Spent four nights here and must say: pretty impressed!
Applied SNA, which cleared a couple days out (although not at the 5 day mark, keeping the suspense going) into an Executive Suite King, Seaview, Top Floor. Upon arrival, we were assigned room 826, directly next to the (closed) club lounge. It's a pretty stunning room, very large, nicely refurbished, with a huge balcony overlooking the ocean. A prior poster mentioned the resort was a bit dated -- we didn't feel so at all, our room was in impeccable shape, and the public areas looked recently redone. Obviously the building has old bones, and the furniture is not brand new, but what we saw was in excellent repair. We slept very well here, the bed was soft enough, and with the door open, one could hear the waves crashing.
Breakfast was given as Titanium benefit, and additionally, there was a choice of 1000 points or a local gift, plus another voucher for a bottle of wine at the restaurant or via room service, or drinks at the bar. Chose the latter -- the lobby is a very appealing space with a piano player, but the drinks were very mediocre. Drink prices were very reasonable by resort standards, €7.75 for a mojito or mai tai.
Breakfast was an "assisted buffet," meaning that you'd queue up and point, and a staff member plates the requested items. The crowds were significant, but overall, it was handled well. After 10am, I would estimate 5-10 minute waits for a table, plus another 5-10 minutes at the egg station, but before 9.30am or so, it was smooth sailing. Selection was good -- wide choice of egg dishes, three different kinds of sausages, hash browns, unhealthy fried stuff, half a dozen salami/cheese/fish options, fruit, danishes/waffles/pancakes, sparkling wine, etc etc -- you likely wouldn't miss anything here as an American or European, but the quality was middling.
There's also a club lounge replacement benefit from 6pm-8pm, apparently held at the poolside bar in good weather, and in mid-October in a small section off the breakfast restaurant. A plate of appetizers is brought out (and seconds proactively offered), plus wine/sparkling/beer/soft drinks (but no hard liquor). Appreciate the effort, although I'm not sure why they're not reopening the club lounge.
Overall, very pleased with this stay on a BRG of €120. Unexpectedly, the hotel was rather busy --fall holidays in some German states and the UK apparently-- and regular rates were quite high at €230 (although still BRGable day-of to €150 with a quick glance). Even at that rate, the suite would be great value, although to be fair, I have no idea how common of an upgrade this is, and I'm sure this place, like most large resorts, have a number of undesirable "garden" (=parking lot) view rooms. There are a bunch of "luxury suite" room types listed on the website, which apparently are in a new annex and outside the upgrade pool.
Finally, for anyone who's not familiar with Malta, it's important to note that the Westin is a proper resort with large pools and a lot of ocean front, with terraces to lounge on and swim in the ocean. There are very few comparable real resorts in Malta, as we learned when we moved on to the nearby Hyatt for two more nights (big mistake!). That hotel, along with the IC and a number of non-chain properties in the area, are basically city hotels with a rooftop pool, but not proper resorts. The same goes for the Marriott, which is about 10 minutes away. The Westin is in a completely different league.
View from the bedroom.
Bedroom, suite 826.
Living room, suite 826.
Lobby area. Reminded me a little of the Westin Moana. Very pleasant at night, with a piano player.
View from the suite. Restaurants in the foreground, and pool and terraces for lounging/swimming (in summer).
Balcony, suite 826. Strangely, there's a divider between the bedroom and living room. I wish they had loungers out here -- in fall, this has direct sunlight from 7.30am to 5pm, far longer than the pool.