Where To Spend A Refined Day By The Pool In Malta

There are two kinds of pool days in Malta. This list is about the other one. The full day pass scene here is not short on options — what is short on options are those that don’t involve a DJ blaring Pitbull before lunch and sun loungers packed so tightly you’re essentially sharing a towel with a stranger.

If you want something quieter, more refined, with food worth actually ordering — you’re in the right place. Here’s where to find it.

Verdala Wellness Hotel — Rabat

Malta’s only dedicated adults-only luxury wellness hotel. Certainly a luxury affair. Built on the bones of the old Grand Hotel Verdala and reimagined as the kind of place Gwyneth Paltrow would clear her schedule for.

A long infinity pool suspended above the Maltese countryside, with views stretching to the horizon — the kind that make you immediately stop looking at your phone. Robes on arrival and poolside access to The Living Room Lounge Bar or The Griffin Brasserie. The VSPA — hammam, salt cave, infrared sauna, cave-design indoor pool — is there if you want it. No obligation. The pool alone is enough.

Day pass: From €130 per person (weekdays) including €30 F&B credit · Robes, sun loungers, umbrellas and changing facilities included
Hours: 10:00–18:00 · 18+ only

Verdala Wellness Hotel
Triq ir-Rghajja
Rabat
Website

Cabana Club — St Julian’s

Perched on the eighth floor of ME Malta — the international lifestyle hotel that has become one of St Julian’s places to be seen — with two striking rooftop pools, panoramic views over the bay, a pool bar, juice bar, and a menu that leans into the good stuff: Iberian ham boards, Gillardeau oysters, bluefin tuna tartare, lamb kofta, pulled pork tacos with fermented local felfel and goat’s yoghurt. Cushioned cabana day beds in ivory linen sit poolside — the kind you don’t want to get up from.

Day pass: €70 per person including €50 F&B credit (valid until 6pm)
Hours: Bar from 8:30, pool dining 12:00–18:00

Cabana Club
8th Floor, ME Malta
Mercury, Gort Street
St Julian’s
Website

The Phoenicia Malta — Floriana

You walk through seven acres of gardens to get here — past citrus trees, flowering shrubs and aromatic herbs growing for the kitchen — and then you arrive at an infinity pool set directly against the 16th-century bastions with Marsamxett Harbour stretching out in front of you.

The Bastion Pool Bar & Restaurant serves Mediterranean-Asian dishes poolside, and the whole setting has the kind of quiet grandeur that makes everything else feel a bit temporary.

Day pass: €110 per person including €70 F&B credit · Cushioned deckchairs, welcome water, fresh towels and changing facilities included
Hours: 18+ only

The Phoenicia Malta
The Mall
Floriana
Website

Beefbar on the Beach — St Paul’s Bay

Walking into Beefbar on the Beach feels like you’ve somehow stepped into the luxe scene of Monaco, Mykonos or Saint-Tropez — probably because they have outposts there. Here you’ll find a pool flanked by white lattice cabanas, open sea directly ahead, with poolside service running elevated versions of the brand’s signature format — refined sliders, tacos, small plates — alongside the mains, where the quality of the beef is very much the point. Designed by Humbert & Poyet, which is not nothing.

Day pass: From €130 per person including €85 F&B credit · Double gazebo from €375
Hours: 10:00–22:00, open until October

Beefbar on the Beach
47 Dawret Il-Gzejjer
St Paul’s Bay
Website

Corinthia Palace — Attard

Another inland entry. No sea views — instead, a sweeping freeform pool set within mature gardens, palm trees and lush canopy on all sides, the whole thing feeling considerably more country estate than hotel pool.

Set next to the San Anton Botanical Gardens, the pace here is genuinely unhurried. The poolside menu comes courtesy of Secret Garden, the on-site restaurant by world-renowned Italian chef Francesco Mazzei.

Day pass: €80 (Mon–Fri) including €50 F&B credit · €90 (weekends) including €50 F&B credit · Sunbed, towel and umbrella included
Hours: 10:00–18:00, June–September

Corinthia Palace
De Paule Avenue
Balzan
Website

Serenity Pool by Xara — Rabat

Situated in the open Rabat countryside at The Xara Lodge, framed by Maltese stone and ivy-covered walls with prickly pear beyond — it feels like somewhere you’d stumble across in rural Italy. Adults only, properly quiet, with a food menu that sits well above the poolside average: tuna and beetroot tartare, grilled octopus with white bean purée and harissa, fritto misto.

Day pass: €70 per person including €45 F&B credit · Towel, deckchair and umbrella included
Hours: 10:00–18:00, June–September · Adults only

The Xara Lodge
Sqaq Tac-Cawla, Triq It-Tigrija
Rabat
Website

SkyBeach — St Julian’s

Nineteenth floor of the InterContinental. In-water loungers sit directly in the pool, the Mediterranean stretches out beyond the glass edge, and the whole thing operates at a remove from whatever is happening on the ground below. Sushi and Mediterranean food run through the afternoon.

Day pass: €80 per person including €70 F&B credit · Day bed up to 3: €250 including €250 F&B credit · Gazebo up to 12: €1,000 including €900 F&B credit
Hours: 9:30–18:00, open until October

SkyBeach
InterContinental Malta
St George’s Bay
St Julian’s
Website

The sun isn’t going anywhere. Neither are the crowds. Choose your day by the pool accordingly.