We enjoyed our stay at the Golden Sands. It is in the northern part of the island, on a striking piece of shoreline. There is a small inlet with waves lapping out and a rocky hill beyond. The 3 towers of the hotel stand alone with no other development in view. The hotel is a time share and has a very good hard product. The indoor and outdoor spaces are both very nice. I like a hotel that has a range of seating areas, particularly lounge type seating outside. This hotel has that. There is a long swimming pool between the hotel and the beach. Where the hotel falls down is on its soft product. Food is mediocre as are linens, towels and soap. It's a shame that management skimps, as I thought that the Radisson Blu brand was meant to be competitive with Westins, Marriotts, and Hilton.

We used points to get an ocean view suite. Half the rooms have a land view. It was important to me to have a water view. I found it well worth the premium to get the additional space as well as the guaranteed view. The premium points package also included the buffet breakfast. Our suite had the space for a kitchen but it was not fitted out. There was only a long desk table in it. The bell boy told us most suites had kitchens. I've no idea why ours did not. Still, it was nice to have a long dining table and four chairs in an alcove as well as a sofa and chair in the living area.

The only places to eat are the hotel restaurants (one a buffet), a place called Munchies on the beach, and a bar cafe up from Munchies. We bought fruit, vegetables, and local cheese at a stand about 10 minutes from the hotel. Delicious strawberries are grown in that village.

I liked staying in this area of the island for two nights. We rented a car. We spent our first day seeing sights around the island, outside of Valleta. Our second day was delightfully spend on Gozo. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to the ferry landing. The ferry runs every 45 minutes much of the day to Gozo. I highly recommend the island of Gozo. We found a lot to do there both of historical interest and of physical beauty.