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Five-star One MICHELIN Key Inside the walls of Mdina, Mdina

The Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux

Seventeen rooms in a palazzo built into the bastions of Mdina, with a starred restaurant on the roof and the whole of Malta spread out below the walls.

Book with the hotel for The Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux (opens in a new tab) Fly to Mdina

Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.

MICHELIN
One Key
Rooms
17 rooms and suites
Opened
1999, in a seventeenth-century palazzo
From the airport
About 15 km from Malta International

The hotel

A noble house on the city walls.

The palazzo was built in the seventeenth century for the Moscati Parisio, one of the noble families of Mdina, the old walled capital of Malta. Its back wall is part of the bastions themselves, so rooms on that side look out across the island, some as far as the sea. Mdina is closed to most traffic, and the hotel faces a small square, Misrah il-Kunsill.

It opened as a hotel in 1999 and is run by the Xara Collection, which belongs to the Zammit Tabona family. A two-year refurbishment, finished in 2022, redid all seventeen rooms with antiques, oil paintings and Parisian fabrics. The hotel is a member of Relais & Châteaux, and in 2025 it became one of the first on the island to hold a MICHELIN Key.

  • De Mondion The rooftop restaurant, built into the bastion walls, holds one Michelin star in the 2026 guide.
  • Inside the walls Mdina is a car-free city of lanes and palaces, easiest to enjoy in the evening, once the day visitors have left.
  • Trattoria AD 1530 The relaxed second restaurant, with tables out in the piazza in front of the hotel.

Rooms & suites

Seventeen rooms, each one different.

Every room has antique furniture, paintings and a king-size bed. Some look over the bastions towards the sea; selected suites have underfloor heating and freestanding baths.

  • Rooms Rooms and suites Individually designed, with period pieces and new double glazing from the 2022 refurbishment.
  • Signature suite Presidential Suite Two storeys of dark antique wood, a Hästens bed and a balcony facing the baroque Vilhena Palace.

Dining

A starred roof and a trattoria on the square.

Restaurants as listed by the hotel; the star is from the MICHELIN Guide Malta 2026. Shown for information.

  • De Mondion One Michelin star Modern Mediterranean On the roof, inside the bastion walls
  • Trattoria AD 1530 Relaxed, all day In the piazza in front of the hotel

Recognition

Awards and listings.

  • One MICHELIN Key Malta selection, 2025
  • Relais & Châteaux Member

Good to know

Before you go.

  • Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
  • Children Welcome at any age. Extra beds and cots must be confirmed by the hotel in advance.
  • Pets Accepted; a charge may apply.
  • Cars Mdina is largely closed to traffic. Free parking is available nearby.

Getting there

Flying to Mdina.

Malta International Airport at Luqa, the island's only airport, is about 15 kilometres away, roughly twenty minutes by car by our estimate. Private jets use the same airport, where Executive Aviation Malta receives them.

Business & First Class Airline flights Heathrow, Gatwick, Paris, Zurich and Istanbul are on the network of KM Malta Airlines; British Airways comes in from Gatwick and Lufthansa from Frankfurt, while Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines connect the island with the Gulf and Istanbul. Request a fare Private Jet Private aviation Executive Aviation Malta, now part of the ExecuJet network, receives private aircraft with its own lounges, help with customs and a meet-and-assist service, so passengers can be on the road to Mdina soon after landing. Request a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet to Mdina
  • Milan 1 h 50
  • Geneva 2 h 05
  • Zurich 2 h 10
  • Paris 2 h 40
  • London 3 h 05

Questions

What guests ask first.

How many MICHELIN Keys does The Xara Palace have?
One. It is the only hotel in Mdina with a MICHELIN Key.
Does The Xara Palace have a Michelin-starred restaurant?
Yes. De Mondion, on the roof, keeps one Michelin star in the MICHELIN Guide Malta 2026.
How far is Mdina from Malta airport?
About 15 kilometres, or around twenty minutes by car by our estimate.
Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Mdina?
Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Mdina, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.

Also in Mdina

Other hotels worth the trip.

All of Mdina

Staying at The Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux?

Book the room, then the flight.

Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Mdina, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.

Book with the hotel for The Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux (opens in a new tab)
Business & First Private Jet

Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.