Grand Hotel Excelsior

Pros - good location and clean hotel. Modern pool area and beach area overlooking the harbour. Cons - underwhelming check in - had to queue, only 2 positions open out of 4 and nobody available to help when asked. Efficient when finally got to front but no questioning, how was your journey and how was your stay at checkout. Chaotic breakfast room, two maitre d’s waving to each other telling you where to sit. staff seem untrained, didn’t know how much a cappuccino was when asked and didn’t come back. No coffee machines , coffee served in a flask to your table any other type of coffee extra. Orange juice is sugared squash, undrinkable, Same breakfast food each day at buffet. Okay but not amazing. 3 bottles of water left in room daily then we saw the tiny notice underneath the bottle saying 2 are complimentary per day but a 2 euro charge if you use the 3rd - how nice! Charge you 5 euros if you lose room card - such consideration for their guests! Pre authorised 150 euros on arrival for hotel spending -why? Pool towels - have to give room number to get them and then same process when hand back. Kept the staff member in a job all day! Room dated and old fashioned. 2 bins in bathroom one put over drain cover to hide the odour. Garden view is not garden but front of the hotel where coaches etc drop off & the road behind this. There is a flower bed but not a garden as we know it. Evening turn down service hit and miss, got one small chocolate or two if very lucky! Overall enjoyed our stay but the pettiness on focusing on trivial details needs addressing by management. You are supposed to be 5* please up your game.

We stayed for a week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The hotel is elegant and comfortable, the staff were very welcoming and helpful. Our room overlooked the pool and was very comfortable, the balcony only got sun first thing in the morning due to the north facing aspect but plenty of sun by the pool. The walk into Valletta is ten minutes and uphill but we did not use the shuttle bus. We ate dinner in the hotel a few times and also recommend Anglo Maltese restaurant in town. Apparently the hotel will be closed next year for refurbishment but it seems a shame as the character will change; we like it as it is! No negatives from us except for the constant base music by the pool, very irritating so we sat as far away from it as possible. Why not play some relaxing classical music instead?

We stayed at the Hotel Grand Excelsior Malta recently and unfortunately came away feeling rather disappointed overall, although there were certainly some positives. On arrival we were met by a very friendly driver who helped with our luggage and made an excellent first impression. Check-in staff were also welcoming and efficient. Sadly, the initial room was extremely tired and worn, particularly the bathroom. The floor was stained and cracked, the shower was grimy with black marks and generally unpleasant, and the toilet seat was clearly the wrong size for the toilet. The room and wardrobe also smelt slightly damp. To the hotel’s credit, Guest Relations did respond positively and moved us to a larger room with a spacious terrace. However, this room still had issues. One of the two sun loungers was broken and despite reporting it nothing was done during our stay. There were also no table and chairs on the terrace despite adjoining terraces having combinations of both, which made the space feel underused and incomplete. The air conditioning was ineffective and after around an hour would simply start blowing warm air. Again, the bathroom felt tired and grubby rather than properly maintained. Breakfast was extensive and reasonably well organised with no major delays being seated. Staff throughout the hotel were a mixed experience — some were excellent and very efficient, while others appeared uninterested and service in general was often quite slow. The courtesy shuttle bus was helpful if you did not want to navigate the steps and dangerous road crossing on the walk from the hotel. However, it only runs three times an hour and operates on a first come, first served basis which can be inconvenient at busy times. The real standout during our stay was the transportation team. We booked a tour and our driver, Valentine, was absolutely fantastic — friendly, informative and never rushing us. He dropped us directly at the sights, parked nearby and allowed us to enjoy the day without feeling under time pressure. Easily one of the highlights of the trip. We understand the hotel is due to be renovated next season and, based on our experience, that renovation cannot come soon enough. At present this hotel feels far below what its star rating and photographs suggest. Whilst there were some good staff and positive aspects to the stay, we would not choose to stay here again whilst the hotel remains in its current condition.

We stayed for 3 nights and had a wonderful time. The hotel is in a great location and we loved the view from our window over the harbour - we brought binoculars and enjoyed watching all the boats. Our room was huge and very clean with everything we needed. The hotel was so thoughtful and left wine and birthday cake as I had mentioned it was my birthday on booking. All staff were friendly and helpful, there are a lot of them too so the level of service is very good. We loved the pool area and balanced being there with enjoying Valletta. The little beach area is very nice too. Waiter service from the bar made time there even more relaxed. Breakfast was good although the juices should be upgraded. Very good Maltese yogurts! We want to return after the refurbishment as this hotel is just perfect for a stay in Valletta. We would recommend it to anyone.

The hotel is slightly old fashioned in that some of the furniture is heavy, but overall everything was very comfortable and well run. We had a really good room that was a good size, kept really clean with a comfortable bed. The bathroom was also good size with a separate bath and shower. Again it was kept immaculate by housekeeping. I would praise our chamber maid Josephine, who noticed our wedding anniversary cards and made a fuss of us and scattered rose petals on the bed together a lovely message. The food in the hotel is good and in price more than comparable with outside restaurants. Overall we really enjoyed our stay at the Grand Excelsior. All the staff were attentive and did their very best to ensure good service and a happy ambiance.