db Seabank Resort + Spa
db Seabank Resort + Spa is a large 4-star superior all-inclusive at the southern end of Mellieħa Bay in northern Malta, directly across the road from the island's largest sandy beach. Over 536 nautical-themed rooms sit around The Dome and the lagoon-style Laguna Pool, with seven restaurants, five pools, a kids' club and a daily animation programme folded into one price. Families come for the sandy beach, which is rare on Malta, the huge main pool and the all-inclusive value.
On this page
Is it worth it?
Who db Seabank suits, what's included and the facts to skim first.
db Seabank is one of Malta's biggest all-inclusive resorts and the one that turns up first on nearly every family shortlist for the island. It sits at the southern end of Mellieħa Bay, across the road from Malta's largest sandy beach, and it packs seven restaurants, five pools, a kids' club and a full day-and-night entertainment programme into one 4-star superior price. What families rate is the value and the setting: a sandy beach that's scarce on rocky Malta, the island's largest outdoor pool and enough going on that school-age children rarely run out of things to do. It scores well too, around 4.4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor, and Mumsnet named it Malta's best all-inclusive family hotel for 2026.
Two things shape whether it suits you. It's a large, animated resort of over 536 rooms, not a quiet or boutique one, so high season in particular is busy rather than restful. The childcare also only runs from age 4: there's a kids' club for 4 to 11s but no crèche or structured care for babies and toddlers, so families with under-4s look after the little ones themselves. The beach sits across Marfa Road, a main road you cross to reach the sand, and none of the outdoor pools are heated, which matters if you're travelling outside high summer.
Best for
You want strong all-inclusive value, a sandy beach for paddling, a huge main pool and daily entertainment, with children aged 4 and over to use the kids' club.
Maybe not for
You want a quiet, boutique feel, a beach with no road to cross or structured childcare for a baby or toddler.
Best ages
School-age children get the most from the club and animation. Babies and toddlers are welcome, but there's no crèche, so you'll be hands-on.
What stands out
A sandy beach across the road, a huge lagoon-style main pool on site and seven included restaurants.
What to check
Whether you want All-Inclusive Plus, a cot and baby kit to arrange before you travel and the current parking arrangement.
Where is it?
At the southern end of Mellieħa Bay in northern Malta, about 25 km and 35 minutes from Malta International Airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where db Seabank sits, how it's laid out and the character to expect.
db Seabank is a large, purpose-built all-inclusive on the flat coastal road at the southern end of Mellieħa Bay, run by the Malta-based group db Hotels & Resorts. It has been in this corner of the bay for decades and holds a Green Key eco certification. The scale is the first thing to understand: over 536 nautical-themed rooms across several blocks, decorated in a maritime style, with balconies and terraces looking over the pools, the sea or the countryside behind. It's animated rather than restful, with children's activities through the day and shows at night, and a Malta resident who reviews the island's hotels warns not to expect peace and quiet, particularly in high season. For the wider island, its beaches and when to go, see our Malta guide.
The resort centres on The Dome, the entertainment complex beside the Laguna Pool, with the Dome Bar, the Laguna Pool Restaurant and a seasonal pool-garden barbecue area gathered around the water. The seven restaurants, the Sports Bar and its bowling alley, the Pearl Spas spa, a hair salon and a small retail centre all sit within the complex, so a family can spend a whole week without leaving. Just outside the resort, a separate cluster called the Adeera Complex holds a Starbucks and three more restaurants by the water: Amami (Asian and Oriental), Blũ Beach Club (a Mediterranean beach bar) and Westreme (family-friendly). These sit outside the all-inclusive, though staying guests get a 10% discount on the bill there. As part of its Green Key commitment the resort runs a refundable token system for poolside drinks to cut down on single-use plastic, with drinking-water stations on every floor.
One thing worth knowing before you arrive is that db Seabank also sells a Day by the Pool pass to non-residents, running from 10:00 to 18:00 with all-inclusive dining at the Laguna Restaurant, drinks at the Dome Bar and access to the Laguna, adults-only and children's pools, with under-5s free and parking included for the day. It's a popular scheme, and it's the backdrop to the occasional gripe about a busy poolside atmosphere covered further down.
Every restaurant and bar
All seven restaurants, the bars and how the drinks and the booking work.
Seven themed restaurants are all covered by the all-inclusive, spanning Mediterranean, Italian, Middle Eastern, Asian, Brazilian and Tex-Mex, which is the range families single out as making a week feel varied rather than one buffet on repeat. The food itself gets a fair rather than glowing verdict from guests, decent for the price without being a highlight. Unlimited house wine, beer, soft drinks, water and tea and coffee come with meals, and house spirits and cocktails are included at the Dome Bar. A dinner dress code applies across the restaurants: no beachwear, no sportswear and no sleeveless tops. If anyone in the family has a food allergy or intolerance, the kitchens ask you to tell the chef on duty at any restaurant.
| Restaurant | Cuisine | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Coral | International buffet | The main restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and where most meals are eaten. Hosts the weekly all-inclusive Sunday Lunch. |
| The Jungle | Tex-Mex, sharing menu | Nachos, ribs and fried chicken to share, with churros to finish. Also used for children's parties. |
| Levant | Middle Eastern buffet | Turkish, Lebanese, Iranian and Arab dishes. |
| Salia | Italian, with bay views | A sharing menu on the standard all-inclusive; All-Inclusive Plus guests get the full à la carte at no extra charge. |
| L-Orjent | Asian, sharing style | A run through different Asian flavours across the table; some listings also mention a sushi station and live cooking, though the official page doesn't confirm it. |
| El Rodizio | Brazilian churrasco | Meats carved at the table, with a salad bar and a sweets station. |
| Laguna Pool Restaurant | Poolside buffet | By the main pool for late breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks, so you don't have to move far on a pool day. |
Coral is the main restaurant and where most meals happen, an international buffet with changing daily dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also hosts an all-inclusive Sunday Lunch each week, which non-residents can book too. The other six rooms give the week its variety: The Jungle does Tex-Mex sharing plates and doubles as the venue for children's parties, Levant is a Middle Eastern buffet, L-Orjent runs through Asian flavours, and El Rodizio is Brazilian churrasco with meats carved at the table. Salia is the Italian, with views over the bay, where standard guests get a sharing menu and All-Inclusive Plus guests get the full à la carte. Laguna Pool Restaurant sits by the main pool for late breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks, so a pool day needn't mean a trek back for food. On top of these, an outdoor Pool Garden barbecue at the Olive Terrace runs seasonally when the management chooses to open it.
Three bars round out the drinks. The Dome Bar sits at the main pool and is the hub for evening entertainment and the daily shows. The Sports Bar shows live football, rugby, tennis and F1, serves finger food and houses the four-lane bowling alley. The Punent Cocktail Bar is opposite reception with a terrace over the bay. House drinks at all three are included.
How restaurant booking works
Tables at the themed restaurants are booked through the db Guest Mobile App, and booking opens only once you've checked in, not before you travel. Download the app before you fly, then book your week's dinners on your first day. With seven restaurants across a resort this size the popular evening slots fill quickly, so it's worth sorting them early in your stay rather than leaving it to the night.
Rooms and suites
Every room type, the five pools and the sandy beach across the road.
There are five room categories. The resort doesn't publish room sizes, so the table below covers beds, view, how many each sleeps and which suit a family, without inventing floor areas. Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out is by 11:00, and Wi-Fi is free throughout.
| Room | Beds | View | Sleeps | Family notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Room | Twin or double | Land, pool or sea | 2 adults | A two-person room, not set up for a family with a child. |
| Quad Room | Twin or double | Land or pool | 4 | Open-plan with a large balcony; a natural choice for a family of four. |
| Family Room | Two sleeping areas with a sliding divider | Land, pool or sea | 4 adults | The divider lets a child sleep while you sit up in the other area. A Bunked Family Room sleeping up to 6 is available on request. |
| Terrace Room | Twin or double | Sea or pool | 4 adults | A private terrace looking over the bay, the lagoon pool or the countryside. |
| Accessible Room | Not published | Sea | Not published | An 88cm doorway, a roll-in shower with a chair, bathrails and two bathrooms. Booked by email. |
For a family the choice comes down to two rooms. The Quad Room is open-plan with a large balcony and sleeps four, the simplest option for a family of four sharing one space. The Family Room is the one to book if you'd rather close a door on a napping child: it has two sleeping areas split by a sliding divider, so a baby or toddler can sleep while you stay up in the other half. If you need more beds, a Bunked Family Room sleeping up to six can be requested through reservations, subject to availability. The Standard Room sleeps two and isn't set up for a family with a child, so skip it if you have little ones in tow. The Terrace Room adds a private terrace over the bay, lagoon pool or countryside.
The Accessible Room has a wider 88cm doorway, a roll-in shower with a shower chair, bathrails and two bathrooms, with a sea view and a balcony; the resort also notes it can arrange a nurse to assist a guest who needs one. It's booked by email rather than online, so contact the resort's reservations team directly. You may also see room names such as Double Plus or Terrace Sea View Plus on booking sites; these are standard rooms sold with the All-Inclusive Plus supplement added, not a separate tier of room, so treat the Plus part as an upgrade to your board rather than a different room.
Pools and water features
The centrepiece is the Laguna Pool, a lagoon-style freshwater pool that the resort says is the largest outdoor pool on the island, with a big sun deck and the Dome Bar alongside. It's the hub of a family day. There's a separate adults-only pool with a swim-up bar, though the swim-up bar itself only runs from June to the end of September. For children there are two children's pools; the official description is simply two safe kids' pools, and while some reviews mention splash features, the resort doesn't list water slides, so check the current layout with them if that's a draw for your children. The one pool that's heated is the indoor pool in the Pearl Spas, which has a hot tub alongside and is open to all staying guests, not just those having treatments.
That heated indoor pool matters more than it first looks, because none of the outdoor pools are heated, and guests report them cold in the shoulder months, October especially. Only swimming aids are allowed as inflatables in any pool, and pools can close for routine maintenance at the management's discretion. No lifeguard is confirmed at any of the pools, so parents supervise children in the water at all times.
The beach
Mellieħa Bay, also called Għadira, is Malta's largest sandy beach, a long sweep of sand directly across the road from the resort. On an island that's mostly rocky coast, a proper sandy beach is unusual, and this one shelves in gently to shallow water, which suits toddlers and babies paddling at the edge. It has historically held Blue Flag status and is consistently rated highly for water quality. It's a public beach rather than a private resort one, so it's shared with locals and other visitors and gets busy on summer Sundays.
Marfa Road runs between the resort and the sand, so reaching the beach with a pushchair means crossing a main road; it's a straightforward crossing, but one to manage carefully with young children. Beach services, the lifeguards, a First Aid clinic and the sand maintenance, run only from June to September, so outside those months the public beach is unsupervised. Sunbeds and umbrellas can be hired from beach operators, who can be pushy in their claimed zones, though you're not obliged to hire outside them. Water sports on the bay, kayaking, waterskiing, windsurfing and banana-boat rides, are run by those independent operators rather than the resort.
Babies and toddlers
The kids' club, the under-4 gap and what's set up for babies.
The kids' club is for ages 4 to 11, with daily activities run by the animation team. That age floor is the one thing to be clear on before you book: there's no crèche and no structured childcare for under-4s, so a family with a baby or toddler looks after the little ones themselves, using the beach, the pools and the daily animation rather than any drop-off care. The resort doesn't publish the club's session times, its cost or whether it runs year-round, so confirm those with them at booking rather than planning around assumptions.
For an evening to yourselves, babysitting is mentioned by guests but isn't confirmed on the official site, so contact the resort directly to check whether it's available, and at what cost, before you rely on it. The same goes for baby kit: the resort doesn't publish a list of cots, high chairs or other equipment, so request a cot when you book and confirm what else is on offer. There's no dedicated baby menu, and while the Coral buffet will have soft foods that suit an older baby starting to wean, parents of young babies should pack enough specialist food and formula from home. The daily animation team is a headline feature here, running children's activities through the day and turning to entertainment for adults at night.
One extra worth knowing about is the Kids Spa at the Pearl Spas, which offers children's treatments such as a kids' massage (around €35) or a chocolate wrap (around €45, last checked June 2026). It's a paid extra rather than part of the all-inclusive, and no minimum age is stated, so check with the spa before booking for a very young child.
Things to do
Beyond the pools and the beach, evenings centre on The Dome, where the animation team runs daily live shows, with themed dinner and film nights reported by guests. There's a four-lane bowling alley in the Sports Bar, open to everyone, a games and amusement arcade for older children and adults, and a children's playground in the grounds. The fitness area is open 24 hours with cardio machines and weights, and gives access to the indoor pool, hot tub and sauna. Some guests also mention mini golf, though it isn't on the official facilities list, so check with the resort if it matters to you.
The Pearl Spas run to eight treatment rooms on one level, with a sauna, steam room, the heated indoor pool, a hot tub and a relaxation area, plus a hair salon and beauty room. Individual treatments and named spa day packages are both a paid extra rather than part of the all-inclusive: Coral Glow (around €70), Laguna Bliss (around €80), Sea Breeze Retreat (around €100) and a group package called Girls Just Wanna Spa (around €55, last checked June 2026), each pairing treatments with lunch and access to the indoor spa facilities for a parents' day off. There's a small on-site retail centre, Laguna Shopping, for sportswear, stationery and holiday bits. The db Guest Mobile App ties a lot of this together: you can check in from up to a week before you arrive, send requests like extra towels, and book your restaurants once you're on site.
All-Inclusive Plus
All-Inclusive Plus is an optional upgrade for guests aged 12 and over, so it's aimed at parents and older teenagers rather than young children. Pre-booked before you travel it runs from around €22 per person per night, a little more if you add it once you're at the hotel, with a minimum stay of five nights in summer and four in winter (last checked July 2026). Children aged 12 to 16 pay a flat €15 per child per night.
What it adds is a step up in food and drink. The adults-and-teens-only Plus Lounge is open from 7:30am to 10:00pm for breakfast, snacks, aperitivo and drinks, with a selection of branded spirits and upgraded wines at mealtimes, plus bottled wine at the bars and restaurants reserved for Plus guests. On arrival there's a welcome amenity in the room and a minibar stocked with soft drinks, beers and wines. Salia swaps its sharing menu for the full à la carte at no extra charge, check-out moves back to 2pm, and you get a wristband to show for it.
AI+ also brings a 20% discount at nine named db-group sister restaurants: the three Adeera Complex venues just outside the resort, Amami, Blũ Beach Club and Westreme, plus six more across the group, Nine Lives, Loa, Tora, Manta, Amami Food Bar and Aki. At the three Adeera venues this 20% replaces the smaller 10% resident discount standard guests get there; pre-booking is required. At Pearl Spas it's 20% off the Signature Massage, Signature Facial and Signature Scrub, plus the Signature Hammam, though the Hammam itself is only offered at the sister db San Antonio spa. For a family with young children who'll mostly use the included buffets and house drinks, the standard all-inclusive already covers the day-to-day, and the Plus upgrade is worth its cost mainly if the adults will make real use of the lounge and the à la carte.
The area and days out
The resort's northern position makes getting out and about easier. Mellieħa village sits about 1 km uphill to the south, with shops, the large Welbee's supermarket, cafés, the parish church and the Mellieħa Air Raid Shelter, a waxwork-filled family attraction that suits older children. The village feast, with lighting, fireworks and processions, falls on 8 September if you're there around then. The walk up is steep and not one for a pushchair, but buses run between the bay and the village. Along the bay itself are a few beach restaurants and snack bars, including Munchies and San Remo Beach Club.
Gozo, Malta's quieter, greener sister island, is easy from here: it's a short drive to the Ċirkewwa ferry and then a crossing of about 20 minutes to the Citadel at Victoria, the red sand of Ramla Bay and the Ġgantija Temples, which are older than Stonehenge. You can take a hire car across on the ferry; check current fares with Gozo Channel before you go. Nearer still, Comino and its Blue Lagoon is a shallow turquoise inlet reached by a short ferry, popular for swimming but very crowded from June to September. Popeye Village, the 1980 film set at Anchor Bay about 10 minutes away, is now a family attraction open year-round.
Further afield, the family days out cluster down the coast: the Malta National Aquarium at Qawra (around 20 to 25 minutes), Mediterraneo Marine Park with its dolphin and sea lion shows and the Splash & Fun Water Park at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq (around 25 to 30 minutes), with slides and a children's dinosaur park, Playmobil FunPark at Ħal Far and the Esplora interactive science centre at Kalkara (around 35 to 45 minutes, and good for older children). Valletta, the small UNESCO-listed capital, is roughly 35 to 45 minutes away, and the car-free medieval city of Mdina a little closer; both have cobbled or limestone lanes that are hard work with a buggy. Closest of all, the Red Tower on Marfa Ridge is about 5 minutes away for views over the bay, Gozo and Comino, with a small entry fee and set opening hours; and the Għadira Nature Reserve, a free BirdLife wetland sanctuary opposite the beach, opens from September to May and is best outside peak summer. Quieter local beaches such as Armier Bay and Paradise Bay need a car or taxi to reach.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what they flag, how it compares with other Malta resorts, the journey in and the weather by month.
db Seabank rates consistently well, around 4.4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor from over 13,000 reviews, gathered through a booking site in June 2026, and 4.5 out of 5 from Malta Uncovered's resident reviewer. On the family lists it does better still: Mumsnet's 2026 guide names it Malta's best all-inclusive family hotel, Kiddie Holidays ranks it first for babies and toddlers on the island, and BabyBreaks calls its pool the best in Malta. Here is what comes up most, good and bad.
What families love
- The all-inclusive value, often called worth every penny for a family.
- The sandy beach across the road, shallow for paddling.
- The Laguna Pool, the lagoon-style main pool.
- The animation and evening entertainment.
- The kids' club for ages 4 and over.
- The northern location for reaching Gozo, Popeye Village and the countryside.
- The variety across seven themed restaurants.
Common gripes
- No structured childcare for under-4s, the biggest gap for a young-child family.
- Food that's decent rather than outstanding.
- The scale and busyness; it's not a quiet or boutique resort.
- The road crossing to reach the beach.
- The unheated outdoor pools, cold by October.
- Babysitting that isn't confirmed officially.
- The day-pass crowd occasionally affecting the poolside atmosphere at busy times.
How it compares
Within Malta the choice usually comes down to the beach against the water features. The Radisson Blu Golden Sands sits right on Golden Bay with no road to cross and a kids' club from age 3, a 5-star a notch above db Seabank, but it doesn't match its all-inclusive scale and value. The db group's own sister resort, db San Antonio at Qawra, has a pirate-ship children's pool with slides and water cannons, but Qawra's coast is rocky with no sandy beach. AX ODYCY, also at Qawra, adds an aquapark and indoor soft play for rainy days, again without a sandy beach. Paradise Bay near Ċirkewwa is quieter and more self-contained, with a private beach and free kids' club and children's meals, but far less animation. db Seabank's mix of the sandy beach across the road, its huge lagoon pool, seven restaurants and a busy animation programme makes it the most-cited single all-inclusive family option on Malta.
The journey in and the best monthsGetting there and when to go
Malta International Airport is about 25 km away, which the resort puts at roughly a 35-minute drive; allow a little longer at busy times. Booking direct through db Hotels comes with a free airport shuttle, run by a third-party operator, though it isn't wheelchair accessible and there's a charge for infant and booster seats, so request it in advance. Direct booking also lets one child aged 11 or under stay free on the all-inclusive when sharing with two adults, with 10% off the best rate. A car-hire discount that used to appear on the direct-booking page has expired, so check the db Direct page for any current deal.
If you'd rather not book the shuttle, official airport taxis run on a fixed pre-paid fare from a booth in the arrivals hall; there's no single stable published figure, so check the current fare at the desk. Buses serve the road outside the resort: the X1 runs from the airport through Mellieħa to the Ċirkewwa ferry, routes 41 and 42 connect to Valletta and Ċirkewwa, while routes 221 and 222 link the bay to Buġibba, Qawra and St Paul's Bay, with buses every 5 to 10 minutes in season. A car is still worth having if you plan to explore beyond the bay. The resort has an underground garage, though whether a space comes with your booking isn't clearly stated, so check when you reserve whether parking is included or charged separately. The resort is open year-round.
Weather
Malta is small enough that the weather is much the same island-wide, so the figures below cover Mellieħa well. The warm, dry window for a beach holiday runs from about June to September, peaking at 32°C in July and August, when the middle of the day is intense for young children and mornings and late afternoons are the comfortable stretch. May and October are warmer shoulders, quieter and cheaper, but the sea is cooler and, with no outdoor pool heated, the indoor pool is the reliable warm swim. Winter is mild by UK standards and greener, though wetter, and it suits walking and days out more than the beach.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16° | 9.5° | 77 mm | 10 | 16° |
| February | 15.5° | 9° | 74 mm | 8 | 15° |
| March | 17.5° | 10° | 41 mm | 6 | 15° |
| April | 20° | 12.5° | 22 mm | 4 | 16° |
| May | 24.5° | 15.5° | 7 mm | 1 | 19° |
| June | 29° | 19.5° | 5 mm | 1 | 23° |
| July | 32° | 22° | 0 mm | 0 | 26° |
| August | 32° | 23° | 14 mm | 1 | 27° |
| September | 28.5° | 21° | 55 mm | 4 | 27° |
| October | 25° | 18° | 79 mm | 6 | 24° |
| November | 21° | 14.5° | 86 mm | 9 | 22° |
| December | 17.5° | 11° | 80 mm | 9 | 18° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
Can we book the restaurants before we arrive?
No. The db Guest Mobile App only opens restaurant booking once you have checked in, so there's no way to reserve tables from home. Install it before you travel and set aside your first afternoon to lock in the week's dinners, since a resort this size runs through its evening slots quickly.
Is there childcare for a baby or toddler?
The kids' club starts at 4, so there's no structured care for under-4s and you'll be hands-on with the little ones. Babysitting is mentioned by guests but isn't confirmed on the official site, so email the resort to check availability and cost before you count on an evening out.
Will there be a cot and a high chair?
Ask when you book rather than assuming. The resort doesn't publish its baby kit, so confirm a cot and check what else is available before you travel. There's no baby menu, so pack enough specialist food and formula for a young baby.
Is parking included?
There's an underground garage at the resort, but whether a space is bundled into your package or paid on top isn't spelled out. Ask your operator or the resort to confirm the arrangement when you book, which matters most if you're hiring a car for day trips.
Are the pools heated?
Only the indoor pool at Pearl Spas, which is open to every staying guest rather than just those booked in for treatments. None of the outdoor pools have heating, so for a spring or autumn trip plan your warm-water swims around the indoor one.
Is All-Inclusive Plus worth it with young children?
It's an upgrade for guests aged 12 and over, so it adds nothing for a younger child. It pays off if you'll use the adults-only Plus Lounge, the branded spirits and Salia's full à la carte; otherwise the standard all-inclusive already covers the meals and drinks a family with little ones will mostly use.
What does booking direct get us?
One child aged 11 or under stays free on the all-inclusive when sharing with two adults, 10% off the best rate and a free airport shuttle. A car-hire discount that used to appear on the direct-booking page has expired, so check the db Direct page for any current deal.
See more db Seabank photos
Open the db Seabank photo gallery →Useful links
- db Seabank Resort + Spa: the resort's own site for rooms, the all-inclusive and the children's facilities.
- GOV.UK Malta travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Malta with little ones: our guide to the island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 13 July 2026.
