Grand Hotel Excelsior

The location was perfect as well as the amenities unfortunately service in restaurants was lacking. Staff was friendly enough but not very attentive. I had to hunt them down for coffee in the morning which tastes like it was brewed the day before. I ended up buying coffee and bringing it with me. Breakfast buffet was not very good. Ordered a bottle of wine with dinner and the wait staff just left it on the table. I’m had to ask for red wine glasses. I was surprised because most of the reviews I had read were from people that stayed there multiple times. Room was ok but had a funky smell when we walked in.

The Grand Hotel Excelsior is like staying at a resort. It gives an Old World impression with its furnishings and appointments and service by its staff, a resort feeling with its spacious pool and surroundings including bars and restaurants. We were delighfully surprised by the spaciousness of our outside balcony, overlooking the harbor.

This is the fourth time we have stayed at this hotel which we obviously enjoy but I have to say it’s our worst stay. I have rated my review 4 stars because of previous visits. First we had to move rooms because of rain coming through the ceiling onto the bed and floor. This was disappointing because we preferred this room to the one moved to. It would been nice to have had the inconvenience acknowledged. Maybe that will show up on our bill! The service in the restaurant has been less good this year. I cleaned my owned table today and set it after asking politely and it didn’t happen. We asked 3 servers for coffee and I ended up going to the serving point to pick one up, along with the milk. Yesterday I asked a server staking yogurts for some fruit/cereal bowls. He carried on with what he was doing and left me standing there for 5 minutes. I asked again and eventually went to pick up a few bowls. He said it wasn’t his job. Feeling sad about experience.

The hotel was lovely, however badly needs updating (The hotel is closing next February for about 18 months for maintenance and upgrades). On arrival, there were some issues with the room which were rectified very quickly. The staff were super friendly, polite and professional. Breakfast: Although plentiful with a mix of cooked food, continental and cold buffet, the hot selection was only warm. Location: Close to center of Valetta with a short walk up the hill. However, there is transport provided by the hotel to take you there if needed. Amenities: There is an outside pool with some bars at the poolside serving food and drinks. There is also an indoor pool, Spa and gym. Overall, our stay was very good and we had a fantastic time. I would recommend this hotel but personally I think one week wasn't enough.

Hotel was very clean and tidy, rooms spacious and clean, very poor view of a stone wall from the room balcony (superior twin rooms), extremely pleasant and helpful staff, buffet breakfast, whilst plentiful, food was not hot, only warm, evening entertainment was dire and typical of a very old fashioned hotel. The singer was dull and boring and induced sleep. Pool was very slippy and several people actually slipped while in the shallow areas of the pool with is an accident waiting to happen, otherwise the pool is excellent in size water temperature. Food from pool bars was excellent.