Grand Hotel Excelsior

We chose the hotel simply because of the large pool and it's location on the edge of town and those are its only strengths. This hotel is large and desperately in need of renovation. It looks and feels like a hotel from the 1980s. It undoubtedly is 5-star because of its facilities, but it isn't 5-star in terms of the rooms, the food or the service. The staff do try their best, but they are understaffed and not helped by the systems they operate under. When we checked in having arrived on an early morning flight, we had to queue for over twenty minutes before we could even speak to a receptionist. They were very stressed as they said they had a large group checking out. We knew that we were earlier than the official check in time, so they were unable to properly check us in. They said that they would phone me when the room was available. After the official check in time I went back to reception and asked if our room was available. They said that it was. They took a 150 Euro deposit for any expenditure at the hotel, which is unusual, though I had heard earlier one member of staff saying to the receptionist that a guest had left without paying. When we went to the room, we found it was twin beds, while we had specifically requested a double bed. The receptionist said that this was because booking.com hadn't passed that onto them. We requested a room with a double bed and they said that they were full, but they could make the bed up as a double. What they meant by that, as we found out was that all they did was push the two beds next to each other, not make it up a double bed. The room was incredibly tired and outdated. Several of the sockets pre-date the modern socket (the UK-style socket) that Malta uses. For which they offer an adaptor. There aren't enough guest usable sockets. The water pressure in the shower was good. There is free wifi available throughout the property. There was a televsion in the room, but as it wasn't connected to either an aerial or a satellite provider, it was there purely for show. They make it clear that the water is not drinkable in the hotel and provide you with two small bottles of water per day. If you want additional water bottles the charge is 6 Euros. Given that the water is drinkable they should be providing guests with unlimited filtered water or be charging a much lower rate. There are a range of bars and dining options on offer. The Tiki restaurant by the sea provides a fairly average range of food. All bars and restaurants operate on a card only or charge to room basis. The breakfast is in keeping with how it must have been when the hotel opened and probably satisfies the customers that they are attracting. The orange juice is really squash, there is no greek yoghurt or granola. Expresso coffee is an extra charge and generally the quality of the product is poor. The rooms are kept clean and the house keeping staff are friendly. There are adequate sunbeds around the pool and no bed-bagging was seen. There is the opportunity to swim in the sea from the hotel in a designated swimming area, which is good. It is a fifteen minute walk into the centre of Valletta, which is perfectly acceptable and they do offer a shuttle service.

We returned yesterday from a wonderful 7 night stay at the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Valletta. Check-in is 3pm but we arrived early after a morning flight and staff were more than happy to assist us with cases and checking in. Everything went very smoothly for us and we were able to get on with our day until the room was ready. Staff provided us with a refreshing glass of juice upon check-in. We were pleasantly surprised by our room. We stayed in a deluxe seafront room, which had amazing views across the bay over to Silema and the harbour. The balcony was spacious and we loved sitting over there every evening at sunset. I do agree with the reviews that say the rooms are a little dated. Ours was a little dated, but it was very clean and spacious so for us it really wasn’t an issue as we spend little time inside the room anyway. We had ordered a twin room and the staff fulfilled our request with no trouble and gave us a king size bed and an additional single bed, which was great. I was travelling with mum and gave her the king size bed. Both beds were comfortable and I loved the pillows. We also loved the shower. The fact it was walk-in was a bonus for mum and it was a rainfall shower with lots of power so it was always a refreshing experience. The hotel also provided dressing gowns, slippers and toiletries. We did have some slight issues, for example a broken lamp, which I won’t mark the hotel down for as it had no bearing on our holiday whatsoever. We spoke to reception who apologised and sent someone straight away to fix it so it really wasn’t a big deal. We like eating out at restaurants, which Valletta has many to choose from, so we only booked bed and breakfast. The breakfast we loved. We really enjoyed the freshly cooked eggs from the cook. There was plenty of choice of meats, cooked food, fruits and other foods. I can’t comment on the evening dining as we didn’t eat there. I did, however, order the beef burger one afternoon from the pool bar, which was delicious! Location wise, this is in a perfect position to visit Valletta. Just a short walk from the city entrance and a few minutes walk in the opposite direction to the ferry port over to Silema, which we did a couple of times. I would advise caution to anyone who struggles with hills and steps. There are many steps up to the road from the hotel or you can choose to walk up the slope, however, if anyone has mobility issues I would advise them to use the hotel’s free shuttle bus up to Valletta, as it runs every 20 minutes, rather than climb the steps or slope. We made use of the pool area and private beach. Well, being Malta, it isn’t really a proper beach, but it is a nice little area with steps down into the sea and sun beds. The pool was large and perfect for a cool down after a day of exploring the island. I will advise people to be careful on entering the pool from the shallow end as the tiles can be a bit slippery. We also made use of the heated indoor pool and jacuzzi. The jacuzzi could be warmer but on our visit the outside temperature was into the thirties so it wasn’t a problem. The outside pool area is fantastic and we loved our evening drinks there. Overall, we had a fantastic stay in an excellent location. The staff went above and beyond with our requests and were quick to rectify any issues. I did hear that this hotel will be modernising the rooms, but I personally enjoyed it here and would love to stay here again. I would also book the seafront rooms as the views across the harbour are stunning. This was my first trip to Malta and we loved it. Valletta is such a unique and interesting place. Overall, a fantastic first experience in Malta.

Mixed Experience: Great Amenities, but major service and billing issues** **The Good:** This is a great spot with a nice pool and a cute little beach. The rooms are spacious, clean, and feature a great shower and a balcony. If your children are happy just spending time by the pool, the amenities are perfectly fine. **The Bad:** * **Arrival & Staffing:** Our experience started on a low note when the airport taxi we booked through the hotel failed to show up. Because of the delay, we arrived very late. Throughout our stay, the staff seemed consistently overworked. For example, during breakfast (which had a decent selection but was just "okay"), staff members were actively packing up and preparing to clean before the breakfast hours had even ended. * **Dining:** We ate dinner at the hotel twice. The first night in the main restaurant was mediocre with very little atmosphere. The second night at the self-service buffet was a disaster—the food actually turned my stomach, and the burger bun my daughter ordered was burnt completely black. We ended up walking out. At €42 per head, it was outrageous. I was promised a call from the manager regarding this, but never received one. **The Ugly (Check-out Disaster):** Check-out was incredibly frustrating due to billing discrepancies regarding room charges (taxi, tea/coffee, etc.). * When I went to clear the bill in the morning, reception refused to walk over to the taxi desk to resolve a mistake, forcing me to do it myself. * Even after the taxi desk promised to fix it, the bill was *still* wrong when we officially checked out. * Reception made me walk back to the taxi desk a second time, after which I had to wait in a long queue all over again. * To make matters worse, the receptionist then claimed the bill was correct and had actually *added* another charge. It wasn't until my partner demanded to speak with the manager that the issue was finally rectified. Final Verdict** **FYI: Check your bill closely because mistakes are definitely made here!** Aside from the pool, this property is not particularly family-oriented. I would not return.

This hotel is in an excellent location for exploring Valletta old town . Although an extremely large hotel we had a lovely room which was very quiet and had a sea view . It was slightly dated but extremely clean and housekeeping did service it twice a day . Breakfast was excellent as were the breakfast staff . The shuttle taxi to the top of the hill was the only disappointment for a one minute ride it’s quicker walking as one evening it we waited and the driver didn’t show after 10 mins . Would recommend staying at this hotel .

We stayed here a week ago. The exterior of the hotel does not do the rest of it justice. We had a room on tne 3rd floor, no noise from other guests, however there were functions outside on 2 nights which were noisier, although finished around 10.30pm. We stayed B & B, we found the breakfast selection excellent, with plenty of choice and excellent service. The shuttle bus was a great way of avoiding the steps or the hill up to the town, although I think we missed it more times than we caught it! The rooms were a good size, comfortable and clean. The evening turn down service tidied the room and refreshed supplies. Overall, a very enjoyable stay.