Hotel Review: Malta Marriott Resort & Spa

Looking for one of the best hotels in Malta? Well, I think I’ve found just that with the exceptional Malta Marriott Resort & Spa. Let me show you exactly why I loved this hotel so much with this detailed review!

Even though we had managed to get away a few times in 2025 with Elise only a few months old, we felt as though we still wanted to squeeze just one more trip in. Malta had been high on our list of places to visit for a while and so, despite it being mid-November, we booked a five night holiday knowing that we would be more than happy with mild temperatures and a bit of sunshine.

The weather certainly didn’t disappoint. Malta has over 300 days of sunshine every year with temperatures over 20°c on each day that we visited! This meant that we were able to treat our brief time in Malta as though it was summer – having left the UK behind expecting snow, anything really could be thought of as summer.

I’ve got quite a bit to share from our trip but we’re here to talk about where to stay in Malta and specifically the Malta Marriott Resort & Spa outside of the capital Valletta in the charming Balluta Bay. As always, I spent a bit of time researching accommodation options that were suitable for us as a family but still offered a luxurious feel in a good location. I thought initially that the best place to stay would be in Valletta itself but in reality having a base elsewhere was much better and worked out perfectly.

Now, let’s get right to it and share my full review of the Malta Marriott Resort & Spa hotel in Balluta Bay.

MALTA MARRIOTT RESORT & SPA

LOCATION

There are a few different Marriott hotels in Malta with four hotels within the brand situated in the St Julian’s / Sliema area, just slightly north of Valletta. The coastline from St Julian’s down and around Sliema is absolutely beautiful; from Portomaso Marina to Spinola Bay then Balluta Bay and the promenade. This is a great area to stay in Malta as you can easily visit Valletta for the day (taking the ferry from Sliema or simply jump in a taxi through the Bolt app) but retreat to the peaceful coastline where the crowds disappear and you can wander along quiet promenades hopping from playground to playground or sip coffee in the piazza watching the waves roll in and life roll by.

The 5 star Malta Marriott Resort & Spa hotel is the crown jewel in Balluta Bay set in the grounds of a 19th century Maltese Villa. I say set in the grounds but the hotel absolutely dwarfs the villa it’s hard to imagine what the villa’s gardens might once have looked like. Right on the seafront, you can be in the warm Mediterranean sea within minutes and the best thing about Balluta Bay is that you can wander along to Sliema or take things up a notch and head to St Julian’s; you really are in a perfect location for exploring.

THE HOTEL

If I’m entirely honest, I’ve never specifically stayed at a Marriott hotel and I know that’s a little crazy to say especially when the Marriott group contains over 30 different brands of hotel! I’ve haven’t really purposefully searched to stay at a Marriott as I normally try to look for smaller boutique hotels. I always knew that Marriott hotels were extremely popular, especially with travellers from the US and those perhaps travelling with business or with Marriott Bonvoy loyalty points.

Well you can imagine my surprise, which I guess shows naivety on my part, when I first saw the Malta Marriott Resort & Spa. The hotel towers over the stunning horseshoe Balluta Bay yet doesn’t look at all out of place or overbearing. It seamlessly blends into its surroundings and even before entering you can tell that this is a luxurious hotel. It was somewhere that I was so excited to spend our five nights in Malta with the family and honestly I was blown away. If you don’t yet know where to stay in Malta, just don’t look at any other hotels, stay at the Malta Marriott and I promise you will have an incredible stay; you will not be disappointed.

So, what can you expect?

Upon our arrival into Malta, we braved the public bus (TD3) and somehow made it all in one piece with all of our luggage and stroller at the eastern edge of Balluta Bay. We made our way to lower of the two hotel entrances; up a sort of side street towards the parking area behind the beautiful old Maltese villa that houses Rosami At The Villa, a One Star Michelin fine dining restaurant. The bottom floor is a little dark and not necessarily for anything other than a few offices but, take the lift up to the third floor, and you’ll immediately be greeted by the friendly attentive staff. Oh and a beautiful scent that filled the air.

The reception area is set back from a sunken lounge area for chilling out and a bit of remote working, that sort of thing, before we reach the Atrio Lobby Bar & Restaurant with fine wines, cocktails and excellent food which can all be enjoyed from a terrace overlooking Balluta Bay.

All of the rooms are contained within floors four to eleven but, before we get to my favourite feature of the hotel atop the roof, we’ll head down to the second floor where you can find the calming Myoka Lotus Spa with indoor pool and the Marketplace where it’s all about buffet style dining. For obvious reasons, the spa is child-free during peak hours but don’t worry you can enjoy the heated pool and jacuzzi with your little ones from 6am to 12pm and 6pm to 10pm. This meant that one night I was able to take Evelyn down for an evening swim, a good way to tire (or probably over-tire) a three year old. To be fair, we weren’t the loudest down there as there were a few adults in the jacuzzi and a few enjoying horseplay so no-one was bothered about us swimming up and down and Evelyn jumping in. If you ask her now what her favourite part of the entire trip to Malta she will say swimming in the spa and on the rooftop. We didn’t experience the Marketplace so I can’t comment on it though I did peek through the door and this was more of a high-end buffet restaurant certainly in terms of design.

Well, we finally made it up to floor 12 where you will find the heated rooftop pool ideal for relaxation and gentle swims. This isn’t the type of pool that you’ll be clocking off lengths in more so one to cool down in once you’ve had a little too much sun. During off-season, September to June, certainly when we visited in November, there were no restrictions on children being in and around the pool. Obviously during the summer months, the busiest time, the rooftop pool is adults only.

This is exactly where you will be wanting to spend the majority of your time. There are breathtaking views down to Balluta Bay and, if you look closely, to Valletta and the famous dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We spent nearly every afternoon here once we returned from our trips out to Mdina, Valletta and walks to St Julian’s and Sliema. In November, the sun did obviously set relatively early though we were able to enjoy the sunshine and the pool until around 3:30pm / 4pm by which point we were ready for a break! It’s the first pool that Evelyn has felt really confident in so much so that she was attempting to swim solo with no arm bands aged 3. She did really well though did need reminding a few times that floating with her head under water absolutely is not swimming and she still needs to breathe.

Now if you go one final floor further, at the very summit of the hotel, you’ll find the M Club Lounge, an adults only sun terrace overlooking the rooftop pool and, accessible to M Club guests only, a quiet rooftop terrace. I’ve dedicated an entire section to our M Club experience below so I won’t spoil sharing my thoughts just yet.

Finally, there’s even an additional pool open during the summer months across the road from the ‘front entrance’ which, whilst it was closed when we visited, looks exactly the type of pool that families would be able to enjoy.

I think that probably sums up exactly why this is the kind of hotel that you should be staying at when visiting Malta. I explained above that initially we were looking to stay within Valletta itself but none of this would be available to us; you’d perhaps be looking at a small rooftop pool though you would be in the thick of it all. As a family we appreciate spacious rooms, a peaceful atmosphere as well as somewhere to occupy the little ones. If you’re anything like me, with little ones, or perhaps looking for a bit of luxury and peace as a solo traveller or a couple, it’s such a brilliant hotel. I don’t think you’re missing out by not staying in Valletta and you can easily visit. The taxi was only around €12 or you can walk 20 minutes to catch the Sliema ferry straight to the capital.

THE ROOM

The Malta Marriott Resort & Spa offers 301 rooms and suites with many rooms facing onto Balluta Bay with their own private balconies. We booked a Superior Room with 2 Queen beds, a bathroom with a bath and a shower and separate toilet. The room was absolutely enormous with plenty of room to let the little ones stretch their legs plus a balcony with a seaview; well more a side sea view. The room was completely quiet too; I know that it was mid-November so I expected the hotel to be a bit quieter than normal but you couldn’t hear other guests one bit. Well, hopefully no-one could hear us either but it was so so peaceful. When we’re away with the kids, especially at the moment where we’ve been sleep deprived for 9 months or so now, we try to go to sleep at exactly the same time. We were getting 8-10 hours every night, bliss for us.

The rooms are beautifully decorated, calming and modern, with Maltese design touches too such as the handblown glass lamps. As you will come to expect by now with this hotel, the rooms are luxurious and extremely comfortable.

M CLUB LOUNGE

Before we start discussing the M Club Lounge at Malta Marriott Resort & Spa, I need to share that the addition of access to the M Club Lounge was provided in exchange for a blog post review and images. As always, all opinions are my own.

For those not familiar with the M Club, selected Marriott hotels have a completely private lounge area with concierge service, complimentary buffet breakfast, snacks throughout the day, small plates & canapés in the evening, soft drinks, hot drinks & even complimentary alcoholic drinks in the evening too. The Marriott brand of hotels offers a fantastic and extremely popular loyalty system and those with Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite & Ambassador Elite status receive complimentary M Club lounge access (*although it may not be offered at all resort properties). The full list of M Club locations can be accessed here.

If you’re not one of those lucky elite members of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty scheme, you can pay an additional fee per person per day to access the lounge or booking a room with access included.

It turns out that the addition of the M Club Lounge was a lifesaver and just reduced any anxiety or stress throughout the day which I think naturally comes with travelling as a family. Each morning we were warmly greeted by the same few staff members who interacted with the littles ones as though they were family. For breakfast, we were able to order pancakes, waffles or eggs whichever way you wish to the table whilst there were your typical hot food buffet options like scrambled eggs, sausage, different types of potato and bacon etc alongside pastries and cold meats and cheeses. At all times, no matter when you visit the lounge you are able to enjoy coffees, teas, fruit juices and soft drinks. It honestly made breakfast really enjoyable and stress free. I know you can get all that from the main marketplace restaurant but it feels completely different in the lounge. It was suprisingly quiet with a few more people with kids that we thought. At first we thought we’d be completely out of place, especially as perhaps being considered as a more exclusive private area, but we felt more than welcome and families were ever present so we didn’t feel too bad if either one of our kids made a little too much noise!

We returned each evening for a few quiet drinks and ended up staying for what is described as pre-dinner canapés (served between 5-7pm) though in reality there was enough of a spread to actually treat it as dinner itself. It wasn’t just us, there were a few families doing the same thing. You can expect little pots of curry, lasagne and vegetable bakes as well as spring rolls, salad, warm bread, soup and dips. We weren’t let down once by the options available and loved creating a little spread for our evening meals. You’re even treated to a few different options for dessert too so don’t worry. Alongside food, alcoholic drinks are available including complimentary cocktails in the evening too. The staff were more than happy to create some mocktails too for us, obviously we can’t drink too much these days!

So, all in all, the M Club Lounge is absolutely fantastic and if you can get it included within your stay at the Malta Marriott then your holiday will be elevated to a whole other level. Plus, the best views in the entire hotel are saved for the panoramic windows here in the M Club Lounge. Balluta Bay never looked so good!

m club lounge malta Marriott resort & spa

OVERALL THOUGHTS

With €40 million spent recently on a full renovation, it’s hard not to be blown away by the Malta Marriott Resort & Spa. Everything about our stay was exceptional and we are so glad that we didn’t stay anywhere else. From the friendly staff to the breathtaking views, to the comfortable rooms and the stunning rooftop pool, the Malta Marriott Resort & Spa is exactly the hotel you need to stay at.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this review and it helps when planning your own trip to Malta. If you have any questions or need any more information, just leave me a comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

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