I am writing this letter following an unpleasant experience at a Xewkija Guest house in Gozo.
My husband and I found this guest house on the internet, which according to the photos and reviews by previous guests, seemed very pleasant, well-kept and clean. On the day of our arrival, we were greeted by the owner and were led by a helper to our room. To our surprise, we were taken outside and walked three houses down to another ordinary house, which from the façade already looked dirty and neglected – certainly nothing like the photos we had seen on the website.
We were taken to our room, which proved to be even worse. Although it was quite a big and spacious room, the furniture, the floor and the windows were all filthy. The room looked and smelled a though it had not been occupied for quite a while. The kitchenette sink drain leaked into a container, and the bathroom sink drain was clogged with hair and other stuff, best left unmentioned. Needless to say, no towels nor soap were available in the bathroom. In the bedroom, we had two single beds with dirty and shabby bedspreads, a night stand with no handle, one unit for clothes with no hangers, and a round plastic garden table with two plastic chairs. When I placed my hand on the chair, it turned black with dust. The windowpanes had no water splashed on them since it last rained. The floor was filthy and stained. We thought we were lucky that we would not have to pay the extra charge of €8 per night for air-conditioning when we saw the ceiling fan, but the minute we switched it on it was so squeaky and unstable that we thought it would fall on us.
When, naturally, we went to complain to the owner, he was surprised that we did not like the room. She showed us another room which had a double bed in it that it was taking up the whole room. Furthermore, there were no windows, and I got claustrophobic the minute I walked into the room.
We felt so shocked and cheated that we went out trying to find alternative accomodation, but with no luck. We returned to the ‘five-star’ guest house, and, upon entering our room, we noticed that our room had been cleaned, and found a bottle of cheap wine with a note from the managemen, apologising for the inconvenience. During our stay, we frequently overheard other Maltese guests complaining heavily about their rooms and the poor conditions of the guesthouse. When one calculates the rate of staying at this guesthouse, and the shameful €8 per night to use the air-conditioning, it would have been more or less the same price as staying in a hotel.
I am writing this letter in the hope that other Maltese people will not have the same experience as ours, since this is plain robbery, and it is unfair to us Maltese to spend our money in Gozo and be treated so badly. Furthermore, it is not fair that people like these guesthouse owners are giving tourists such a bad impression of Malta.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Download front page in pdf file format
All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.
