I'm sorry to hear you had a disappointing break. Struggling to find places to eat would have totally stressed me out, and not being able to get a decent cuppa is my idea of cruel punishment!

I haven't been to Malta since I was a child and my overwhelming memory of the place is getting heatrash and being thoroughly miserable. Crete is very pretty, I'd go again but I'd do some research before going out of season - we went early in the year and lots of things were shut, but that was more than 20 years ago too and it's probably more popular these days!