db Seabank Resort & Spa

As a lot of other people on here we were a little worried due to the recent negative reviews that appeared on here only weeks before we were due to arrive. However, we tried not to let it get us down and having stayed here the last two weeks we were very happy with our stay. Like most large all inclusive hotels that are geared for families this hotel does a lot of things really well and others not so well, but we have found this at other hotels of the same star rating and when comparing its pretty much on a par. Rooms: As is in most hotels check in is between 2/3pm. There are some people on here complaining they had to wait around as they arrived at 11 etc etc. Well yes, it’s busy time and the maids are busy preparing rooms left by guests at 11 to be ready for new guests as soon as possible so no issues here. Checking in was easy and our room was ready fairly quickly. We were situated on the 4th floor overlooking the pool which was gorgeous. The room was spacious and clean and at the end of the day we only really sleep in there as were out and about most the day. The maids did a fab job at keeping it clean and tidy!. Only one issue was the air con isn’t great. I like a cold room when in a hot country!! We left the curtains closed in the day to ensure the room didn’t heat up and we managed okay. Great shower/bath overall nice. Pools: we mainly stayed at the top pool near the kids part and had no issues getting sun beds, but were fairly early risers!. It was always kept clean and it was a perfect area to keep tabs on my young children darting from pool to slides!! The floor under the pirate ship area does get slippy especially where the children are jumping out the pool to go back on the ship, we had no issues but a rubber matting or something round the edge would stop slips and falls!. My sister and her boyfriend tried out the adults pools and said it was lovely. Restaurants: We ate mainly in the Coral buffet and found the food to be lovely (especially the desserts). It was fairly repetitive at times but a good choice. We had no issues booking the A la Carte restaurants, we used the machine about an hour after checking in and was able to get into all of them by we chose not to go to the Brazilian. We did the Asian and the Jungle twice and the Italian once. Unfortunately the bistro was booked the whole time, we tried and tried and even spoke to management but they couldn’t get us in. Food was nice in all. At times the buffet was busy but it’s the summer holidays and peak season, we didn’t expect anything less. The staff cope well and are always clearing up cleaning and sorting tables for a quick turn around. The only disappointing was no ice creams included unless in the restaurant. It would also be nice for the snack bar to be open longer or earlier instead of just 4-5 maybe 2-5. Wasps: yes there are wasps/bees. They weren’t much of a nuisance to us they congregated around left over drinks, spilt drinks and left out food. They are also near the bar area a lot. We found if we drank and cleared up or just stuck to water round the pool they would not bother us and weren't aggressive, we certainly weren’t ‘swarmed’ at all. Help each other out and clear up your mess!!! However this issues does seem To be only an issue in the hotel as we went out and about to the beach, Popeye village and Bugibba and ate ice creams, had drinks etc and there weren’t any around so maybe the hotel need to look at why this seems to be an issue in house. Entertainment: a lot of dancing and singing which I enjoy so I liked the entertainment and the dancers are of a very high standard with good choreography but I can understand why this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea so maybe some variety in this for those who prefer other types of shows. My daughter enjoyed the mini disco and the staff work very hard. Staff: all staff polite and helpful and constantly working. There are maintenance guys about a lot fixing things which is good and there were several painters doing odd jobs when we were there so this is good to see as there are bits that could do with a tidy up here and there. Day guests: we didn’t have much of an issue with these but I do agree with others that the hotel needs to decide what they value more, day guests paying 50 Euros a day, or having returning custom who pay thousands to be there. They come on mass, the ones we had round the kids pool didn’t cause much of an problem but they do let their kids get rowdy, one day a group of them were running and dive bombing into the pool. I get this is all part of the fun and some hotel guests also did this, but one of the children was about 10/11 and it was relentless over and over and over in an already crowded pool full of small children and his parents just laughed him on. They have little regard for the rules (smoke and drinking by and in the pool) and completely ignore the security guys when asked not to do something, just wave them on and carry on regardless he asked one lady 4 or 5 times to get her drink out of the pool and she completely ignored him, but then so did some hotel guests so rules need to be enforced!. The hotel could perhaps limit days during peak times and offer day guests 2/3 days a week whilst it’s busy. Trips out: we went on the Oh yeah 3 island boat trip booked from inside the hotel and it was fabulous (hot) but worth the trip. We went to Popeye Village which was great and worth the trip out. We also went to Mdina and Bugibba Square where my daughter got a braid. Aside from it being hot all Lovely trips out. We just booked a taxi and sorted this out ourselves, very easy to do. We also went to Amami restaurant just to the right of the hotel and had a lovely meal there. We are not sure if we would return here but Malta is a beautiful place and we enjoyed our stay at the DB seabank; so please if you are reading bad reviews and are worried, don’t, you’ll Have a great time!!! Good bits: -lovely food -clean -staff are great - lots to do -kids were happy :) - spacious rooms - cleaners working hard Room for improvement: -air con in the rooms (I’m sure some nights my room was as hot as outside) -wasps/bees round bar area -not many water stations -day guests -in need of a tidy up here and there Thank you DB Seabank for a lovely family holiday :)

CHECK IN We arrived at around 10.30pm check-in was smooth, quick and easy. We were advised that they were going to prepare something in the restaurant for us to eat. This was at 11pm and much appreciated. It wasn’t a cooked meal, but this didn’t matter, they didn’t have to do it but they did. ROOM We had a sea view room, as others have said, rooms are large and ours was no different. 2 large single beds joined together. The bed was comfortable with a choice of 1 or 2 pillows. The air conditioning was controlled by the hotel and at times seemed like it wasn’t switched on, simply leaving the ceiling fan on solved this problem and allowed enough cool air to flow around the room. Our balcony was small with a table and 2 chairs. The room also had a hair dryer, safe and fridge which is useful for cooling the water from the dispensers. POOL AREA We did reserve our sunbeds at 8.15 when we had breakfast, but this was purely to make sure that we had a good spot with enough shading for the whole day. A shaded sunbed in the morning wasn’t necessarily shaded in the afternoon. There were still plenty of sunbeds available during the day but not always shaded. We didn’t use the indoor pool although it did appear to be slightly cooler than the outdoor one. The main pool is large but does get busy at times, kids jumping in the pool and people playing with balls can get annoying at times, but this wasn’t really a problem. The lifeguard did let everyone get on with it without blowing his whistle too much. The adult pool was very quiet and is nice if you don’t like the hustle and bustle of the main pools. We didn’t use the activities pool or sit in that area. BEES/WASPS Yes there are lots of them everywhere, like others have said if you are careful with your drinks and food then you won’t have swarms of them around you, the staff do their best to remove all unused drinks and food but you will never solve this issue. There is a bee farm next door and this is the reason why there are so many, but they are not aggressive like ones in the UK and personally for me they didn’t cause me any issues at all. RESTAURANTS/MEALS/DRINKS We tried to book the restaurants after we had checked in, but the 2 machines simply didn’t work properly for us, we tried on numerous occasions and had issues each time. We did however manage to book the Italian, didn’t enjoy it thought. I cannot comment on any of the other restaurants. We ate in the main buffet restaurant for breakfast and dinner and sometimes for lunch. Food was varied and of good quality, it did get a bit manic at times but for me this wasn’t an issue. Self service drinks and beer was very useful. I found drinks to be of a good quality and taste, sometimes they weren’t cold enough though. We also used the Laguna restaurant on a few occasions for lunch, again same quality food. Overall the food was good quality, but I have had better in all inclusive hotels. We did eat out locally at the Blu Beach Club just up the road and the food/service was fantastic, I would highly recommend this. ENTERTAINMENT This wasn’t for us; we did sit outside for a few shows, but we didn’t feel this was for us. LOCALITY The hotel is just over the road from the beach, there is a Starbucks and a few restaurants just up the road but other than that the hotel is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Personally, I prefer if there were a few shops, restaurants and options to have a drink out of the resort area. STAFF All staff are very friendly, helpful and can’t do enough for you. The maids work especially hard and ours did a great job every day. There have a few security staff around the resort which makes you feel safe, if there are any incidents, they deal with them quickly and efficiently, however I didn’t notice any issues whilst we were there. DAY GUESTS Yes, they accept day guest into the resort and most/all of them are locals, for us they didn’t cause any problems apart from one occasion where there were 10 of them in the pool together playing with a ball. I think they have sorted out the previous issues they were having. WIFI Works great in rooms and public areas with fast speed, most areas around the pool get good coverage as well. I found some areas didn’t get coverage. SUMMARY Overall, we had a great holiday, I have stayed in better all-inclusive resorts. If I came to Malta again, I would probably stay here again.