Grand Hotel Excelsior

I spent 3 days at the hotel last summer for work. It really helped me relax and focus. Extremely kind and professional staff. The restaurant was amazingly fulfilling and a great BRAVO to the restaurant staff. Very clean and beautiful place.I will be there with my family as a soon as possible.

Never having visited Malta before, we chose the Excelsior for a week's stay on the basis of its location and T.A. reviews. We rather liked the décor even if it is slightly dated. The entrance hall (it would be an insult to call it a lobby) is really impressive with its chandeliers and double staircase. Although one enters apparently from ground level it is actually on the sixth floor and one can look down from the bar onto the restaurant below. It’s a clever and attractive design. We had a room on the 8th floor with a partial sea view, a very nice balcony, and not overlooked. The room itself was spacious with plenty of storage space. The bathroom had 2 showers – one over the bath and also a walk-in one. At 126 euros a night we thought it excellent value. Breakfast was the now standard buffet but there was a large choice and as well as cooked items on the counter there is an egg chef who will do anything from poached eggs to pancakes. Tea was brought to the table in a pot. We can't comment on the coffee. My one complaint was that the jams and an apology for marmalade were in plastic pots and frankly disgusting. When I mentioned this the breakfast manager immediately apologised and said that those used for room service in glass jars were much better but they didn’t use them in the breakfast room because of breakages! He immediately got me some and every day thereafter I had proper marmalade (oh, the Englishman abroad). Full marks for customer service but why should only those who complain get decent preserves? If you are lucky enough to get a table by the window it wouldn’t be much of an advantage as they were practically opaque. I am not the first to suggest a clean would be in order. One must mention Marita, the guest relations lady, who seems to speak to everyone and gives invaluable advice about the locality, frequently running off to bring you a map. Dinner is a themed buffet which we took twice and is good value. It might be a bit much to have it every day so we went out a few times or ate in the bar. I suspect in the summer there would be other restaurants open in the hotel. It's probably a 20 minute walk to visit restaurants at the far end of the city but the hotel has its own taxis. The staff were without exception courteous, helpful and friendly. All in all, a very pleasant hotel for a week’s stay.