Hotels & accommodation

The Phoenicia Malta

The Leading Hotels of the World · Grand hotel at Valletta's City Gate, opened in 1947, set in gardens above the bastion walls

The Phoenicia Malta stands just outside Valletta's City Gate in Floriana, on the edge of the capital's fortifications. Opened in 1947 and long treated as Malta's grand hotel, it is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, set in terraced gardens that step down towards the harbour bastions.

Rooms and suites face either the gardens or Marsamxett Harbour and Valletta's rooftops; the Harbour View Suites add separate living rooms, and many rooms open onto balconies. The style is classic grand-hotel — high ceilings, Maltese stone and patterned tiles — updated with contemporary bathrooms and artwork.

Eating and drinking centres on Contessa, the hotel's restaurant in the former ballroom space and its terrace, with the Palm Court lounge serving the hotel's long-running afternoon tea. The Bastion Pool, an infinity pool built into the city bastions, and the Phoenicia Spa by Deep Nature, with its own indoor pool carved into the fortifications, give the hotel a resort calm a few minutes' walk from Valletta's centre.

As a scouting base it is hard to beat for the capital: Valletta's bus terminus, offices and government quarter are on the doorstep, the Sliema ferry crosses the harbour nearby, and the rest of the island is a bus or drive away while you test whether Malta fits.

• The Leading Hotels of the World — Malta's long-standing grand hotel
• Triq San Publiju, Floriana, at Valletta's City Gate
• Opened in 1947; gardens terrace down to the harbour bastions
• Bastion Pool — an infinity pool set into Valletta's fortifications
• Contessa restaurant and the Phoenicia Spa by Deep Nature

Visit the property — The Phoenicia Malta phoeniciamalta.com

This featured showcase is an editorial selection by our editors. We have not stayed at this property and it is not a paid placement; no rating is implied. Paid placements never influence the Malta liveability score, safety rating or warnings.