For Thanksgiving this year, we took a quick trip to Malta. It is surprisingly easy to get there from Amsterdam. KM Malta Airlines offers daily non-stop flights, a quick trip at 3:05. The main island is small, but they drive on the left-hand side of the road, so I opted not to torture myself by renting a car. We took a Bolt whenever we wanted to go exploring.
We stayed at the Malta Marriott Resort & Spa, which was terrific. The view and the spa were both noteworthy. The downside was that it is in St. Julian’s, which has less shopping, etc, which is essential when traveling with a teenage girl. If I was visiting again, I would choose a hotel in Valletta instead. I typically book club-level rooms at Mariott since they include access to the club lounge, which provides 24-hour access to soft drinks, breakfast, and a cocktail hour. I think the benefits more than offset the extra cost of the room.
We ventured to Rabat one evening for dinner at the Grotto Tavern. The cave room is intimate and features one of two set menus: the 5-course Grotto menu or the 7-course tasting menu. It was a lovely location, but sadly, we were less impressed with the food. So, I can’t say I would recommend it.
It was a quick trip, and I would love to go back to explore other areas of the island. I can see why people are drawn to the country. It is clean, beautiful, reasonably priced, and English-speaking, making it easy for those of us with poor linguistic skills. I will forgo the dresses next time and recommend you do the same since it is so windy. That is unless you need to recreate some famous Marilyn Monroe blowing dress photos.
Red, White and Tulips 