Hotels in St Julian's (San Ġiljan), Malta's big-hotel district

St Julian’s packs more hotels into one stretch of coast than anywhere else in Malta, which is both its selling point and its trap. You’ll find everything from a hostel bunk to a resort with a spa, but the same street can be heaven for someone out until five and misery for someone who wanted an early night. This page is about picking the right street.

Fifty-eight hotels between two bays

The Malta Tourism Authority register lists Paceville separately from San Ġiljan, although Paceville is part of St Julian’s. Together they had 58 licensed hotels on 28 September 2026, 36 in San Ġiljan and 22 in Paceville, with 6,969 rooms between them. Add 20 guesthouses, 10 hostels and 1,046 licensed holiday lets, and nowhere else in Malta comes close. San Ġiljan has 15,594 residents, more than half of them foreign nationals, according to the NSO.

What sets it apart is the top end. Ten of Malta’s 23 five-star hotels are here, and some are huge. The Intercontinental declares 451 rooms, the Westin Dragonara and the Hilton 413 each, and the Hard Rock 397. These are hotels you choose for the hotel itself, not the view from the pavement.

Paceville after dark

Malta Public Transport sells Paceville as the island’s premier nightlife destination, and on hotel maps it seems to touch everything. My advice is to keep the two apart. The FCDO reports spiked drinks in Paceville’s bars and clubs, and Spain’s foreign ministry rates the area medium risk at night, citing assaults and theft too. A night out there is fine, and if you’re on a stag or hen do it’s the obvious place. Sleeping above the bars when you’re not going out is paying for no sleep. More on the scene in Malta nightlife.

Of the 22 hotels the MTA lists in Paceville, fourteen are three-star. The two five-stars, the Westin Dragonara and the Hilton, are on Triq id-Dragunara and Vjal Portomaso. Whatever the category, I’d check on a map how close the hotel is to the bar streets before paying.

Where I’d look instead

For sleep, three pockets stand out. First, St George’s Bay, with the bay road (Triq il-Bajja) and the Xatt ta’ San Ġorġ seafront, where the register places the Intercontinental, the Corinthia, the Radisson Blu and the Hard Rock. Second, Spinola Bay, which Malta Public Transport describes as a picturesque bay lined with restaurants, ideal for dinner and a short walk home. Third, Balluta Bay, heading towards Sliema, with more of a neighbourhood feel. I cover the whole town in my St Julian’s guide.

What about a flat?

For a week, the alternative to a hotel is one of the 1,046 licensed holiday lets in San Ġiljan and Paceville, or the 504 in neighbouring Swieqi, which is more residential. For a group of friends coming for the nightlife, a well-placed flat often works out better than three hotel rooms, as long as it holds an MTA licence. I explain how to check in Malta apartments.

Getting in from the airport

Two Airport Direct routes serve the area. The TD2 loops through St Julian’s and Pembroke every 30 minutes, stopping at Ganado, Paceville and Dragonara, and the TD3, just as frequent, carries on through Sliema, Gżira and Msida. Both cost €3. For Valletta, take the bus or walk to Sliema for the ferry, and the TD13 heads north to Qawra and Buġibba.

GOV.UK adds one practical point. Pickpockets have been at work on the buses that run from Valletta to St Julian’s, so on a crowded summer bus I’d keep phone and wallet where I can feel them.

St Julian’s or Sliema?

In one line, Sliema is for seeing Malta and St Julian’s is for enjoying your hotel. They share a promenade, so it’s hardly a life-or-death choice. If Valletta is the priority, Sliema wins on the ferry, as I explain in hotels in Sliema. If you want a big five-star with everything on site, you have more choice here than anywhere else, and I compare it with the rest of the country in luxury hotels in Malta. Wherever you land, British plugs fit the wall sockets, so the adaptor can stay in the drawer, and €1.50 per adult per night of eco-contribution is added to the room rate.