Within Valletta, the two-star, family- run British Hotel (40 Battery Street, 2122 4730, www.britishhotel.com, Mtl16-Mtl26) was established in 1930 and enjoys great views of the Grand Harbour, as does the two-star Grand Harbour Hotel (47 Battery Street, www.grandharbourhotel.com, 2124 6003, Mtl22) across the road. Housed in a pink palazzo, the three-star Castille Hotel (Castille Square, 348 St Paul Street, 2124 3677, www.hotelcastillemalta.com, Mtl32-Mtl40) has a restaurant on its roof.

Moving up a price bracket, in St Julian’s, Hotel Juliani (12 St George’s Road, 2138 8000, www.hoteljuliani.com, Mtl40-Mtl90) is a four-star hotel with sea views and two restaurants. Or there’s the recently opened Radisson Golden Sands Resort & Spa (Golden Bay, l/o Mellieha, 2356 1000, www.islandhotels.com/goldensands, Mtl67.50-Mtl107.50) overlooking Golden Bay, and the Hilton (St Julians, 2138 3383, www.hiltonmalta.com.mt, Mtl95-Mtl150) at the Portomaso complex. But leaving all these corporate chains in the shade, the most romantic place to stay in Malta is the 17th-century Xara Palace (Misrah il-Kunsill, www.xarapalace.com.mt, 2145 0560, Mtl85-Mtl275), in Mdina.

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