Travellers surfing the Web looking to make a late booking for early October will stumble on some tantalising Malta bargains with rooms at budget hotels starting at just €21 and some four-stars offering veritable giveaways.
A random search on Tuesday on discount hotel portal gtahotels.com for a week's break for two adults between October 1 and 8 resulted in a list of 60 hotels. Most room rates included all taxes and fees, and breakfast.
A double inner room at the two-star Europa on Sliema's Tower Road was going for €21 with bed and breakfast.
Three-star rates started at €31 for a standard twin room at Qawra's Euroclub, €34 a night for a twin standard room at Sliema's New Tower Palace Hotel, €73 for a superior sea view twin at St Julian's Bay Hotel, and €75 for a double standard at Sliema's Plaza Regency.
Four-star rates started at €46/€47 a night for a double room at the Bay Street Hotel, or a twin standard room at Marfa's Riviera Resort and Spa, and €56 for a twin village room at the Hotel Maritim Antonine at Mellieħa. For €82-€86 a night, travellers had a choice between a superior twin room at the Xlendi Bay Resort Spa, a double room at the Diplomat Hotel on Sliema's Tower Road or the Cornucopia in Xagħra, or a twin standard at the Suncrest. For a few euros more a night, a double room with inland views at the Golden Tulip Vivaldi was priced at €100 a night.
Travellers with a better budget could opt to stay at some of Malta's most magnificent properties at attractive rates. A double room at the Radisson Blu St Julian's cost €108 a night, a double superior room at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz €148, a twin standard at the Grand Hotel Excelsior €176, a double sea view at the Westin Dragonara Palace Resort €179, and a double deluxe at the Radisson Blu Golden Sands at €209.
The 'Big Sale' offer was a double with sea view at the Hotel Fortina for €150 a night while among the top deals were the Windsor Hotel (€46 for a double standard) and Corinthia Palace Hotel (€78 for a twin standard).
For October 1 to 8, tour operator Thomson (www.thomson.co.uk) offered an all-inclusive package (twin room) for £2,298 at the Fortina, a double room at the Corinthia Marina Hotel in St Julian's for a total of £693, or a family room with seaview at the Bayview Hotel for a total of £346.
Thomas Cook (www.thomascook.com) is offering seven nights in December in Malta from £139 per person, among its cheapest December offers.
Malta winter holiday deals advertised on lowcostholidays.com included the four-star Topaz Hotel from £25.43 per person per night and the four-star Bellavista from £11.08 per person per night.
Asked for the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association's outlook for the last quarter of the year, president Kevin De Cesare told The Times Business: "The outlook does not look that great, but we have been surviving with last-minute bookings the last six months and we hope that it will continue."
Asked whether cut-price rates offered by three-star hotels were feasible, Mr De Cesare replied: "The rates mentioned definitely make selling a room not feasible at that price.
"The problem has been that five-stars have had to lower their rate to four-star levels due to competition while four-stars have had to lower to three-star, leaving the three-stars nowhere to go."