Corinthia Palace Hotel and Spa

Corinthia Palace Hotel and Spa

The Corinthia Palace has been the benchmark of Maltese hospitality since 1968, a fact the hotel wears lightly and its guests tend to discover on arrival. Built around a 19th-century country villa in Attard, in the quiet centre of the island, next to the San Anton Presidential Palace and its botanical gardens, it was inaugurated by the Duke of Edinburgh as the founding property of what would become the Corinthia group. Valletta is fifteen minutes by car, Mdina is ten, and the position, equidistant from the island's main points of interest and removed from the noise of the coastal resorts, is the considered choice of someone who wants to see Malta rather than a pool surrounded by it. The 147 rooms and suites are spread across the hotel's various wings, most with private balconies looking over the landscaped gardens, and Villa Corinthia, the restored original villa at the heart of the property, houses the flagship restaurant and the most atmospheric dining room on the estate. The Athenaeum Spa runs to indoor and outdoor pools, a vitality suite, and a treatment menu built around Mediterranean botanicals. The Secret Garden restaurant handles outdoor all-day dining in the grounds, Josephine's Coffee anchors the mornings, and the wider dining offer reflects the hotel's position as the grande dame of Maltese hospitality, generous and seriously staffed. A complimentary daily shuttle to Valletta removes the only practical inconvenience of being in the centre of the island rather than the capital. This is a hotel for people who want Malta organised around them: the archaeology, the walled cities, the Three Cities, the wine, the food, and a spa and garden to return to at the end of the day. It suits families and couples equally, which is a harder thing to achieve than most hotels manage. The short version: A 147-room founding Corinthia property in Attard, built around a 19th-century villa beside the San Anton Presidential Gardens, with a flagship restaurant in the restored villa, a serious spa, and a central position that makes the whole island accessible without the noise of the coast.