TravelValue: England

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Bugibba, Malta: House Of Spice IS IN THE HOUSE MALTA!

House of Spice Restaurant Malta

48, Triq il Halel

Bugibba, Malta

@houseofspicemalta On Facebook

Phone: +356 2733 3281
Prices: €€€€

I spent four months in India (2015) and have been enjoying Indian food for years, and this was some of the most delicious Indian food I have had.

We were greeted warmly, the restaurant was clean and modern, the service impeccable, and the food authentic and superb. From the papadum and relish tray, to the veggie samosas (€3.95), my wife's Saag Paneer (€8.50), my Beef Vindaloo (€8.50), and Pulao Rice, everything was spot-on. We also had a very nice bottle of Syrah for around €10 ... HOOAH!

The portions were perfect for the price and the food prepared with care and precision. A little over $50 for a meal like that, including a bottle of wine and tip, is a terrific value. The only negative is the lack of a website, just a Facebook page, needed to allow people to see the menu and present a more professional image. A simple website is cheap (or free), easy to set-up, and a necessity in today's tech-based society. Otherwise, we will be back very soon Hanif!

CombatCritic Gives House of Spice Malta 9 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

"U.S. Marine Response To A Verbal Greeting Or As An Expression Of Enthusiasm"

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Title: Bugibba, Malta: House Of Spice IS IN THE HOUSE!

Key Words: House of Spice Malta, House of Spice, house, of, spice, HOS, Malta, Bugibba, India, Indian, curry, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato

Letter Of Complaint To Malta Public Transport

Malta Public Transport
Mdina Road,
Qormi, Malta
Phone: +356 2122 2000
Website: MaltaPublicTransport.com
Email: enquiries@publictransport.com.mt

Malta is a rather small island with a sizeable network of buses, but the buses rarely run on time and when they finally arrive, they are normally packed to the gills with people and with nowhere to sit, even for the disabled. There are usually three disabled seats, but they are normally occupied by young, lazy people who never offer their seat to those who may need it more than they do.

Their website and app look great on the surface, but they either do not work, are impossible to navigate, and/or have incorrect information.

When we arrived on the island, we called for a taxi from the port to our Airbnb apartment about 25 minutes (6-7 miles) away, but we were told "there are no taxis available, maybe in an hour", so we walked 30 minutes into downtown Valletta and finally found a bus. It was crammed full of people and with our two backpacks and a suitcase, were forced to stand for the hour long journey with a rude driver who flew around the very windy road, throwing us from side to side and re-injuring our already painful shoulders, three out of four with torn rotator cuffs.

I sent them the following email:

"You need to update the timetables on your website because they are wrong and do not coincide with those posted at bus stops. Your Journey Planner does not work at all, either on your website or your app, so how do you expect tourists to navigate Malta with so little and such poor information.

I am a disabled veteran and we waited for the scheduled 1638 (4:38PM) #45 (Valletta-Bugibba) bus in Mosta last night for over an hour, well past the scheduled arrival of the next #45 bus at 1708 (5:08PM). We finally took another bus to the bus terminal in Bugibba and walked 20 minutes to our apartment rather than wait for the #45 bus that might never show up.

You should be ashamed of the terrible state of your website and the schedule inconsistencies of your transportation services. As a retired US Air Force transportation officer, I would be fired immediately if such discrepancies occurred on my watch and under my command.

You can read my review of Malta Public Transport on my popular travel blog: http://www.CombatCritic.com.

Sincerely,

CombatCritic"

We waited again to get home this evening in Mdina for well over 45 minutes for a bus that was scheduled to arrive at 1645 (4:45PM). We saw the bus arrive before its scheduled departure time across the street from the bus stop where we were waiting, but the posted departure at our stop had mysteriously changed to 1715 (5:15PM) even though the bus sat empty across the street. We finally went and asked the driver if his was the bus for Bugibba and he confirmed that it was, graciously allowing us to board even though it was at the arrival stop, not the departure stop.

Some simple fixes could improve customer service immensely. I will not detail them here, but the poorly functioning website and app would be a great place to start. There is also something known as "GPS" that could be installed on buses to give customers real time information on location and arrival times, allowing customers to do something productive while they wait rather than standing there waiting for a bus that may or may not show up.

CombatCritic Gives Malta Public Transport 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... BOOAH! ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

PS - Malta Public Transport never did reply to my online submission, not surprising based on the state of their website/app and questionable customer service (they are civil servants after all - "good enough for government work"). We also had several more delays of an hour or more where buses either skipped a route entirely (admitted by a driver), were stuck in traffic, or for some other sad excuse. Our experience on the Island of Gozo was much better though with buses running like clockwork, so there is room for efficiency elsewhere in the system.

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Title: Letter Of Complaint To Malta Public Transport

Key Words: Malta Public Transport, Malta, public, transport, transportation, schedule, disruption, bus, busses, Yelp, YouTube, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, Wall of Shame

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "F***ed Up Beyond All Repair"

"CombatCritic", "TravelValue" and "BOOAH" Are Protected Under U.S. Copyright Laws And Are Exclusive Property Of 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic

Grand Canyon, AZ: Avoid Williams, Arizona And The Not So "Grand" Canyon Hotel

Grand Canyon Hotel

145 West Route 66

Williams, AZ 86046

Phone number (928) 635-1419

Website: thegrandcanyonhotel.com

Prices: $$$$

Exhausted after a long day hiking the Grand Canyon, we arrived in the exploitive town of Williams, Arizona for a night's stay at what we thought was a hotel, but ended up being a hostel. Their Booking.com advertisement is misleading, talking about a "hotel" with nice photos, but make sure you read the fine print carefully to understand if you are staying in the historic "hotel" or the sleazy and filthy "hostel" down the road.

Hotel

Hostel

Everything in this place is WAY overpriced, taking advantage of tourists because they are the closest decent-size town within 60 miles of the canyon. Their Booking.com description was very misleading, so we ended up paying $80 for a dump of a twin room (shared bath) with no AC, unpainted walls and a plywood ceiling.

Local restaurant prices are also ridiculous, charging $16+ for a hamburger and $20 for a 12-inch cheese pizza, so I recommend you bypass these ripoff artists and stay in Flagstaff instead.

Do not expect any ambiance at The Grand Canyon Hotel for $80, because there ain't any.

CombatCritic Gives The Grand Canyon Hotel 2 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Two Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over 1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

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Read Chris S.'s review of Grand Canyon Hotel on Yelp

Title: Grand Canyon, AZ: Avoid Williams, Arizona And The Not So "Grand" Canyon Hotel

Key Words: Grand Canyon, AZ, Williams, Arizona, Grand Canyon Hotel, grand, canyon, hotel, Route 66, route, 66, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, national park, national, park, hotel, review, Yelp

Translation for Civilians: Tango-Uniform = "Tits Up"

Yosemite - America's Diamond In The Rough

Yosemite National Park
Village Drive
Yosemite, CA 95389
Phone number: (415) 632-5420
Website: nps.gov/yose

Prices: $$$$

What can one say about Yosemite that has not already been said ... majestic, stunning, gorgeous, fantastic, incredible ... the list of adjectives describing our most beautiful National Park is endless so I shall stop there.

The sheer cliffs of Half Dome and El Capitan and the endlessly tall waterfalls like Bridal Veil only add to the awe inspiring beauty of the park. Arrive near sunset like we did in early June and the ranger stations are unmanned, allowing free entry into the park with well over an hour to spare before sunset. to take in the sights. You can also stay for days on end, reserving a spot in one of their numerous campgrounds.

The valley floor is inhabited by wildlife galore, not including the annoying two-legged variety, with open meadows, rushing rivers, and springs that form creeks right before your very eyes. You can relax and enjoy the serenity, hike until you drop, ride bikes along quiet paths, or climb (or fall) thousands of feet on th sheer cliffs that surround the enormous valley.

Beside the enormous and unfathomable splendor of the Grand Canyon, I doubt you will find more impressive natural beauty anywhere else in the World. Yosemite National Park is a national treasure and surely should not be missed.

CombatCritic Was In The House ... and Gives Yosemite National Park 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On MY WALL OF FAME .... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Read Chris S.'s review of Yosemite National Park on Yelp

Title: Yosemite - America's Diamond In The Rough

Key Words: Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, national, park, national park, California, El Capitan, Half Dome, valley, splendor, beauty, nature, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, review, Yelp, Zomato