We loved every minute of our time at the Imperial Hotel, right from our friendly initial greeting and welcome by Chantel at reception, through to our fond farewells with individual staff members.

The Hotel is ideally situated, being in easy walking distance in almost every direction, affording various access routes either to rocky exposed sea front, sheltered cove, dramatic harbour views or Sliema Creek waterfront with its ferries and excursion boats. All the above have a wide range of excellent value bars and restaurants, most with stunning views. Buses to Valletta stop nearby and the regular Marsamxett Harbour ferry to Valletta is less than ten minutes walk away.

Every member of the hotel staff we met was exceptionally friendly, helpful and accommodating, especially the bar staff, those at reception and our ever cheerful chambermaid.

The food, it has to be said, was not always of the highest standard and certainly not what some guests seemed to have expected. But given the prices being charges we feel, apart from the occasional lapse, the catering and kitchen staff performed extremely well.

A United Nations conference was underway during our stay, making for interesting conversations with a diverse selection of delegates from all corners of the world.

Overall the this elegant hotel exudes a warm welcome with bags of charm and character – about 1000% more so than the concrete and glass tower-block tripper-orientated hotels, crammed together along the busy waterfront, into which, one suspects, those less than satisfied guests would have done better to book themselves.

We will definitely be coming back next year!

Stayed for 8 days in October and would not stay again. Yes the downstairs entrance is lovely and the garden area calm, pretty and sheltered. Airconditioning was noisy but worked well. Bedrooms had nice high cellings and the cleaning staff did an excellent job in a poorly maintained hotel. Floor tiles chipped as was the wood on the wardrobe. No double glazing so very noisy. Our room at the front of the hotel was on the juction of two busy roads. There was a small safe in the room but a daily two euro charge in addition to a refundable deposit was I think mean and stingy. Food at dinner appeared to have been reheated. it was unappetising, poorly presented and consisted of small portions with a lack of colour and fresh vegetables. Service was extremly slow though it did speed up towards the end of the week. Some though not all of the staff were surly. We did get a comment card to fill in which contained only the responses average, good or excellent to questions and was collected by the waiter. Breakfast was basic. Coffee came from a nescaffe machine not nice. There were fresh oranges on two mornings only, fruit otherwise consisted of a large bowl of tinned mixed fruit.. Orange juice from machine broke down on our first morning and was not repaired untill our last morning leaving a choice of watery pineapple or grapefruit juice. There was 5 minute walk to seafront but steep incline on the way back. The bar was not very inviting but there was a nice friendy pub Sailisbury Arms just down the road. Enjoyed Malta but hotel does not live up to its potential, pity as it could be much better with some upgrading.

I would agree with reviewers who said the hotel was a bit shabby, but it's an architectural gem with real character. Many hotels in Malta are new concrete blocks so we appreciated being somewhere with traditional style. I was there with a friend and we found all except one of the staff to be very helpful and friendly. Pleasant garden with very clean swimming pool - but no swimming between 6pm and I think 9 am, no doubt for administering chemicals to the pool. Good location if you are fit - Sliema is hilly but it's a pleasant and interesting part, and the hotel is only about ten minutes' walk from the waterfront. The room was absolutely fine. Buffet breakfast - yes, the breakfast/dining room is rather dark, but they have electric lighting! The buffet breakfast was quite extensive. We had dinner in one evening and weren't tempted to do so again, but the price was only E12 for three courses. There are plenty of restaurants in reasonable walking distance, including a five-star hotel very nearby; we ate in the budget-price eatery there several times.

Sliema is a great place to stay; there is a frequent ferry service to and from Valletta, plus boat or coach trips around the island. Weather super. I want to go back!

The hotel was nice, rooms basic but clean and had great air conditioning though it was a little noisy. TV had only euronews in english which seemd to repeat over and over again. Sun area on 2nd floor was very dirty with sun beds well past their sell by date. Swimming pool area was,however, very nice and sunbathing there was really nice.
Buffet breakfast was very adequate - no E nglish or Irish breakfast. Boiled eggs for the first few days were freezing as if straight from the freezer. Dinner in the evening was mostly unappetising with plates cold and food lukewarm. Very little in the line of fresh vegetables and no fresh fruit did we see at all. Reading other reviews makes me think that the chef was on strike during our week's holiday. Uphill to hotel from promenade all the way takes 10 to 15 minutes so elderly folk would find it very taxing.