by Juliet Rix, The Telegraph, March 31, 2017
An insider's guide to the best resort hotels in Malta, featuring the best places to stay for comfortable rooms, stunning pools, beachside locations, relaxing spas, and exciting watersports, in locations including Valletta, Gozo, Sliema and St Paul's Bay.
Corinthia Hotel St. George’s Bay St Julian's, Malta
7 Telegraph expert rating
The Corinthia Hotel’s palatial foyer, with towering columns and glitzy little bar, is opulent if a little old-fashioned. This is a place of marble and high ceilings, traditional furniture and pool terraces full of sunbeds. The facilities, which the hotel shares with the neighbouring Marina Hotel, include seven outdoor pools, a pleasant indoor pool and a gym overlooking the bay. There is also a sauna, whirlpool tub and spa treatments – which you can receive in a little gazebo outside should you wish. The on-site watersports centre offers everything from jet-skiing to parasailing, and there is a dedicated dive school. Read expert review. From £62per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort St Julian's, Malta
7Telegraph expert rating
Less opulent than its five-star neighbour, the Marina is modern, fresh and young by comparison. Clean lines and plain surfaces are embellished with contemporary art, including the work of local artists which is exhibited and sold in the foyer. Sandy St George’s beach – packed in summer – is very nearby, though you will find it more peaceful to swim off the hotel’s own rocky ‘beach’. Outside, the pool terraces on several levels offer copious sun beds in a fairly typical four/five-star resort setting. Less typical is the 17th-century fortified tower (built by the Knights of St John to defend the bay) that stands by the children’s pool. Read expert review. From £65per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
• The best hotels in St Julian's
The Westin Dragonara Resort St Julian's, Malta
7Telegraph expert rating
A large family-friendly five-star resort hotel, The Westin Dragonara has plenty of facilities for all ages. Two large outdoor pools overlook the open sea, while right on the rocky seashore there is access to clear, deep water. An indoor pool and whirlpool bath are overlooked by a substantial gym, and spa treatments are offered in the beauty salon. The hotel provides an extensive menu of adventure sports, including diving and paragliding. The 24/7 Dragonara Casino also belongs to the hotel. The 340 rooms in nine different categories are comfortable, well-maintained and five-star chain conventional. All have balconies, some with panoramic sea views. Read expert review. From £99per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands Mellieha, Malta
8Telegraph expert rating
This large modern five-star hotel dominates the wide, sandy beach at Golden Bay. There are four swimming pools – inside and out. Outdoor ones sit on a long limestone terrace, dotted with palms, overlooking the sea. The hotel has a small stretch of private beach, though outside peak times there is probably more space on the public beach. The Myoka spa offers wet and dry therapies with professional therapists from China, India (Ayurvedic) and Europe. The more active can head to the watersports’ centre for diving, snorkelling, jetskiing, paragliding and more. All rooms have balconies, some with panoramic sea views, and the hotel's outdoor pools overlook the bay. Read expert review. From £99per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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db Seabank Resort + Spa Mellieha, Malta
7Telegraph expert rating
A large, all-inclusive resort hotel just across the road from Malta’s longest sandy beach, the Seabank Hotel is a cut above the others in the area. The largest hotel swimming pool in Malta is the centrepiece of the outdoor terrace, which also boasts the glass-walled indoor pool and kids' club with gated play area. The spa offers a steam room, sauna and treatments. Activities include bowling at the resort's own bowling alley, bocci, archery, ping pong tournaments and aquagym (all included). There's also plenty of evening entertainment (especially in summer) with floor shows, magicians, bands and dancing. Read expert review. From £43per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
• The best family-friendly hotels in the Mediterranean
db San Antonio Hotel + Spa St. Paul's Bay, Malta
7Telegraph expert rating
The San Antonio is a fresh and contemporary resort hotel in St Paul's Bay, Malta's main tourist area. Facilities are excellent, with four outdoor pools: one large and landscaped with bridges, an adults-only rooftop infinity pool, a children’s pool and kids’ fun pool complete with pirate ship and slide. Regular daytime and evening entertainment ranges from exercise classes to shows. A well-equipped gym stands next to the smart and welcoming spa, with candlelit hammam, sauna, steam room and treatment area, as well as an indoor pool and whirlpool tub. Read expert review. From £80per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz San Lawrenz, Gozo, Malta
9Telegraph expert rating
Gozo’s top hotel sits on the edge of a traditional village near the coast. With by far the most facilities of any hotel on the island, the Kempinski is known particularly for its spa: treatment rooms are plentiful and spacious with genuinely calming music and qualified therapists. Not only is there a large indoor swimming pool but a fairly large ‘therapy pool’, whirlpool tub, steam room and hammam. Outside are two floodlit tennis courts and two squash courts, as well as a large sheltered garden dotted with tall palm trees and containing three outdoor pools. Read expert review. From £83per night Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Grand Hotel Excelsior Valletta, Malta
9Telegraph expert rating
Built almost into the bastion walls of Valletta, the Excelsior has its own marina for guests in Marsamxett Harbour, and the best facilities of any hotel in or around the capital, including a spa, gym, and sizeable indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The Excelsior also has the best hotel breakfast in Malta. The buffet is an amazing spread with everything from real scrambled eggs and bacon and cooked-to-order omelettes and pancakes to smoked tuna and swordfish, cold meats, capers and dried tomatoes, as well as copious cakes, pastries, cereals and yoghurts. You won’t need lunch. Read expert review. From £99per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Fortina Spa Resort Sliema, Malta
8Telegraph expert rating
This modern high-rise hotel on the Sliema waterfront is centred around a large palm-fringed courtyard garden, featuring attractive swimming pools that are atmospherically lit at night. Shared facilities between the Fortina Spa Resort and the Fortina Hotel next door mean that guests have access to seven pools in total (indoor and out) and seven restaurants. There is also a large gym, a rocky 'beach' with a buoyed-off swimming area, waterside sun terrace and swimming pools, and possibly the largest spa in Malta. Here you’ll find an indoor pool, thalassotherapy pool, whirlpool tubs, sauna, steam room, hammam, reflexology basins and even Cleopatra’s Bath (in which to bathe in milk and honey). Read expert review. From £60per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Hotel Ta’ Cenc & Spa Sannat, Gozo, Malta
7Telegraph expert rating
An attractive hotel in a wonderful location leading onto the dramatic Ta’ Cenc cliffs. Two outdoor swimming pools sit on peaceful terraces overlooking the Gozitan countryside: a particularly lovely place to swim. Inside, there is a spa with whirlpool tub, sauna, steam room, treatment rooms and a delightful indoor-outdoor pool. The resort's outside area, surrounded by lush green plants, is particularly lovely when gently lit at night. The hotel provides a shuttle service to the capital Victoria, as well as to its private beach: a bar-restaurant and terrace of rocky platforms above a deep creek of clear blue water just off the larger creek of Mgarr Ix-Xini. Read expert review. From £121per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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This article was written by Juliet Rix from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].