Same hotel, same room 531

Maltese hospitality is the prime factor that draws octogenarian couple Marco and Dolores Palazzolo to Malta year after year.

The Palazzolos, who have for the past two decades been booking the same room, 531, at the same hotel - the Dolmen in Qawra, have just celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary.

Mrs Palazzolo, née Cutajar, 84, is the daughter of Maltese immigrants to Tunis - her father was from Żejtun. Her husband, 87, is the son of Sicilian immigrants to the north African country.

"My blood is purely Maltese," she said proudly in perfect Maltese, despite her first language being French. She was born and raised in Tunis under the French occupation but learnt Maltese through her parents. Funnily enough, her husband also speaks the language fluently.

"At first, my father was not too glad I was dating an Italian but, as soon as he started learning Maltese to communicate with the family, he sort of accepted him," she recalled.

"I had no choice," replied a smiling Mr Palazzolo, a former prison guard.

The couple met when Mrs Palazzolo, still 16, used to visit her aunts in Tunis, who lived near her husband's family. They got married in 1941 and had three sons. When the French occupation of Tunisia ended with the independence of the country in 1956, they were forced to leave. They were given six months to pack their stuff and go.

The Palazzolo family first settled in Grenoble, France, where their daughter was born and where Mrs Palazzolo said it was unbearably cold. Twelve years later, they moved to warmer Marseilles in southern France, where they still reside.

So if Marseilles is sunny and Mrs Palazzolo has no relatives left on the island what is it that attracts them to Malta?

"It's the Maltese," she replied without hesitation. "We always feel so welcome and this hotel is our second home."

"My husband loves Malta even more than me. In February, he starts planning our trips," she continued, acting as the spokesman of the couple, with her husband nodding in agreement.

Despite his origins, he has never visited Sicily, preferring to visit Malta annually for a month around Easter and for two in summer.

Mrs Palazzolo said the hotel employees loved them and were always running after her, tending to her needs and calling her "nanna". And she does act like a grandmother to them. The couple have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Up to a few years ago, with the hotel management's permission, she would use the kitchen to cook couscous for the guests and staff.

Another aspect the Palazzolos like about Malta is "la sécurité", as they put it in French, or the feeling of safety.

"At 2 a.m., it's still safe to walk around Buġibba. When we're at home in Marseilles at 8 p.m. I tell Marco to lock the windows," she said.

When asked whether there was anything about Malta they did not like, the couple say there is nothing to complain about.

They celebrated their 68th anniversary last month with a dinner at the hotel. Regrettably, Mrs Palazzolo, who has diabetes, could not eat much. "But I still dipped my finger in the champagne," she admitted.

And although she needs four injections daily and a walking stick to support herself, "that won't stop me from visiting the island as long as I can", she said convincingly.