I don't even know where to begin. Had a fantastic stay (as Marriott Titanium) at the Westin (full review) and then moved on to the Hyatt for a couple nights. What a letdown! It's like moving from an ocean view suite at GH Kauai to an abandoned-stores-on-Kuhio "city" view at Centric Waikiki.

First thing to note, the Westin is an actual resort covering a huge (by Malta standards) stretch of oceanfront property, with various pools and terraces that are built into the ocean, ideal for lounging and swimming in the ocean. Feels sortof grand, with high ceilings, huge suites and an impressive lobby. Views are spectacular. In contrast, the Hyatt is a city hotel with tiny rooms and a small rooftop pool, with VERY partial ocean views in the distance.

I applied a suite upgrade cert (against earlier --and very appropriate!-- advice, but somehow I had 8 of these this year, so I use them on any longer stay). Ended up in a x16 room, and frankly it's outrageous they're calling this a suite. Rather small to begin with (at 360sqft), and a good quarter of the space is taken up by a completely useless hallway. Very cramped, low ceilings, a small balcony, we're more in Japanese business hotel territory here than what one would expect of a suite in a European resort. What possessed these people to call one of their worst room types a suite? "Corner room, limited view," perhaps? I'm not sure there's a worse "suite" in the entire system, and I say this as someone who wouldn't be found dead in a suite of HR TST or Hua Hin.

There is still no club lounge or replacement benefit, despite BA Humbug's convo with management. I also don't know where a club happy hour would take place -- there's no dedicated space, so it'd likely have to be at the main restaurant (or outside plaza, which looks like you're in a Vegas shopping mall). Full restaurant breakfast was of course available as a Glob benefit -- you could choose egg dishes from a menu and have them delivered to the table, and there was an "assisted buffet" with cold cuts/fruits/pastries.

I'm sure Hyatt loyalists will appreciate the opportunity to redeem points in Malta (and 8k was reasonable compared to the €190 rates I saw for my dates -- although that is relative, because Hyatt's crappy BRG doesn't honor the multiple cheaper rates available on OTAs, while with Marriott's more honest BRG, the Westin is an easy claim at €120 or so). But the bottom line is that this is another subpar Hyatt nobody should really be staying at, similar to, say, HR Phuket and Hua Hin. There are SO MANY better options, yet Hyatt faithful stay at these mediocre places because, hey, Hyatt's footprint is so terrible, but they actually do have a place in Malta/Phuket/Hua Hin, we HAVE TO stay there. I would strongly recommend staying at a proper resort -- the Westin I can vouch for, and the Hilton and Corinthia also appear to fit the bill (and are widely available for reasonable rates via European OTAs -- with breakfast, so you'll be getting just what your Globalist status gets you at the HR).

Zero chance I'll be returning here. In fact, we felt scammed even though this 2-night stay cost us 16k points and put us over the 60 night marker, earning a Cat 1-7 free night.


"Ocean view" from "suite" at HR Malta. Please do yourself a favor and book an ocean view room at the Westin instead.


Hallway that takes up about 1/4 of the space of the "suite"


Hard to take pictures of the "suite." This is the bedroom and living room, I guess.


And this is the living room, work area, and balcony.


Bathroom. Oddly, everything is designed for very short people. If you're a child or 5ft tall, it's perfect, though. Oh, there's Aqua di Parma toiletries, though.