Palace State Rooms

I do not usually bother to answer letters that try to justify inadequacy and inefficiencies. Nor will I be drawn into some futile mud-slinging exercise on the media that Pierre Cassar (manager, corporate communications, Heritage Malta, Valletta) seems to be keen on undertaking (Access at Palace Armoury, August 30). The message of our letter was simple: the access to the Palace State Rooms has been further hindered by the introduction of toilets and a shop that are badly located.

It is important for me to clarify points that Mr Cassar seems to have completely missed. In my previous letter (August 22) I do not criticise the ongoing works on sanitary facilities at the Palace Armoury or the fact that a shop has been introduced. What I stated was that they are badly located. What I'm also saying is that one toilet for males, one for females and one toilet for the handicapped is highly inadequate. The Grandmaster's Palace and Armoury are the most visited Heritage Malta sites in Valletta. Queues are inevitably formed, thus blocking the passage to and from the infamous staircase (on days when cruise liners visit one expects something like 800 visitors). I wrote the letter on August 17, long after the works were ready. I guess the works are still in progress because there is still no toilet paper.

Mr Cassar starts by saying that a person with special needs does not need to navigate any flight of steps to use sanitary facilities, then he proceeds to say that there are two steps. In fact Heritage Malta personnel usually redirect wheelchair- bound clients to the Republic Street entrance. His solution is that the person (or groups of persons) with special needs rely on the good will of the personnel on duty. I will make no further comments about this. I am confident that the association for persons with special needs will explain.

Regarding the retail shop, Mr Cassar again proceeds to give a distorted picture. Besides the display cabinets against the walls there is a clutter of stands displaying postcards, books and what not.

There is also a cash desk in the middle. Prospective buyers stop to look at the items on display and the flow of visitors to and from the staircase is hindered. Heritage Malta officials have obviously carried out their spot checks during siesta time.

They were definitely not there on a Friday morning. Can Mr Cassar note that he has received a major report about bottlenecks as a result of the retail shop - the MUTG report? Our report voices the views of all active tourist guides who through the Malta Union of Tourist Guides forward complaints on behalf of Heritage Malta clients.

With regard to the last point Mr Cassar raises, after 29 months of waiting, I no longer believe that Heritage Malta is actively seeking a permanent solution to the visitor flow to the Palace State Rooms. With the introduction of the sanitary facilities, the Grandmaster's Carriage and the retail shop in the passage prove my point.

Heritage Malta registered a decline in visitors this year .... And they wonder why.