“Appartamento sliema”

“As said before,"Brilliant location,Not a luxury apartment"”

Response from the owner We are sorry to read such a bad review for an apartment which is definitely a lot better than described by this guest, and perhaps even more hurtful is the fact that I attend to this guest's daily phone calls, sms messages, voicemails, etc. with total respect and prompt attention. Neither I nor Gold may be perfect but the review is a total distortion of the truth and that disappoints me. For any reader to go through this review would make him/her think that we totally neglected the guest's questions or concerns and that the apartment itself was falling apart. For the sake of this guest's memory, he would do well to read that the previous guests, to which he makes reference to in his opening remarks, which clearly indicated that the apartment was clean, without noise at night, having comfortable beds, and that they would come and stay again, so I would caution this guest to see on which bandwagon he wishes to jump on. The guest, a retired man, travelled on his own, and knowing that he would be more demanding, always found a good ear to listen to his daily summons, some of which were ridiculous in nature but he was always treated with dignity and respect. The oven that the guest mentions is only 7 years old and is not rusty and so I beg to differ on this issue and on other comments made by him as well. The apartment is used week in week out, and our guests often make use of this appliance with no one ever having mentioned this fact before. I appreciate all comments but they have to be fair and truthful, and you sir, have not. The guest stayed with us for almost a month but it seems that for this guest no accidents should happen, to put it lightly. The fuse to the main bathroom geyser failed one day and this is something that only an electrician can replace, and one was called upon to quickly rectify the problem. Having an excellent service does not necessarily mean that nothing should go wrong, because, in the real world, things do break down, but instead that one acts on these promptly and efficiently which, until the receipt of your review, you seemed to appreciate. Please allow me to remind the guest on the many times he called to thank me for the extra work I arranged on his behalf, but these he decided to ignore and instead base his review on exaggerations and half-truths. The guest was provided with free transport on arrival and a very generous complimentary food pack, something he purposely left out from his review. He was also provided with a welcome tour of the apartment and how this works, where it was also indicated that a spare gas bottle was available for him in the balcony (since guest was staying with us for a month). The information folder contains important telephone numbers, places of interest, tours and excursions, car hire information, a detailed description of how everything in the apartment works, and also a local council listing on when rubbish is collected. The guest also takes umbrage at the fact that the rubbish is collected at a different time than that listed in the information book, as if I can advise the guests to take it out at a different time and risk getting cautioned or fined. In truthfulness, I do not really believe that garbage is collected at 05:30 am because the whole street would be up in arms, and yet, you sir, decided to fabricate another one of your stories to try to justify your review. I am surprised that it is only now that the guest is mentioning the functioning of the jacuzzi, because this works just fine. All our other guests, before and after this guest's stay, use this and no one has ever complained that it did not work properly. Had the guest made reference to the information book (the one he said was outdated) he would have realized that the jacuzzi has its own heater and once this is set in operation, the water is heated automatically in case it gets cold. The apartment is equipped with a modern TV with the best TV package on the island; had the reception been poor, all he would have needed was to inform us and a telephone call to the service provider would have solved the problem - this was certainly not caused by builders or the moving of the dish antenna as we are supplied by cable and not dish (another wrong fact by this guest). There had been some painting and plastering work on the other (hidden) side of the block, but this in no way impinged on the view from the apartment's balcony. Although the workers did use the lift or stairs to remove some of the rubble, the stairs and entrance ways were kept clear and tidy but the guest has decided to continually look for the needle in the haystack rather than being fair in his comments. Of course, this guest 'kept' me informed about EVERYTHING that was going on, not only in the apartment, or the block, but also in the street, the neighbours, etc. Please allow me to just mention two items which currently come to mind, although there were so much more. You had once called me to tell me that the neighbours did not have electricity, well knowing that this was not something I could fix, and on another occasion you insisted on being supplied with a clothes rack for your wet clothes, and although I had informed you that there was already one there, you insisted there was not, and then only to find out, after having supplied you with a new one, that you did have one which you said you thought was a deckchair. I ask the guest why he did not request to be relocated or even get his money back had the apartment been so bad as described by him? The comfort of our guests is of utmost importance, and regrettably, over the years, one does lose a guest here and there because of certain preferences - we certainly make no imposition on anyone to stay with us if they feel uncomfortable. Your daily calls to me were not of a worried man, but of a person who seemed to have deliberately and meticulously calculated these to eventually cause harm to people who were good to you, because you know that I was always there for you, no matter whatever subject you wanted to speak about. I feel sorry for the guest for having stayed in an apartment which he didn't like and for a service which he never bothered to acknowledge, but at the same time suffered and stayed on. A holiday is there to enjoy, and if this guest did not enjoy staying here, he would have done well to take his own advice and look elsewhere. At this time of the year, people are writing Xmas cards or sending email greetings and not writing reviews without a simple acknowledgement of the time I gave him. Two words come to mind at this moment in time, and I restrain myself from being untoward, but spiteful and humbug befit such a sad reviewer.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not TripAdvisor LLC.

“Brilliant location, not a luxury apartment”

Response from the owner It is with regret to have read a review which highlights our shortcomings, but sometimes the best laid plans can also go astray, but please allow me to answer the review in the order it was made. We had offered free transport to these guests and although we had provided directions on where to meet, our small minibus decided to break down and so our son was quick to run the errand to collect the guests from the airport rather than leave them waiting on no one. We do not have a fixed parking space and so I see nothing wrong in not being at the designated place but just a few parking spaces away. Unfortunately our kind gesture to collect the guests from the airport backfired and so we have now decided NOT to offer this service any longer but to assign the same to more specialized transport at a charge. We do take all comments from our guests seriously as it is our priority to ensure that these are comfortable and content with the service and the apartment provided. As indicated by the guests, a broken plastic chair (unbeknown to us) was quickly replace with a new one. We were sorry to hear from the guests on their day of departure that they had some issues with the apartment, and so decided not to charge them for the extra electricity used. As the guests indicated, these were supplied with 14 kwph units per day and no one ever exceeds this amount unless you run the air conditioners without much care or regard. We wish to assure these guests, and other future guests, that most other apartments charge for every single electricity unit used. The apartment is well described in the various websites and so it should have come as no surprise to our guests to find the jacuzzi in the specifically designed alcove next to the lounge area. We have taken account of the guests comments and the apartment has been upgraded. As Gold is a very popular place, maintenance is carried out occasionally to ensure that standards are maintained, but sometimes having back-to-back guests can limit our ability to attend to certain issues which require a specialist's attention and not ours. We wish to thank the guests for having stayed with us and also, despite their adverse comments on some issues, to state that the apartment was clean, having comfortable beds, quiet at night, also adding that they would stay here again, and for providing their experience with a 4-star rating.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not TripAdvisor LLC.

“All you need.”

“Excellent Apartment and Location”

“Bellissima vacanza”

“Great base to explore Malta”

Response from the owner We wish to thank these guests for having stayed with us and also for acknowledging Gold?s prime location, not only for commuting but also for eating out, entertaining, and shopping. We always make it a point to treat our guests with the highest regard to make sure that they feel that they are in a home away from home. as the guests rightly noted, we also collected them on their arrival from the airport, and then to find a complimentary food pack waiting for them. As is customary with all our arrivals, we provide them with a quick tour of the apartment and how everything works. During this time, we did inform the guests that one of our previous guests had broken a shade on a lamp and also minimally damaged the snooker table. As we, and neither shops, keep replacements of such items, these have to be ordered and booked and until the time of the guests' arrival, these were still pending, but are due to be replaced in the shortest time possible, on arrival in Malta. The guests also made a request for another set of keys, and acted on this almost instantly by supplying them with another two sets as one of these (just cut at the ironmonger) seemed to be faulty. The guests also note that communication was excellent, and the fact that we attended to their requests for extra keys and sink drain problem with promptness further ascertains our high regard towards all our guests. Had we been informed, both before or even during these guests' stay that they had wished to put the 2 single beds together, we would have done it for them, in a different way than they attempted to, thus allowing them more freedom and easy door access. Unless we are informed about guests' sleeping preferences, we make it a point not to ask, as a similar case in the past caused embarrassment. We regret to disagree with the guests' remark that the jacuzzi buttons do not work. The buttons are depressed in their sockets specifically to avoid children playing with these, and so we always point out to our guests that the jacuzzi can also be switched on from another location. The jacuzzi has been used by other guests both before and after these guests? stay, and we assure you that this works fine. We did notice a small tear in one of the legs of the chairs, but you can hardly call these tired; I can also assure these guests and all future guests that we have a strict laundry policy to replace any sheets or towels which are not appropriate; again, had we been informed that these guests had issues with the towels, we would have certainly looked into the matter. Despite the 'ailment's mentioned by these guests, they also conclude that they would not hesitate in recommending this apartment to others. We are probably one of the very few property owners who also provide our guests with free transport on arrival, free water and electricity, wifi, cable TV, and generous complimentary food pack. In its entirety, we believe we provide an excellent deal to all our numerous guests for what is a very popular and entertaining apartment. It is not just the comfort that Gold offers it which renders it as being luxurious, but also the layout of the apartment, with a Jacuzzi in its own romantic alcove, a snooker table to keep the young and the young-at-heart entertained at all times, and a TV which rotates 180� and thus allows viewing from any part of the apartment ? these, and the service we provide are just a few of the things which make Gold stand out from the crowd, and also resulting in having been presented with a certificate of excellence by TripAdvisor. Although short-let rentals is not the easiest job in the world, but probably one of the most demanding, we will continue to greet our guests with the same passion, determination and dedication as we have always done.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not TripAdvisor LLC.

“Un séjour inoubliable !”

“Great Flat, Great Location - Exactly as Described”

Response from the owner Thank you for the lovely review. It is always our pleasure to greet our guests in the best way possible, and glad to know that Gold lived up to expectations and perhaps always proved to be a part of a successful holiday/visit to Malta for you. It will certainly be our honour to meet you once again. Warm regards Paul & Josanne

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not TripAdvisor LLC.

“Very convenient and comfortable apartment on the seafront”

Response from the owner We would like to thank these guests for having stayed with us and for having written such a lovely review. It is always our goal to make our guests feel immediately at home once they step onto the island, and having our driver waiting for you at the airport to take you straight to our apartment, plus a welcome food pack, is often a good start to customer satisfaction and knowing that there is someone there should you ever need attention. Trying to give that little bit extra doesn't cost much, and we probably realize that we are one of the few property owners who deliver such a service, but it certainly helps make our guests' entry that much smoother and hassle-free. It is always gratifying to know that guests appreciate our service and for this we thank you, and also for having noted it in your review. Should you ever decide to return to Malta it will again be our pleasure to greet you with the same enthusiasm. Warm regards Josanne x

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not TripAdvisor LLC.