Review: Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort, St Julians, Malta

A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to spend the night at the Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort located in St George's Bay in St Julians, Malta. I tried out as many of the facilities as possible whilst I was there so I can bring you an all round Malta hotel review including room, pool, spa, restaurants and more, so read on to find out what I thought of this 4* beach resort.

This is a pretty lengthy and in depth review, so if you're interested in a specific section, just click the link to jump right to it!

Location // Rooms // Breakfast // Cafe24 // Breakfast Buffet // Adult Pool // Lunch Sea Salt Pool Deck // Vinotheque // GoPro Rental // Spa

Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort, St Julians, Malta

The Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort is situated next to the Corinthia Hotel in St George's Bay, St Julians, right on the waterfront.

Location

The location is absolutely stunning, with breathtaking views of the bay from the sea view rooms, in the perfect spot to watch the sunrise from the Mediterranean sea. The location isn't just pretty, but convenient too, near to the sea, near to a Blue Flag sandy beach, near a bevvy of bars, cafes and restaurants, water sport facilities, supermarkets and more.

Rooms

I was super happy to find myself in a sea view room. If you can afford the extra to go for one of these, I'd absolutely recommend it. The room was a good size with a huge, comfy bed, a table and some chairs, TV unit and a large bathroom with a bath (*heart eyes emoji*).

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The bathroom was fully stocked with miniatures, which always makes me happy. Saves on packing and they're just so damn cute. The room had everything we needed including a robe and slippers (I just wish they were branded!), TV, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, aircon and a huge balcony to enjoy the mind blowing views. If you find yourself with a sea view room, make sure to get up early for the sunrise.

Breakfast

I may be little and I may struggle to finish most adult sized portions but I LOVE FOOD. I love eating, I love trying new things and wherever I am, I'm never more than 2 thoughts away from "when can I next eat?". The day we checked in, we managed to get an early check in and I was already sniffing out something tasty to eat.

Cafe24

I had a massage booked for 11:15 so we managed to fit in a quick breakfast snack at the Marina Hotel's Cafe24. In the mornings they have a great deal of a croissant, coffee and orange juice for just €4! This goes on til 10, so unfortunately we missed it but I was happy with my croissant and a coffee. Joe went for one with Nutella and I went for jam; both were delicious!

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Breakfast Buffet

The next morning we headed on down to the breakfast buffet, served in a huge dining room with a view of the sea. It was early and I was rushing to work so I didn't manage to get more pictures but I started off the day with a small cooked breakfast and was pleasantly surprised! I don't know why I didn't really have high hopes but everything was super nice. The bacon was flavoursome, scrambled egg was perfectly done, everything was warm and nothing was dry!

Adult Pool Area

Any time we have the option of choosing an adults only pool area, we'll go for it. Kids are great, but they are loud and just very... there. They run around, splash and throw things, so when we're trying to relax we always gravitate towards more chilled areas such as adults only so I was literally over the moon to see that the Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort had an adults only pool area.

The pool itself was pretty small, you wont be swimming lengths and getting much exercise but the whole area was nice and quiet, not at all crowded and it was perfect for taking a dip to cool off during the hot Maltese summer. As with everywhere else, the adult pool area had a view of St George's Bay and it's just a few moments away from some steps into the sea if you fancy a change of scenery.

Lunch @ Sea Salt Pool Deck

When I started to get peckish again, we had lunch around the adults only pool area at the Sea Salt Pool Deck. There's outdoor seating if you want to make the most of the sun, or an air conditioned indoor seating section if you need some relief. It has a pretty informal, cafe type feel. We found that the food took quite a long time to come out, so we were starving by the time it arrived but the service was friendly and the food was reasonably priced. Often hotel restaurants and pool restaurants can be very overpriced but we were pleasantly surprised.

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I went for the vongole and Joe went for the chicken burger. The chicken burger was good although the chips weren't great, I think they were a little under cooked (apart from that dark one!) but my v was a standout dish; it was so packed with flavour! It was a huge portion, I probably would have been happy even if it was half the size, but it's aways better to get too much than too little. I'd definitely recommend it.

Vinotheque

For dinner we booked a table at the Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resorts restaurant, Vinotheque. Vinotheque has a review all to itself, just click the name to read, but the short version: we loved it. Service was amazing, the setting was so pretty, it felt very unlike anything in Malta, so pretty and atmospheric.

Joe went for:Starter: French onion soupMain: Grilled beef rib-eye

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I chose:Starter: Chicken liver pateMain: Sea bassDessert: (we shared!) Chocolate fondent.

Joe didn't love the French onion soup, it wasn't bad but just a touch bland, however everything else was perfection. My chicken liver pate arrived as an enormous portion, the brioche was lovely and the berry compote was delicious. Joe's steak was perfectly cooked and tasty and my sea bass was so good I could have eaten it twice!

GoPro Rental

The Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort have this super cool thing where you can rent a GoPro during your stay, absolutely free. It comes with a selfie stick and waterproof case so you can swim with it and film the bottom of the sea (so much fun!) and you can also get it with a floater attached, to make sure you don't lose it if you do plan on swimming with it.

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The rental is totally free, but if you want to keep the memory card when you leave, the hotel upload the images to their computer (to use across social media) and you can pay €15 to keep the card for your own use. I'd recommend going through the files and wiping any that are rubbish or you don't want used, before you hand the camera back. The staff are on hand to help you get to grips with it if you're not sure how, however it's pretty new to them too so it's a bit of a learning curve. I had so much fun using the GoPro and didn't feel as self conscious as I expected. I've never used one before so I really don't think I got the best footage, but I still had fun!

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Spa: Massage

Whilst staying at the Marina Hotel, I enjoyed a 25 minute back massage at the spa, located in the Corinthia section of the hotel. There is a super pretty indoor pool that you can use after enjoying the spa facilities. The whole spa smells amazing and everyone is very calm, collected and friendly. My back massage was actually perfect; too often they're either painfully hard, or so limp you can't feel a thing but I found the lovely lady doing mine got the perfect middle ground. It was relaxing, but she still worked on any knots in my shoulders to try and loosen them up, but without making me wince.

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There are loads of different services on offer including longer massages, full body massages, facials, couples massage and much more, so if you're looking to have the best time ever you should definitely check out the spa and book yourself something special.

Marina Hotel Corinthia Beach Resort: My Overall Thoughts

I loved this hotel and would absolutely recommend it. It's a 4* that lives up to it's star rating with lovely rooms, amazing views, excellent service and all the facilities you need for relaxation or a fun packed trip, whichever you prefer. There are a host of watersports available out front if you want to hire a speed boat, jetski, go on a banana boat or try paragliding, and a spa and chilled out pool areas if you'd rather keep calm and enjoy the sun!