Grand Hotel Excelsior

I stayed for five nights in a superior partial sea view room on the 7th floor, which had a lovely view from the balcony. The room was large and I liked the separate bath and shower, but it was all a bit tired. Poor tv channels and disappointed to be given a twin when I had requested a double. It was very clean though and the housekeeping staff were excellent - loved the turndown service with a chocolate! Room service was quick and good; I ate dinner in Admiral’s Landing and the food was good but felt a little overpriced for the offering. Breakfast was reasonable - great to have eggs cooked to order, good selection of cheese, meats, salmon, breads. The orange juice was more like orange squash though, and overall the breakfast wasn’t comparable to what I’ve had in other five star hotels. Service in the bar was very hit and miss - sometimes quick, sometimes very slow, and the food choice in the bar was very limited (particularly for one, as most of the options were platters for two). My overall impression across the week is that the hotel isn’t interested in solo travellers. While there were some lovely staff in the two restaurants (Maria and Daniela in Admiral’s Landing, and a lovely young guy with glasses at breakfast whose name I didn’t get) in both restaurants it was hard to get a decent table as a solo diner. The window tables in both are all for four so therefore kept for couples or groups, and on several mornings at breakfast a male manager was helping couples to find tables while ignoring me. I was either pointed towards a dark corner or left to find my own table. At dinner, despite booking, I was told I could have only a middle table and was repeatedly asked if I was dining alone; and then ignored while two tables of couples who’d arrived after me were served. While I have no problem travelling and dining alone, it seemed that the hotel doesn’t agree, so while I’d love to visit Malta again I’d likely stay somewhere more welcoming.

This is a very large hotel, convenient for Valetta but be aware that getting up into town is either up a long series of steps ( or slope) to a busy road which you need to cross without a crossing - we managed it fine - and there is a minibus which operates regularly I believe but we didnt use it. Overall it is about 10 minutes walk to town or the main bus station. We were very pleasantly surprised by the hotel, our room was huge and well appointed with a great view of the sea ( it was a side sea view) the housekeeping standards are high - we had both a bath and a separate shower in our room. We had breakfast which was extensive - but get there before 8am to avoid the rush. We ate there for dinner once which was fine, bar prices were reasonable. I used the indoor pool which was lovely, warm and with towels provided - opens extensive hours too which is handy.

I’m very disappointed with my experience. I had a booking at this property which I was unfortunately unable to use due to a genuine medical issue, for which I provided supporting documentation. Despite this, the hotel refused to offer any flexibility beyond a very limited credit period that was not realistically usable in my situation. I fully understand that policies exist, however, I was surprised by the complete lack of consideration or goodwill, especially given the circumstances and the fact that I was still willing to rebook for a future date. Working in hospitality myself, I know that many hotels are able to show a degree of flexibility in exceptional cases. Sadly, this was not the case here. While the property may be fine, the customer service and handling of this situation were disappointing and left a negative impression.

First impressions not very good. The outside of the building is very dirty. Inside was very luxurious looking but closer inspection dirty. They need to spend an awful lot of money refurbing this hotel to class it as 5*. When booking in they take €150 from your card in case you charge anything to your room but when booking out does not go back on you card for at least 7 working days which I think is disgusting.Staff are lovely. Food…not much of a selection on the menus in the restaurant and quite expensive. The rooms are dark and dingy and again walls dirty. The beds? It was like sleeping on a brick. Inside pool lovely but was too cold to go in outside pool. I personally would not go back there. Overall very disappointed

A large very grand hotel well located near the centre of Valletta, the hotel was very clean and the staff were polite and friendly. The amenities are very good and breakfast included something for everyone and was well presented. Our room was large with a partial sea view but could honestly do with a refurbish. The mattress was extremely uncomfortable and I didn’t get a good nights sleep during our visit. The bathroom again was large but nothing worked properly. The sink plug didn’t work and the toilet wouldn’t flush properly. The shower over the bath really took some work to get to a usable temperature and there were cracked tiles on the floor. We also had the sound of running water coming from the bathroom that also contributed to the lack of a good night’s sleep. The air conditioning made a lot of noise but didn’t work so we switched it off. Summary: this hotel could be special if the bedrooms were upgraded.