Grand Hotel Excelsior

I'm probably in this hotel for the fifth time. I have always enjoyed my stay but not this time. My wife and I decided to rent a room facing the hotel entrance and parking.And that was a mistake.Due to the terrible noise coming from the broken metal grate at the exit, it is impossible to open the balcony door at night. The noise is terrible and doesn't let you sleep.The hotel shows no intention to improve the situation and a simple replacement of the damaged metal grille would be enough. This is the penalty for renting a cheaper room

My experience as a frequent traveller is that this is one of the worst examples of a 5* hotel (at best 3*) - check in was so slow took 25 mins and there was only 3 people before me. - I booked a king room, got two single beds (room 406) not told at time of check in and only staying one night so could not be bothered with complaining. - Room very dated, no sockets near bed, shower hose was broken, hairdryer was a small travel one that folds and wires were exposed and handle broken. - 2 of the 3 lifts not working when I arrived, they were working later. As I said this is not a 5 star hotel and has some maintenance problems. It also was one of the most expensive on my Christmas trip, there are many cheaper more modern options nearby.

Given the mixed reviews of past guests, our expectations were not high for this hotel. However, we have just returned from a very pleasant 7 night stay and I am happy to be able to leave a positive review. Checking in was very efficient with a very helpful and chatty member of staff - she also did the check out a week later. Our room on the ground floor had a nice view over the pool area and was spacious and clean. The beds were very comfortable and the fridge was very useful for storing milk for morning tea. Breakfasts were just OK but I was glad to find that the coffee has been upgraded to a very strong brew, unlike the weak stuff some of the previous reviewers reported. Fruit was good but some of the cooked ingredients were of low quality. The Turkish style items and salads were good, however. We ate only one other meal in the hotel, a reasonable sandwich in the bar. Drinks and service in the bar were fine. The location of the hotel is excellent and the 88 shallow steps up to the town gate were never an issue. The bus station is close, and it is less than 30 mins walk from St Elmo fort and the Gozo fast ferry terminal. Overall, I would have to agree that the hotel needs refurbishment and I can imagine that staff could be overwhelmed at really busy times. However, I would be happy to stay here again.

We booked to stay 4 nights based on the 5 star rating and seemingly good reviews and checked out after one night Reception is like something from 1980’s bedrooms are dreadful patterned wrinkled carpets from 80’s ikea chipboard furniture the bed linen was poor quality with cheap satin like bedspreads. Pool area is concrete grey and a wasteland , dire and depressing and breakfast was the worst I’ve ever had . Chaotic , low quality food , sullen staff and a general feeling of it being low grade and poor quality - no fresh orange juice just cheap orange concentrate, disgusting cheap food badly presented Drain smell at front of hotel and reception supervisor is so passive aggressive. Icing on the cake was being given a towel card which we had to pass to pool staff to be in receipt of a towel! If said towel card was lost there is a 15 euros charge ! Really? Not a 5 star hotel can only assume that those people who leave good reviews are on the payroll!

This is the second time we have stayed at this hotel and it is still excellent, we had a sea view room which was huge, the staff who looked after the rooms were lovely and very accommodating there is even a turn-down service if you wanted one. The breakfasts are vast and room service food is very reasonable. It was my birthday whilst we were away and guest services left me some delicious cake and a bottle of wine which was a lovely touch. Furthermore, as the hotel is up a steep slope to Valletta, a shuttle went every 20 mins to the city which was brilliant. I would recommend this hotel.