Stay in a typical Tokyo or Las Vegas hotel and you get everything that you can imagine. The Tokyo hotel might have artificial flowers spewing perfume in your bathroom and its Las Vegas counterpart might offer you a red heart-shaped Jacuzzi of your own. Then go to a decent inn in Tuscany and you will get the most basic of comforts but the most excellent food and service that you have ever experienced. Recently, while staying in such a Tuscan hotel, a well known Italian chef told me that the secret is not adding more ingredients to a dish, but taking away ingredients so that the basic ingredients which must be of excellent quality, can be appreciated. Think about it. Some of the most complex dishes are those of Indian cuisine. But why is this so? It is because traditionally, in India, the main ingredients such as the meat would be tasteless, or worse, so the complex spices disguise the shortcomings of the main ingredients.

Ta’ Cenc Hotel in Gozo reminds me of what that Italian chef told me because it is a “basic” five-star hotel but the basic ingredients that it offers are out of this world. There is no other hotel in Malta or Gozo that can compare with Ta’ Cenc. I have been there several times and each time I am happier than the last. Usually I go in winter as I think that Gozo is at its best in the cooler and wetter months but this time I stayed at the end of summer and experienced yet another facet of this unique hotel.

The experience starts when you open the door to the reception. The door is not automatic; it is not revolving, nor is it opened by a uniformed doorman. It might even creak a little when you push it open. You enter a small lobby and set eyes on the front office manager, Rose. She is the first taste of what Ta’ Cenc is all about. With an air of unfettered calm that is contagious, she makes you feel that this place is one of relaxation, quiet and unspoiled beauty. I was led to my room by a smiling porter who carried my bag though I always feel awkward that another man carries my bag. I said “room” but the word does not really fit what the Ta’ Cenc rooms are. Lately the rooms and public areas are undergoing a two and half million euros refurbishment and upgrading programme. Each “room” is separate from all the others. You might get a trullo – which is the quaintest thing on Earth as it is a round room with panoramic views all round with its own private veranda. However all the rooms have their own private outdoor space. Many people enjoy having a verandah looking out on one of the pools so that they can literally step into the pool area from their room. However, I always prefer to have a verandah giving out onto my own private garden.

My own little secret garden this time was shaded by vines heavily pregnant with grapes and it was a joy to have breakfast delivered to my garden and enjoy it in absolute privacy. At Ta’ Cenc everyone is friendly – it even counts for the fauna as a couple of emerald green lizards (Podarcis filfolensis) soon joined me waiting for crumbs to drop onto the outdoor flagstone floor. The dappled morning sunshine, the crisp linen tablecloths, the fragrant fresh coffee, the huge hibiscus flowers (Hibiscus flor-sinensis) and the heady aroma of the sweet myrtle (Myrtus communis) makes one think that one is in some special section of paradise.

Whenever I visit Ta’ Cenc in the wetter months I spend a lot of time in its outstanding spa. The lagoon style indoor / outdoor heated pool is the most beautiful I have ever seen. One steps down into the water inside the spa but then swims out into the brisk winter air as steam rises around you. It is a great experience to be swimming when the temperature outside is 10 degrees and yet be surrounded by lush vegetation with birds singing in the background. After swimming one can get out of the water inside the spa so one is never unclothed outside the comforting warmth. Inside the spa there is a solarium, a steam room and also a Finnish sauna. Apart from this there are a huge range of treatments available. Ta’ Cenc increased the selection from my last visit but I settled for an Indian head massage with one of Ta’ Cenc’s latest acquisitions: Jolt, who is from Slovakia. This massage is intense and since having it I have stopped taking pills for a neck problem that was causing me much discomfort. The massage was so strong that for a couple of days after I still felt the glow that one gets after an intense work out in a gym. One can choose to have a male or a female perform treatments or massages and for the following day I booked a full body massage with Noel. He is of course a qualified masseur but he is also a personal trainer and very gently he suggested that he could help me out at the gym and show me the kind of exercises that would provide me with most benefit. There were also cosmetic treatments designed for men apart from the usual and some very exotic ones for women but I had to leave these for next time as there is so much to enjoy at Ta’ Cenc.

If it is a nice day one can take the hotel shuttle to the private beach known locally as Kantra. The journey itself is fascinating because one is driven through the grounds of the hotel and can appreciate the vast area covered – a Natura 2000 site – special area of conservation and a bird sanctuary. In fact the area would swallow all of Sliema with room to spare! Kantra beach is situated in what Northern Europeans would call a “fjord”. For us I would say that is a deep crack in the cliffs through which crystal clear azure sea flows in. It is completely unspoiled and yet upon arriving hotel staff was ready to provide us with deckchairs and umbrellas. Even though the beach is accessible the area was not modified and one sits in one’s deckchair in little, private nooks and crannies with enough room for two or three people… And a small table which was soon holding an ice bucket and a bottle of wine. A smiling waiter asked us if we would like to eat anything and I was astonished to see that they have a kitchen on the beach producing mouth-watering grills and salads.

The garrigue and cliffs that make part of the hotel grounds are unique in the Maltese Islands. There are dolmens, cart ruts and sheer limestone cliffs dropping into the clear Mediterranean. Watching the sunset from these cliffs is a breathtaking experience as one is immersed in the “aloneness” and feelings of being far away from anything man-made. As the sun sets the eerie cries of the Shearwaters, birds that nest in their hundreds in these cliffs, add to the magnificent atmosphere. Walking back to the hotel one brushes past a multitude of wild plants which depending on the season, regale one with the deliciously sweet smell of narcissus, the invigorating fragrant oil of the wild thyme or the pleasant and mysterious perfume of the caper flowers. No wonder, the owners are planning to enhance and protect this one million square meters of land with the creation of a Heritage Park to be enjoyed by everybody. With minimal intervention and no ugly “development” visitors will be able to appreciate more what they are surrounded by.

After watching the sun set and walking for an hour or so on the Ta’ Cenc Plateau, one is ready for dinner. There are several good restaurants in Gozo but when staying at Ta’ Cenc one really does not need to venture out. The daily four-course dinner menu with various choices is priced at around €28 and it is available to residents and non residents. Dining under the centuries old Carob tree with its musky smell and its gnarled trunk is very romantic and the atmosphere is abetted by the gentle serenades of the live musicians who thankfully do not compete with one’s conversation but provide delightful background music. Dining there on three consecutive nights I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a different band each night. It is needless to comment on the quality of the food even in the set menu so instead I will talk about how a good restaurant manager deals with “situations”. On my third night I had an outstanding starter consisting of a half lobster tossed with spaghetti and I chose a vegetarian main course, which was an Eggplant tart. When this arrived and I had eaten half of it I started thinking that it was not so different from the parmeggiana that I had had the day before. I called the food and beverage manager, Chris, with his Hollywood good looks and upon seeing that I was not completely satisfied he immediately offered to have another main course prepared for me. He told me about some other items that he could prepare for me “in a jiffy”. I told him that it was not really a big problem and that what I was eating was excellent – only that it was similar to what I had eaten the previous night – but he insisted and really “in a jiffy” he was back with a completely different vegetarian dish. But this was not all. He did not arrive with one dish but two! The other dish was for my companion. “You cannot eat while the other diner just waits,” was the simple explanation. I must stress that this was not a one off example of the restaurant manager’s affability. On a previous visit I was at the hotel bar at night sipping a brandy after a huge meal with a friend. This same restaurant manager was doubling up as the barman as it was winter time and there were very few people. “Would you like something sweet with that brandy?” he suddenly suggested. Without waiting for an answer he disappeared and came back with two slices of luscious chocolate and fresh cream pie. Thinking back I suppose that since it was a Sunday night the hotel had some desserts left which would not keep for another weekend so they took the initiative to offer us a complimentary treat. It was a win-win situation.

This is what makes the Ta’ Cenc stand out from all the rest. It is unique in many ways but it also has staff that takes the initiative and goes out of their way to give the guest more than they expect!