AX The Palace

The Palace is a hip, urban hotel in the seaside city of Sliema. The atmosphere is both funky and cosmopolitan, and the property's luxury feeling is enhanced by superb attention to design detail. The building’s pretty exterior blends with the older area architecture. Inside, the modern lobby has marble floors and huge chandeliers along with vintage black-and-white photographs on the walls, accented with pops of red and blue. The highest point in Sliema, the rooftop -- complete with an infinity pool -- offers spectacular panoramas over the city’s limestone rooftops to the Mediterranean and all the way to the capital city of Valletta. During the summer, breakfast is served on the roof. The rooftop Lounge 360 hosts late night swimming evenings with colorful party lights and two-for-one cocktails, and it's a local party spot. 

The Palace is located on a central Sliema street, away from the chaotic waterfront scene, but it's just a few minutes' walk from the seaside promenade flanked with cafes and rocky beaches. A five-minute walk takes guests to Sliema’s best shopping streets. The capital city of Valletta is a 20-minute drive from the hotel, or guests can take the Valletta ferry, which is less than a five-minute walk from the hotel’s entrance. There's also a bus terminal nearby for guests who want to explore the area via public transportation. The Malta airport takes around 20 minutes to reach by car. 

Rooms at the Palace are clean, spacious, and elegantly furnished, and come with air-conditioning, flat-screen smart TVs with 70 HD channels, minibars, free toiletries, and a selection of scented oils for some luxe aromatherapy. All rooms have deep garnet-colored fabric accents, butter-yellow walls, lots of drawer and closet space, and pleasant bathrooms with shower/tub combos. Comfort Rooms are the most economical, with interior atrium views. Most other rooms have pretty furnished balconies with harbor or city views, which greatly improve with higher floors.  Executive Rooms are more masculine in decor, and come with little extras such as Illy coffee and free shirt pressing. They also have larger terraces with room for chaises and tables. There are six individually decorated and themed Designer Suites: View, Texture, Music (which includes a drum kit), Light, Fragrance (with displays of antique stained-glass perfume bottles), and Flavours, which is painted in funky soda shop colors. Each is large and entirely one-of-a-kind down to the coffee cups. 

Note that The Palace abuts a church, and light sleepers may want to request rooms away from the tolling church bells, although those rooms do have the best views of Valletta. 

The Palace features a gorgeous rooftop with an infinity pool, a sun terrace, and a lounge that hosts weekly mojito parties and late-night swims with two-for-one cocktails. The Marion Mizzi Spa offers Ayurvedic treatments, facials, dermabrasion, and special treatment menus for kids and men. There is an indoor pool with an outdoor sun terrace and a sunny fitness center with cardio and weight equipment along with personal training and fitness assessments. Business travelers can make use of the multiple business and conference spaces.

The Palace’s three restaurants are popular with locals. Tabloid serves Mediterranean food in a colorful, bright dining room and offers seasonal theme nights and a popular Sunday lunch buffet. Talk of the Town Café is an all-day bar, diner, and patisserie with high tea in the afternoon. TemptAsian -- on the top floor -- serves Asian fusion cuisine, including sushi, with culinary influences from China, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. The views are spectacular, and there are gossamer dining tents for added privacy and romance. Half-board plans are available.