The History Beneath Bastion Pool
June 26, 2026
Bastion Pool, Bar & Restaurant is open again for summer 2026. Before you settle in beside the infinity pool, discover what the surrounding walls and ditches were once designed to defend.
Each summer, one of the hotel’s favourite corners reopens to guests to make the most of the season. As the weather warms, Bastion Pool, Bar & Restaurant returns with an à la carte menu and evening barbecues under the stars and beside the water.
While most visit for a swim, followed by a meal and cocktails beside the harbour view, few realise that the ground beneath them tells a far older story.
The infinity pool, the terrace above and the shore below are all set on a stretch of Valletta’s centuries-old fortifications – and the bastion walls that make this setting so striking were built for something far different from a day by the pool.
Dip into the past
With its view across the water and the bastion backdrop behind it, Bastion Pool has long been one of the island’s most memorable pools. Yet, this summer destination also hides history. With each length you swim, you are tracing a line that soldiers once watched over.
The Phoenicia Malta is positioned on Valletta’s outer works, with the hotel built to the line of the capital’s defences and its chevron shape set by the original boundaries.
At the end of a defensive ditch below St Michael’s counterguard rests our unique infinity pool. The ‘counterscarp’ – the outer wall of a ditch surrounding the fortifications – rises on one side, with more than seven acres of gardens behind it and the harbour beyond.
The ditch beside the pool was later added during the city’s fortification works in the 17th century, when it ran the full width of the peninsula between Marsamxett Harbour and Grand Harbour.
A place of arms above the water
The raised terrace above Bastion Pool, Bar & Restaurant has a military past of its own.
It stands where there was once a place of arms – a widened section of the covered way where defenders gathered before moving out to the walls. The remains of an angled projection of stone known as a ‘spur’ are still in the gardens above, even after a century of landscaping softened the slopes.
Much of this centuries-old engineering is now under greenery, but it still shaped how the gardens were laid out, terrace by terrace, down the slope to where guests today delight in a delicious summer’s meal beneath the sunshine or the stars.
The secret sally port
Look along the counterscarp wall near the pool and you will see a ‘sally port’ – a low passage cut through the fortifications that once provided a secure entrance through the bastions. Garrisons used these to slip out unseen and surprise anyone massing below the walls before ducking back behind cover.
This one’s far exit was most likely sealed when Great Siege Road was laid after the Second World War, blocking the passageway somewhere within the rock.
A short way along the same outer works, a rock-hewn chamber served the hotel as a wine cellar for years. Older still, it may once have collected rainwater or sheltered civilians during wartime raids.
St Rocco baths below
Down on the shoreline lies one further piece of the story.
The St Rocco baths are rock-cut sea pools, thought to date to around 1900 according to an archive drawing. Here, local bathers once swam in water sheltered from the open sea. The baths take their name from a chapel that stood on top of St Michael’s counterguard – the same bastion wall your sun lounger now sits beneath.
However, the construction of Great Siege Road and other nearby properties left them secluded on the harbour front, while the buildings associated with St Rocco baths have stood empty for years.
Even so, they are a reminder that people have been coming to this stretch of coast to swim for well over a century.
Summer in style
Few corners of the island combine a harbour view, lush gardens and a pool set into the old bastions like this secluded five-star summer retreat.
By day and on Wednesday evenings, explore the à la carte menu shaped by the sea, from sushi and ceviche to a salad of local ġbejna with tomato and basil. Poke bowls and lobster linguine are also on offer, while the bar pours spritzes crafted with Maltese bajtra.
After dark comes Nights Under the Stars. Every Tuesday and Thursday, BBQ Under the Stars reimagines the Mediterranean barbecue beside the floodlit bastions, to gentle live music carrying on the summer breeze – from acoustic sets on Tuesday to a jazz quartet led by Dominic Galea on Wednesday and Steve Galea on guitar on Thursday.
Mid-morning breakfasts from 10.30am are also available for relaxed business gatherings, perhaps after a private group yoga session in the gardens.
Book your summer at Bastion
There are few places in Malta where you can swim, dine and rest among historic fortifications, with the World’s Best City just a short walk away.
Reserve your table at Bastion Pool, Bar & Restaurant for summer 2026 here.
Kevin Alipustain
Bastion Pool, Bar & Restaurant Manager
With over 15 years of experience in hospitality, Kevin has built an international career spanning Dubai and Malta. Starting as a waiter in Dubai, he progressed through a variety of food and beverage roles, developing a particular passion for bartending and mixology. After gaining experience in luxury hotels and Michelin-starred dining in Malta, he joined The Phoenicia Malta, where his leadership and dedication saw him rise through the ranks. Today, he is proud to serve as Outlet Manager of Bastion Pool, overseeing one of the hotel's most iconic venues.
Connect with Kevin: [email protected]
FAQ: Your questions answered about the Bastion Pool
Q: What is Bastion Pool, Bar & Restaurant at The Phoenicia Malta?
A: It is the hotel’s seasonal garden pool destination beside Valletta, open for summer 2026. An infinity pool framed by Valletta’s bastion walls sits between more than seven acres of gardens and Marsamxett Harbour. The venue serves an à la carte menu by day and on Wednesday evenings, and BBQ Under the Stars on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, accompanied by live music.
Q: How old are the fortifications around Bastion Pool?
A: The pool sits within Valletta’s outer works, below St Michael’s counterguard. The defensive ditch beside it was dug during the city’s later fortification works in the 17th century and once ran between Marsamxett Harbour and Grand Harbour. The terrace above the pool bar stands on a former place of arms and a sally port is still visible in the counterscarp wall nearby.
Q: What is BBQ Under the Stars at The Phoenicia Malta?
A: BBQ Under the Stars is Bastion Pool, Bar & Restaurant’s summer barbecue, held every Tuesday and Thursday evening as part of Nights Under the Stars. A Mediterranean menu with special oysters and butcher’s choice meats is served beside the floodlit bastions, with live music.
