Opulent hotels and Michelin-starred eateries have burnished Malta's luxury credentials

Words: Will Moffitt

With its honey-hued towers, palazzos, and grand harbour curling around an ancient fort, Malta’s capital of Valetta feels like a place caught between worlds; at once breezily Mediterranean but offbeat and exotic.

Strolling through Valetta’s cobbled backstreets past houses with protruding gallarija balconies, a familiar coffeehouse aroma mingles with the warm scent of pastizzi – a delicious Maltese pastry.

Constructed in 1566 on the orders of Pope Pius V to be a grand base for the shadowy Knights of St John, Valletta has had many occupiers. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, French and the British all sought to claim it as their own. Shaped by the diversity of its invaders, the city’s architecture has been immortalised on screen, playing a starring role in Malta’s thriving cottage film industry.

Harboured between Sicily and the North African coast, Malta boasts a warm climate and an intriguing history. It also has a British affiliation – it was a colony from 1814 until 1964. Tourists have flocked here for decades, but traditionally it has not been renowned for luxury hospitality. Step into Iniala Harbour House and those perceptions melt away.

Spread across four townhouses and their ancient vaults, dating back to the 1600s, this 23-room hotel has burnished Malta’s luxury credentials, revitalised by British entrepreneur and philanthropist Mark Weingard.

Above: The Presidential Residence at Iniala Harbour House, and the hotels' gallarija-style balconies 

Fusing five-star comfort with quirky art gallery aesthetics, Iniala is blessed with sweeping harbour views. Suites and residences vary in scale and style – its Gallarija Grand Residence is wrapped in palm wallpapers with spacious living rooms adorned with chandeliers. Step into Iniala’s modern townhouse and it’s all muted hues and pastel canvases.

Arranged around a vaulted central lobby the hotels’ labyrinthine corridors run into chambers of exposed brickwork and rooms dotted with stick man sculptures, slashed metallic panels and a statue by Maltese artist Aaron Bezzina of a bronzed prickly pear.

This appetite for fine craftsmanship extends to the kitchen where the real star of the show resides. At ION Harbour, the hotel’s signature restaurant, pioneering British chef Simon Rogan has wasted no time turning his first foray into the Mediterranean into a knockout success.

Opened in 2023 the place quickly hoovered up a Michelin star. A year later it had another, and it’s not hard to see why. Artful and inventive, Rogan’s menu alchemises diverse, occasionally unusual ingredients to produce dishes like truffle pudding glazed in carob molasses, stout and aged Maltese pecorino, leaving you in awe of this imaginative cooking.

Above: de Mondian at Xara Palace, below: the hotel atrium, styled like a Romanesque courtyard

ION has rightly earned its two-star status but it's emblematic of a local dining scene that has real pedigree. Housed in Malta’s old capital, the medieval fortified city of Mdina, is de Mondion, an intimate Michelin Star restaurant helmed by head chef Gabriel Caruana.

Set into the bastion walls of Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux, a luxury hotel restored from the remnants of a 17th-century palazzo, plates of seasonal Maltese cuisine roll in, each one daintily crafted and deliciously layered with ingredients grown and handpicked from a local garden.

Founded as a residence for the noble Moscati Parisio family, this 17-bedroom property is the only hotel inside the ancient city's walls. Adorned with oil paintings and antique furniture, Xara is fittingly palatial; its glassroofed atrium sending slivers of light over polished stone interiors, evoking the spirit of a Romanesque courtyard.

Walking through Mdina admiring its ochre palaces and courthouses, layers of architecture reveal clues to past civilisations. Glittering with baroque architecture, St Paul's Cathedral stands on the site where the first bishop of Malta, the Roman governor Publius, is said to have met St. Paul. Its adjacent Cathedral museum is rich in austere oils and chiaroscuro depictions by artist and former Knight of St John Mattia Preti. It served as the British headquarters during the Crimean War.

Returning to Xara Palace after touring Mdina, glints of late afternoon sunlight catch the bastion walls. For a moment time seems to stand still in this old palazzo. Revived from former glory it has been lovingly recast into opulence so it can enchant a new generation. Modern comforts are desirable but a connection to centuries-old history is a priceless luxury.

Rooms at Iniala Harbour House start from €400 (£341) per night for a double room on a B&B basis. Family suites and connecting rooms available upon request. inialamalta.com

Rooms at Xara Palace start from €236 (£196) per night per room. xarapalace.com.mt. For De Mondion please visit: demondion.xaracollection.com 

For more info on Malta: visitmalta.com/en/