Naomie Harris visited Malta recently, and wrote this account of her trip for the Daily Mail in the UK:
It was the ultimate girlie weekend – three days of spa heaven, with best friends Anna and Georgina, spent in an unbelievably beautiful place. I met Anna in rather bizarre circumstances seven years ago when I first went to Hollywood to film Pirates Of The Caribbean, in which I played voodoo priestess Tia Dalma.
I was dropped off at The Plaza, a fabulous apartment block close to Sunset Boulevard where all the British actors stay when they come to Hollywood. Usually when you arrive for a filming job there’s someone to welcome you, show you around and explain how things work, but because I’d arrived so late there was nobody. Nor did I have any food and since I was filming the next morning I thought I ought to go out to get some.
So there I was, wandering the streets of Los Angeles in the dead of night looking to buy a pint of milk and a loaf of bread. I later discovered-that in LA people don’t go out walking, particularly after dark but, amazingly, I bumped into another crazy person. It was Anna Leigh.
I asked her if she knew where I could buy food in the area, but instead of directing me to the nearest grocery store she invited me to join her at a restaurant where she was going to eat with a friend. It turned out that Anna was a development producer staying in the same apartment block. We became firm friends and have remained so ever since – she came to Florida to stay with me, for example, when I was filming there.
It was Anna who organised our mini-break to Malta with her best friend Georgina Miles who I’d met at Anna’s wedding last year – it’s all a bit Sex And The City, isn’t it?
The purpose of the Malta trip was to celebrate Georgina’s engagement. Anna chose Malta because she had been holidaying on the island since she was a child – always returning to the Fortina Spa Resort (her father still stays there regularly). She loves the place so much she wanted Georgina and me to experience it for ourselves. So she went off and organised the whole trip.
I’d never been to Malta before but I’d heard a lot about it, particularly from fellow actors as a number of movies – Gladiator, Troy and Clash Of The Titans, for example – have been shot there in recent years. Certainly I can see why movie-makers use the place so much. In many places it has the look of a film set – you feel as if you are stepping back in time.
I was also surprised by how much remains of the British rule; you’ll see the classic red telephone and post boxes along with British shops such as Marks & Spencer, BHS and Next.
The Maltese are proud of their British heritage. It was nice to be in a place where people openly love the British so much. The islanders are incredibly welcoming, really very nice people.
Malta is a place where you always feel totally safe walking around. As three girls on our own we never felt threatened in any way. It’s a place which really comes alive after dark – at midnight everyone is ready to go clubbing. And, in the Mediterranean way, people love dressing up to promenade around town in the evening. I love that. At the Fortina I was lucky enough to stay in one of the top spa rooms. I’ve never seen a hotel room like it. It was mind-blowing, full of all sorts of spa equipment.
What I don’t normally like about spas is all the rigmarole you get at the reception, all the awkward chitchat and the endless hanging around to fill in forms. We had none of that – we had our own spa right there in my bedroom. You’ve heard of do-it-yourself? This was S-I-Y – spa-it-yourself.
My favourite piece of spa equipment was what I called ‘The Pod’. It was a piece of science-fiction-style technology that looked as if it had come straight from the movie Barbarella. You covered yourself in a clay-like gel, got into the The Pod with your head sticking out of the top, where it was fanned by cooling breezes while your body steamed inside the machine. Then the whole thing started vibrating. It sounds bizarre but was actually incredibly relaxing.
I also sampled one of the hotel’s new spa rooms at the top of the hotel which had lots of modern touches: a magnetic bed, a Power Plate machine and an air purification system.
We girls just loved it. We whiled away wonderful hours in my bedroom spa: someone would be in The Pod, someone else would be in my shower, which turned into a steam room and a third person would be relaxing in one of the two Jacuzzis. Utter bliss.
The Fortina is really into the whole health and beauty thing; it even has its own dental surgery and plastic surgery departments.
We didn’t need to leave the hotel to eat since it offered no fewer than eight restaurants (each part of our all-inclusive package) serving a different style of cuisine: Mediterranean, Indian, Thai, Chinese. Georgina loves sushi so had to have her daily fix every lunchtime and we joined her.
Most of our time was spent either eating or relaxing in the spas so I’m afraid sightseeing took a bit of a back seat.
However, we did visit the old walled city of Mdina in the centre of Malta. If, like us, you’re only on the island for a few days then this is the must-see place to visit - wonderful historic buildings and quiet cobbled streets circled by ancient walls from which you can enjoy fabulous views of the whole island. Come here at night when they light the streets with lanterns and people wander around dressed in costumes At the end of three days we felt refreshed and renewed and agreed that we will definitely return. To read the full article and see the photographs click through to the article at the Daily Mail here
For Malta hotels visit yourmalta.com
