Review: Malta Marriott Resort, St Julians

This is our review of the Malta Marriott Resort in St Julians.

The Maltese hotel scene is expanding significantly, with new Marriott and Hyatt properties opening. On a recommendation I stayed at the Malta Marriott Resort which, whilst not a new hotel, completed its conversion from Le Meridien (another Marriott brand) in 2019.

Last year it became an official Marriott resort with the opening of a large new pool it calls the lido.

If you’re familiar with Malta, at least with the area around Valletta, most of the hotels do not feature extensive grounds.

Due to the islands topography, sandy beaches are few and far between, with seaside bathing more often on rocky outcrops. As you’ll see in my review, I think the Malta Marriott Resort does a good job of bridging the gap between a city hotel and a seaside resort.

I was in Malta as part of a trip to KM Malta Airlines. You’ll be reading more about them in the coming weeks.

The hotel offered us a room in exchange for a review. The official website is here.

Where is the Malta Marriott Resort?

Owing to Valletta’s unique historic character, the majority of large hotels are situated around the port in St Julians/Sliema.

The Malta Marriott Resort is on Balluta Bay just 20 minutes from the airport by car. Bolt, rather than Uber, is the dominant rideshare app here.

The location is convenient with a view of the charming small beach from many of the rooms.

Getting to Valletta is straightforward; the scenic way is to walk to Sliema (about 20 minute) and then take a five minute ferry across the port to the city itself. You’ll enjoy spectacular views of the 42m high Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Inside the Malta Marriott Resort

The Malta Marriott Resort has a front and back entrance, but neither is particularly spectacular. It’s a different story once you’re inside as the thirteen-story building has spectacular views across the Bay across to the waterfront Knisja tal-Karmnu church.

Check in is on the ‘third’ floor (the floors are counted from the lower bay side, rather than the road side) and it only took a moment to get our keycards.

Rooms at the Malta Marriott Resort

I was given a Deluxe Sea View room with balcony and two queen beds (I was travelling with a friend). The non-sea view rooms face the new Lido pool which has some attractive landscaping. It looks like some of the lower floors have no view as the Lido itself is on the third floor.

All the rooms have been refurbished as part of the €40m renovation programme. The Deluxe room was 36 square metres but even the entry level Superior rooms boast 32 sq m.

The bathroom and toilet have been split, with the toilet immediately on the right when you enter followed by the bathroom, which features a corner bathtub and separate shower:

A few more towel hooks or rails wouldn’t have gone amiss. Toiletries are the standard Marriott thisworks wall-mounted pump bottles.

The room itself is spacious, with two queen beds with almost ceiling-height padded headboards. A funky giant glass bead pendant light hangs on one side:

There’s just a single three-pin mains socket between the two, but the handy alarm clock features two more slots and some USB ports which more than makes up for it.

Opposite the bed is a sideboard / desk with chair and stool as well as the wall mounted TV:

To the right you have the mini bar which features a kettle and tea bags but no coffee machine.

There’s an armchair next to the bed:

The balcony was very spacious, with two chairs overlooking the spectacular views of Balluta Bay:

…. and the view:

I was pleasantly surprised to find the hotel operates a turndown service. Normally this is something I’d expect from a higher end brand like The Ritz-Carlton than a ‘vanilla’ Marriott. They came every day (quite early, around 6pm) to close the curtains, prepare the beds and leave a little dark chocolate treat out.

Pools, gym and spa at Malta Marriott Resort

Part of the hotel’s graduation to a ‘proper’ Marriott Resort involved the construction of a parking garage with a large outdoor pool and sundeck on top, just across the road from the main building (or accessible via an underground tunnel).

In total, this means there are now three pools: the original rooftop pool:

…. and the new and much larger lido with kids pool:

(What you can’t see well here is some of the lovely landscaping around it!)

The third pool is down in the expansive spa. Here’s a PR pic as it was popular with guests:

This is a large spa with steam rooms, saunas, jacuzzi and cold plunge pool, as well as an outdoor terrace.

The gym itself is large and very well equipped, although it’s also quite busy. I suspect the hotel sells access to it to locals during the off/shoulder season.

M Club and breakfast

The hotel now features an M Club lounge on the top (13th) floor for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above, or those booking a Club room.

This is an impressive space with both indoor and outdoor seating and phenomenal views:

It also features an excellent breakfast (fruit, full English, continental) with eggs, pancakes or waffles made to order. I had a very enjoyable breakfast here on the first day.

In the evenings, drinks are on offer from 5pm until 9pm which is double the length most hotel club lounges offer free alcoholic drinks. Canapes are on offer from 5pm-7pm. The canapes were different every day and include a selection of hot and cold items. You could, if you wanted to, probably have your fill here.

Impressively, the General Manager came up to introduce himself to guests both mornings and evenings which is not something I’ve seen before.

The main breakfast is served downstairs in the casual Marketplace restaurant, one floor beneath the hotel lobby.

You lose the views of Balluta Bay at this level but it remains a bright breakfast room with access to a terrace of its own, should you wish to sit outside. It offers a more extensive spread compared to the M Club, with more variety of almost everything on offer, from two types of bacon and sausages:

Two smoked salmon, salad, fruit, pastries and sweet treats:

An orange juicer was on hand to squeeze fresh OJ and you could also make your own juices from the juicing machine.

Conclusion

Although it’s a city hotel, the extensive leisure facilities justify why the Malta Marriott was upgraded to a ‘resort’.

(One thing to note about it becoming a ‘resort’ is that the hotel is no longer required to offer a guaranteed 4pm check-out to Platinum and higher members of Marriott Bonvoy. ‘Resorts’ have a carve-out from this rule.)

The new lido pool expands the available sundeck considerably with the addition of many more loungers and a kids’ pool, which makes me wonder if the rooftop pool should be turned into an adults’ only pool.

The M Club is an excellent addition and adds real value here with extensive breakfast and dinner service and lovely staff. It’s also just a fantastic place to hang out during the day, when you can read a book on the covered terrace or the air conditioned interior.

All things considered this is a Marriott that punches above its weight and is a convenient spot to base yourself for a trip to Valletta.

Rates dip as low as €130 in low season and €350+ in high season. Redemptions start from 43,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.

You can find out more, and book, on the Malta Marriott Resort website here.