There’s something magnetic about The Phoenicia. Maybe it’s the way the light hits the limestone at sunset, turning the façade gold, or the quiet confidence of the staff who greet you as if you’ve stayed before. Within minutes of arriving, I understood why this hotel isn’t just where you stay in Valletta, it’s where the city begins.
Malta is a year-round destination, the kind of place that still feels sun-warmed even in November. When much of Europe is grey and shivering, Valletta glows at a steady 20-something degrees, its sandstone walls catching the light like honey. Against that backdrop, The Phoenicia feels almost cinematic – timeless, sunlit, and entirely its own.
Set beside the capital’s old gates, The Phoenicia has been part of Malta’s story for nearly a century, welcoming everyone from officers and artists to royals and romantics. Yet it never feels trapped in its past. It’s proof that heritage and modernity can share a lobby without competing for attention. Some hotels lean on nostalgia; The Phoenicia keeps redefining what timeless actually feels like.
Perched just outside Valletta’s fortified walls, The Phoenicia sits where Malta’s history meets its modern heartbeat. From the terrace, the Grand Harbour opens like a painting, and from the entrance, you can see the city’s palaces and auberges built by the Knights of St John.
Designed in the 1930s by Scottish architect William Bryce Binnie, the hotel began life as Malta’s first true luxury property, hosting officers’ wives and visiting dignitaries who crossed the Mediterranean for a taste of high society. By the time Princess Elizabeth waltzed through its ballroom in the 1940s, it had already become a legend. Today, it remains Malta’s grande dame: stately without stiffness, elegant without ego.
The architecture is a love letter to Maltese craftsmanship. Binnie used local limestone, terrazzo, marble, and teak to mirror the island’s noble houses. The restoration by Peter Young adds quiet modernity: whitewashed walls, tiled floors, soft blues, and light that filters through arched windows.
Everything feels considered. The chandeliers glow with the patina of age, the staircases curve like sculpture, and every corridor feels calm. It’s history, edited beautifully.
Food here is central to the experience.
Contessa is where mornings begin, a light-filled space with harbour views and a breakfast spread that borders on decadent. There’s honey from Gozo, warm pastries, and eggs served with precision.
The Palm Court Lounge handles the hours in between – afternoon tea beneath palm fronds and Maltese sunshine, the clink of fine china in the background. The Club Bar, meanwhile, is a time capsule of polished brass and leather, serving martinis that make you late for dinner on purpose.
And then there’s Beefbar – the restaurant everyone is talking about. Set within The Phoenicia’s historic walls, the Monaco-born brand brings a hit of cosmopolitan glamour to Valletta’s dining scene. It’s the kind of room that makes you want to dress up.
The lighting flatters, the playlist hums, and the menu is unapologetically indulgent: wagyu carpaccio slicked with soy and sesame, rock corn glazed in jalapeño butter, and a Black Angus tenderloin cooked to the kind of perfection that stops conversation. The truffle mash is scandalously good, the mac and cheese dangerously rich, and the service glides. Dinner at Beefbar isn’t just a meal – it’s the hotel’s heartbeat, proof that The Phoenicia’s old soul still knows how to have fun.
Each of the 132 rooms and suites carries the hotel’s signature mix of old-world charm and modern ease. The interiors feel calm and deliberate: creamy walls, patterned tiles, crisp linens, and windows that frame Valletta in morning light. My room looked over the city’s honeyed rooftops, where church bells punctuate the day like clockwork. The bed was impossibly soft, the air faintly scented with sea salt.
Small touches elevate everything. The complimentary minibar, the neatly arranged espresso machine, the bathroom stocked with local citrus-scented products. Executive Rooms come with balconies for sunrise views, while Deluxe Harbour View Rooms offer cinematic sweeps of the coast. Suites like the Valletta and Harbour View feel almost residential, with light-filled sitting rooms and marble bathrooms built for long mornings.
Turndown happens quietly, lights low, curtains drawn, everything just so. Returning to that room after dinner, I realised comfort here isn’t an accident. It’s the point.
The gardens set The Phoenicia apart. Seven acres of lemon trees, palms, and olive groves stretch from the city gate to the bastion walls, where secret paths lead to the Bastion Pool – an infinity-edge masterpiece built into 16th-century fortifications. It’s one of the most cinematic swims in Malta.
The Phoenicia Spa and Wellness sits partly within those same ancient walls. The space pairs history with tranquillity: a heated pool, hammam, salt room, and treatment suites scented with neroli. My massage ended with herbal tea on the terrace, sunlight flickering across the limestone. For a moment, Valletta felt miles away.
The Phoenicia has hosted royals, prime ministers, film stars, and generations of locals celebrating milestones. But what makes it special today is not its guest list. It’s the grace with which it still does everything. The service is instinctive, the pace unhurried, the atmosphere calm without ever being dull.
Awards aside, its real success is how effortlessly it connects past and present. You feel it in the glow of the chandeliers at dusk, in the way the doorman remembers your name, in the gardens that seem to slow time. The Phoenicia doesn’t try to impress you. It simply reminds you what real hospitality feels like.
I flew in with KM Malta Airlines, the island’s new flag carrier, and it set the tone before I even landed. The A320neo fleet is sleek and quiet, the crew effortlessly warm, and the service feels more boutique than business.
With direct routes from London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and beyond, KM Malta Airlines makes Malta feel closer than ever. The airline has carried forward the nation’s aviation legacy with a sharper focus on comfort, sustainability, and personal service.
The descent into Valletta’s Grand Harbour is unforgettable, and with The Phoenicia just eight kilometres from the airport, you can be poolside before your luggage tags have cooled.
@phoeniciamalta
www.phoeniciamalta.com
The Mall, Valletta, Valletta FRN1478
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