Grand Hotel Excelsior

One of the best hotels in Malta qualify breakfast Great staff 5 minutes from the city centre If you don't want to hire a car close to the bus terminus which will enable you to discover and explore the island

Stayed in this hotel for our anniversary, and we were not disappointed! The room was very comfortable, and having full control over the temperature of the room was a well-needed touch. My one issue would be the very soft pillows (but that seems to be a trend, so I guess I can't really complain). We booked an inland room, but were automatically upgraded to a seaview, which was very nice of them. The pools were beautiful and well-kept, especially the indoor pool and jacuzzi. The outdoor pool was open 24/7, so naturally we went in for a midnight swim ! :) The television was very old, and weird to switch on (we managed eventually), and there were a lot of German channels available. We had both a bathtub and a shower in the room, and they were great to use! So overall, the experience was very pleasant, and we'll definitely think of returning!

Really nice large room and a large en suite.. all a bit dated but very comfortable..very comfortable beds and really great staff.. breakfast was really good...the Tiki restaurant was very lovely in the evening..but the food was only just OK..my only real quibble was the evening buffet which was really expensive for what it was..and not that good either so we ate out mostly fortunately plenty of choice of some really good restaurants in Valletta..drinks at the bar were extortionate..which sort of spoiled it a little..otherwise it was fine..had a really good holiday here..was it really memorable experience..I'm not sure...

We really enjoyed our stay here, good range of amenities, clean rooms & heplful staff - what more could you ask for! Close enough to Valletta that you can explore, but far enough away that it is really peaceful

Having read many reviews before booking the Grand Excelsior for eleven nights I was interested to see if the hotel lived up to its billing. At the outset I think the Grand Excelsior is worth its five stars. It offers the full range of services one would expect from a five star hotel and is considered Valletta's premier hotel. Does that make it as good as the five star Park Lane Hilton? I would say no. Everyone's needs and expectations are different whether on business or vacation. For example, the Excelsior has an excellent, staffed business centre which holidaymakers will likely never need or use but it has a fantastic pool area and its proximity to the centre of Valletta makes it perfect for sightseeing, eating out or getting further afield from the bus station or ferry terminal. Where I think other reviewers have a point about the five star rating is in the little things one would usually expect from a Mediterranean five star. Placing travel hairdryers in the rooms rather than a quality, full size hair dryer is cheap. Lengthy queues at breakfast when the hotel is near capacity, not helped by a floor manager barking at the staff and insisting on seating everyone personally often in a dark corner when window tables are free. Trying to be helpful by overfilling the warmers with hot food rather than regularly topping up meaning that the food at the top goes cold. The general run down appearance of the exterior which a simple jet wash would fix. These are the negatives from my perspective, others may have a different view. So to the positives. The jewel in the crown of this hotel are the great staff. In particular, Eileen in the breakfast area who was a mine of useful information and tips for getting around. Carmel in the pool area for whom nothing was too much trouble when it came to finding sunbeds, parasols and ashtrays. All the bar staff in every part of the hotel - Doreen and Michaela in the Harbour View bar especially. The indoor pool and gym are great, as is the Spa. The quality of food is excellent, occasional luke warm breakfast buffet aside. The cleaning staff are really thorough and in my experience missed absolutely nothing with bed linen changed every other day. Finally, David, our driver who took us on a day long, private tour of Gozo in a hotel car was an encyclopaedia of information on Malta & Gozo as you would expect from a former journalist. The trip was the highlight of our stay. One other thing, during our stay the President of Italy took over the 10th floor with his entourage for two nights but apart from them holding the lift on the 10th floor for him causing some queueing there was virtually no disruption to the hotel which is a testament to their experience in handling VIP's. To conclude, the reality is that you get what you pay for and if as we did you take advantage of the many free services including the free courtesy car into Valletta, luggage storage and access to a free courtesy room to change before late flights you'll appreciate the value for money. This is a very, very good hotel.