We had to go back to reception, and they dared to say the hotel has only single beds, and they can “make” it king-size if we wish. As it turned out, the “fix” was all about putting a thin topper on two beds to join them — it's so thin you still fall into the gap when sleeping. The pillows and mattress were also uncomfortable.

The room service itself was hit-and-miss. We asked staff in the evening to bring an iron and an ironing board the next morning — nothing arrived, so we had to go downstairs to ask again. The iron we finally got had a European plug (in a country with UK sockets!), and it was leaking severely from multiple places. During our stay, the housekeeping forgot basic things like a bathroom mat and a bin liner. Moreover, our key cards kept demagnetising — the reception suggested we must’ve put them too close to electronic devices or credit cards — where should we store them then?!

The pool areas were disappointing. In the indoor pool, there was a strong smell of chlorine, and no one was using the amenity. The rooftop pool was to be open, according to what the receptionist told us, but when we visited it, it was closed — only sunbeds were available.

A toilet drain in the gents' restroom on level –1 was extremely dirty, definitely not aligning with 4-star hotel standards. The location itself is convenient for St. Julian‘s, but overall, the stay in Tower C felt poorly maintained and not up to the expected standard.