Hotel Choices for Treasures of the Mediterranean Isles Tour/Cruise
Tauck has two hotels at both ends of this tour/cruise. If you've taken this trip I'd appreciate any comments you might have about the hotels.
I'm looking at this tour/cruise for 2026 and will have to make a choice of hotels on both ends. On a previous trip to Malta we stayed at the Phoenicia which was an excellent hotel and well located. But it looks like Tauck has a contract with Marriott now so the Phoenicia is no longer an option.
Any comments will be appreciated.
The hotels offered in 2025 are:
Malta:
Malta Marriott Hotel & Spa or
The Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta
Marseille:
InterContinental Marseille – Hotel Dieu or
Sofitel Marseille Vieux Port
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Comments
Mike - Are you free to pick either hotel in each city?
For our Rome, Sicily, Malta trip the hotels were tied together, meaning if you picked A in Rome, then you got B in Malta and the opposite if you picked B in Rome, then you got A in Malta. I was just wondering if for this trip they are independent selections.
@Smiling Sam - My assumption has been that they are independent selections but you could be right. I'll check and find out.
Mike - Here is how our hotels are tied together. We could pick Option 1 hotels or Option 2 hotels. We picked Option 1 hotels based on what we thought was the better option in Rome.
Your tour does the same sort of thing. See below.
Yes the Phoenicia was in a perfect location. People at the Marriott did not like that it was so far out of town, so if first time in Malta and wanting to see more, expect to do a lot of Uber or see if the hotel as a car. Yes, we tried to pick one, not a pair but its doesn't work. We stayed at the Sofitel and thought the location was vey good, as we walked out every night for dinner and found many choices, within 10 minutes. Plus spectacular views from our room across the harbor.
I stayed at the Malta Marriott and enjoyed it. Lots of small bars and restaurants nearby. It is quite a ways to Valletta and Floriana. We walked from the hotel along the waterfront to the Sliema ferry one day, ad then wandered around Valletta. Should have taken a cab, my feet were killing me by the end of the day.
If you can stay in Valletta or Floriana, you should, but if you end up at the Marriott, don't panic. (Oh, and there's a good swimming beach right across the street from the Marriott.)
@Smiling Sam - you may be right but that's not the cruise I'm looking at. Here's the link to the one I'm considering - https://www.tauck.com/tours/mediterranean-cruise-and-tour?tcd=VNN2026
It might turn out to have that option situation.
@mazalea @Don L - Thank you for your comments. We may go early and stay at the Phoenicia and then switch to the Tauck hotel. The Phoenicia is expensive, however.
I’ve taken a couple of tours where you can chose hotels but you can’t mix them. One hotel isn’t in Valletta, that’s crazy. We went with another company and it was in the center. It was a boutique hotel and all rooms were different and quite unusual but they had a Michelin star restaurant.
Mike - I followed the link that you provided and it took me to the exact location of where I got the second picture above (the first picture was from my tour). Below is the recapture and it shows that you do have a similar coupling of hotels as on my tour. See the green letters in the picture where it says Option 1 or Option 2. That indicates the coupling.
That's interesting. When I posted that link, none of the accommodations were there. Looks like Tauck updated the page.
Looks like it will be an option.
We stayed at the InterContinental in Marseille, and the Malta Marriott. Both were quite nice.
View from our room at the Malta Marriott.
Intercontinental Marseille
(This was not a “normal” room.)
We stayed at the Phoenicia and it is walkable to main shopping streets and restaurants.
OT34 … I assume you used Phoenicia for extra nights since the Tauck hotels are basically part of the tour on both ends? Not a shopper, but the InterContinental in Marseille had shops and restaurants, but the Marriott was primarily a beach location … restaurants but no interesting shops.
Sealord: a marriott is a Marriott is a Marriott. Obtain them all the time without any complaints and using our Marriott points. I wanted something different in Malta. . Yes, we used the extra night as our Gift of Time.