Case study
The Griffin
The Griffin is the restaurant at Verdala Wellness Hotel in Rabat, Malta, an AX Hotels property, serving seasonal Mediterranean food with al fresco dining on its terrace. M7Alpha designed and built The Griffin's section of the AX Hotels website, covering its story, menus, gallery, table requests, contact details and opening hours.
The project
The Griffin is the restaurant at Verdala Wellness Hotel in Rabat, Malta, one of the AX Hotels properties. M7Alpha designed and built The Griffin’s pages, which sit inside the AX Hotels website as part of the Verdala Wellness section rather than as a separate site. This case study looks at what those pages contain and why a hotel restaurant can work well as a section of its hotel group’s website.
Why does The Griffin live inside the AX Hotels website?
Because most of the people looking for The Griffin are also looking at Verdala Wellness Hotel, and keeping them on one website keeps their journey simple.
The restaurant’s address on the site follows the same logic as the hotel itself: AX Hotels, then Verdala Wellness, then Rabat restaurants, then The Griffin. A hotel guest browsing Verdala finds the restaurant within the hotel’s own section, and someone searching for a restaurant in Rabat lands on a page that also shows them the hotel around it. It also means the restaurant shares the group’s navigation and contact routes, while still having pages of its own.
What does a diner see on The Griffin’s pages?
Everything a diner needs to decide and book, in the order they usually need it.
| Section | The diner’s question it answers |
|---|---|
| The Griffin’s Tale | What kind of restaurant is this, and what is its story? |
| Our menus | What will I eat, and what does it cost? |
| Gallery | What does the restaurant and the terrace look like? |
| Book a table request | How do I reserve? |
| Contact and opening hours | Where is it, how do I reach the team, and when is it open? |
The story section explains that The Griffin was once a well-loved tea room and is now a brasserie focused on refined, nature-inspired cooking, with al fresco dining on a terrace with views. It sets the mood before a diner opens the menu.
How are the menus presented for people deciding where to eat?
The full menu is laid out on the page by course, with a short description and price for every dish.
Dishes are grouped into starters, pasta and risotto, mains, dishes to share and sides, with desserts, ice cream and a cheese plate to finish. Pasta dishes show both a starter and a main price, and the larger dishes to share say clearly that they are for a minimum of two. Local and seasonal produce is named where it matters, such as stuffed local zucchini flowers or seared local tuna, which reflects the restaurant’s focus on seasonality.
Showing the real menu with prices, rather than a short sample, answers the two questions that stop most people from booking: will I like the food, and will it fit my budget?
How does a guest request a table?
Through a book a table request on the restaurant’s own page, next to the contact details and opening hours.
The booking area also notes that the restaurant is adults-only, which saves families from planning a visit that would not suit them. Below it, the contact section gives the hotel’s address in Rabat, a phone number, an email link and the breakfast and dinner hours, so a diner has everything in one place.
What can other hotel restaurants learn from The Griffin?
A hotel restaurant does not always need its own website, but it does need its own complete pages. Three points stand out:
- Place the restaurant inside the hotel’s site structure, so guests and searchers find both together.
- Publish the full menu with prices on the page, in text, not only as a downloadable file.
- Put booking, contact details, opening hours and house rules such as adults-only in one easy-to-find block.
Menus and opening hours written as plain text on a page are also easier for search engines and AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity to read and quote when someone asks where to eat in Rabat.
How M7Alpha helps hotel restaurants and dining brands
M7Alpha designs and builds websites and website sections for hotels, restaurants and bars in Malta, with our whole team in-house. If your restaurant needs pages that help diners decide and book, see our web design and development service or get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
Who designed The Griffin's website pages?
M7Alpha Creative Studios, a web design, development and branding agency in Żurrieq, Malta, designed and built The Griffin’s pages. They form the restaurant’s section within the AX Hotels website, under Verdala Wellness Hotel.
Where is The Griffin restaurant?
The Griffin is at the Verdala Wellness Hotel, Triq ir-Rghajja, Rabat, Malta. It serves seasonal Mediterranean food, with al fresco dining on its terrace, and is adults-only.
Should a hotel restaurant have its own website?
Not always. If most diners are hotel guests or find the restaurant through the hotel, a full section within the hotel website, with its own menus, gallery, booking and contact details, keeps things simple. A separate site makes more sense when the restaurant has a strong independent brand and audience.
Should restaurants publish prices on their website?
In most cases, yes. A menu with descriptions and prices helps diners decide before they book and reduces questions to staff. Publishing it as text on the page, rather than only as a PDF, also makes it easier for search engines and AI assistants to read.
