Grand Hotel Excelsior

Been staying here for 15 years , sometimes twice a year! Excellent facilities and the most friendliest and helpful staff. Special mention to Janette in guest relations , always accommodating with our requests! Heathcliff, concierge , knows everything including our names. Paul and Marita in the breakfast restaurant lovely people. And they are all local Maltese as well. Great location within walking distance to Valletta which is always vibrant with bars and restaurants. There again in November. About time I did a review ….Treat yourself and book

I'm trying to be objective here, so first the good points: rooms are spacious and the hotel is nicely situated in a bay near the old town. (Be aware that you need to take a +80 steps staircase to leave the premises) Unfortunately that's about it for the good points. The hotel is old and absolutely doesn't fit in a 5-star category. (It's more like a 3-star+). Breakfast is horrible, nothing has taste, the atmosphere is terrible and the room is frezzing cold. Drinks are served in plastic throw-away cups in the downstairs bar. The bed is hard and the cleaners have a hard time keeping the room in good shape. Though the staff is very friendly, most are not well trained and some are actually incompetent. The hotel is popular among elderly people who don't seem to complain. Personally, i was happy to leave.

This is our third visit and what an incredible place, perfect location and every one of the staff, who are amazingly friendly and helpful makes it a pleasure to visit. It is totally unfair to pick out individuals but there are 4 that did go above and beyond the call of duty during our stay: Firstly Janette for organising our return, she made it feel like coming home. Next is Fera who always brings a ray of sunshine to breakfast and welcomes us back like long lost family. Of course we have to thank Josephine from housekeeping for keeping our room so clean and tidy and for her friendly greeting, even when we saw her away from the hotel. And finally Sangita at the pool, who got to know our order so well and was always smiling. And if proof were needed that this place is exceptional, we are already planning to return again next year.

Although the hotel could do with a little modernising and the rooms also .we had a fantastic stay ,staff on the whole were excellent ,our room was spacious massive comfortable bed liked the fridge for our pre meal drinks etc ,the balcony was like a terrace over looking the pool and the harbour ,fantastic to wake up to every day .the breakfast we found to be wonderful even had real weetabix ,and the sausages although small tasted lovely the rolled omelette was a new thing on me but was my favoured food of the entire holiday .going into town they put on a free shuttle service and taxis are quick and quite cheap through bolt . Jordon on the door is a great help ask him for anything he will sort it . Drinks in the bar were a bit pricey but every thing else was great ,will go back . And Valletta is a great destination .

I will begin with, this is a lovely hotel. Location, public areas, staff - all very good. It's just not 5 stars. Having visited Malta more times than I can mention, it is a very top end hotel - for Malta. Just not what you would class as 5 star elsewhere. We stayed for 12 nights in a terrace room on their 9th floor. The room was beautiful and spacious. But a lack of charging points and my constant worry that I would leave marks on the mahogany furniture let it down. The bathroom, while well equipped with both bath and separate shower - was tired and in need of a face-lift. It was my husbands birthday while we were there, and I had emailed the hotel prior. They confirmed they would mark the occasion AND in addition that they'd leave some complimentary items in our room. There were no complimentary items ever added for the duration of our stay, and for his birthday, someone came in and abruptly dropped off a bottle of wine. We always travel during either mine or my husbands birthday and have had room decorations, maybe a cake, a banner on the door.... I did manage to speak to our housekeeper Josephine (who by the way was amazing and would cheer you right up with her smile) and she made some lovely towel decorations for him, which was really lovely of her. I didn't go pester reception about missing 'freebies' as such, but I would say dont offer if you cant deliver as it leaves you feeling a little disappointed. I did email the hotel once I arrived home just to offer feedback, but they never responded. We stayed bed and breakfast, which was great. Food was lovely and hot, lots to choose from - really good. The pool areas were good also - however the floor/tiles around the pool were loose in places and it looked in places, a little tired. The food at the pool bar was lovely, a little pricey but very lovely. The tiki bar is beautiful, such a gorgeous place to have a pre dinner drink. Getting drinks outside though on an evening in plastic cups is not something I'd expect from a 5 star hotel. That's just another aspect that lets it down. The shuttle service up to valletta was brilliant - and charlie one of the drivers, a lovely man indeed! Service at the main indoor bar however could be a little hit and miss. Lacked atmosphere and the bartenders were not the happiest I've encountered.... All in all, however, it's a great hotel. Located in great proximity to Valletta, buses to take you all over the island, mostly really good staff and clean large rooms. It's just not the 5 star you would expect in other countries.