I've never yet come across anyone who is ambivalent about Malta- people either love it or they hate it. (as you can no doubt see from the contents of the postings so far )Personally I love it. If you want to lay about on a beach all day, then I'd think again, as choices are limited. However, if you enjoy exploring at a fairly sedate pace and like wandering around some fairly impressive historical sites, sitting at cafes watching the world go by etc, then it may be what you are looking for.
Food wise, it's fair to moderate, with the exception of seafood, which is excellent. There are also a handful of top class restaurants, if you know where to look.
Drink wise, the Maltese wine is cheap and surprisingly good. The local beer takes a bit of getting used to, but is passable.
Best of all is that the locals are all very friendly and incredibly helpful.
We are going out there next week again - if you want any further info, please ask.
Hope this helps
(PS- The Maldives are undoubtedly lovely, but relatively expensive and you need to be prepared to do absolutely nothing, as most islands are so remote)