Hotel Excelsior — Hotel in Dubrovnik

My first stay at Excelsior was 20 years ago and it was wonderful. Sadly, this hotel is now a shadow of its former glorious self. It’s now a mediocre hotel at a 5-star location. Let’s start with the reception: check-in and check-out were cold and unpleasant. Reception desk staff did nothing to make us feel welcome and comfortable. In the reception lobby there were glasses of water with lemon, but even though there seemed to be plenty of staff hanging around, no one bothered to offer it to us or other guests. How about offering some fresh towels, or offering customers a seat at check-in or some other form of hospitality? You get a more pleasant experience checking in at any average Marriott in America compared to this… We had 2 rooms on the 6th floor, really mediocre. We had a mattress sinking down on one side; I felt like I was about to roll down every night. Cheap shampoos in plastic bottles in the bathrooms, old hair dryer, bad lighting, shabby decor, no iron, just mediocrity at every level. Turndown service is a joke—they leave two chocolates, but don’t even close the blinds or set the lights or anything else. Cleaning is so-so. Found a dusty golf cap on the shelf in the closet, YUCK! The beds had thin covers with spare blankets in the closet (blankets - another yuck factor) and mediocre-quality bed sheets. Thermostat in the room has limited control (can’t adjust the temperature higher, they do it centrally). Breakfast was AWFUL, runny poached eggs and nothing on the buffet looked fresh. The piano bar and the terrace have the most uncomfortable furniture known to man - big lounge sofas with side chairs and low tables that are too far and too uncomfortable for conversation or tea. The piano bar terrace gets hot in the afternoon, umbrellas are too small and kept shut on windy days (which was most of the days during our 5-day stay). The indoor pool area is dark and damp with shutters to the beach kept shut even on sunny days. The beach area is nice and the beach guys are helpful, but they go missing for extended stretches of time, so guests are hauling and setting up chairs and umbrellas on their own. I carried the heavy umbrella stand to my mother after we waited for 20 min for someone to come set it up. There is a beautiful outdoor terrace behind the old wing, but no sitting area or anything. Positive things: staff at the piano bar and at the breakfast room were attentive and nice and efficient. Also great coffee and cocktails. Concierge was good too, organized a nice wine tour. Overall, I wish we had gone elsewhere. I wish the owners had decided to renovate and elevate Excelsior instead of Argentina and Villa Orsula (2 hotels next door to Excelsior, I stayed there before the renovation and they were magnificent). For the high prices they charge at Excelsior now, you get much much much more in 5-star hotels in France and Italy. Btw, Stayed at Excelsior in Sept 2024, posting this...

This hotel looked great from the photos and the reviews, but it blew us away. Yes, the rooms are a little small, but you will not find a nicer hotel in a better location in Dubrovnik. The hotel is right on the water with wonderful views and water access, and it is just a few minutes walk to the walls of the Old City. It is absolutely perfect for walking into the Old City early to beat the crowds and the heat and then lounging pool or dockside for the afternoon. ||We stayed in the old section. The reviews were really mixed on whether the old section or the new section is better. I think it is a matter of personal taste. We enjoyed our little balcony and amazing ocean views each morning with our coffee. I could also see how some people would prefer the larger windows in the new section. The hotel is laid out in a way that it is easy to move about within the hotel from one section to the other.||I do not know why more reviewers do not talk about the amazing spa. I read one reviewer that actually complained about the location of the gym over the pool. Maybe spend less time in the gym and more time outside walking or jogging in the beautiful area if you do not like the view of the pool from the gym! ||Personally, we found the pool and spa area wonderfully relaxing. The indoor pool is beautifully laid out with two hot tubs. There is also a row of jetted seats in the pool. We enjoyed the steam room and the sauna. My husband liked the cold shower in between steams. I opted for a warmer shower. The pool area was usually so quiet that we had it mostly to ourselves. ||The ocean access and outdoor lounging area is also lovely. They do have to shut it down if the waves get too big, but that is to be expected. We loved floating in the ocean and enjoying the beautiful views of the Old City from the water. We also enjoyed relaxing with a cocktail on one of the loungers and enjoying the views of the ocean and island.||Finally and most importantly, the staff is not just warm and welcoming, but truly helpful. One of my daughter’s was not feeling well and Vicky, the housekeeper on the second floor, showed true concern and a desire to help. Similarly, Barbara, Maria and Denis were all exceptionally accommodating to our kids’ dietary aversions. If our kids did not see something on the menu that they wanted, they would make something special for us. Lastly, Mia through the concierge services was very helpful. Dubrovnik was a last minute addition to a long-planned trip and Mia made sure that we had a great experience from start to finish. ||Thank you to everyone at the Excelsior for making our 4 days in...

Very very disappointed with this hotel. We arrived following a 7 day cruise with Seabourn and booked this as the final treat to our holiday for 3 nights. We arrived before check in time and were told we would be telephoned when our room was ready. At 4pm we had heard nothing so we went to reception and enquired and were then told that we would only have been called if it was ready before normal check in time and no apology offered. Fine, we moved on. We were shown to our room and all was good. ||Later in the evening, I had a shower and our bathroom flooded. I thought maybe my fault because I didn’t close the door properly but the same thing happed to my wife afterwards and she confirmed the door doesn’t close properly. Then during a visit to the bathroom during the night the toilet continued to flush all night. I made reception aware the following morning about both issues and they assured me they would be resolved. ||We spend the next day exploring Dubrovnik and upon return for evening showers, it seemed a bit better but still was leaking and we thought the toilet was fixed. But again during the night the toilet began continuously flushing and making noise from 2am onwards. ||We also decided to have a bottle of wine from the mini bar on our return. Having looked around the room for several minutes for a corkscrew which could not be found, I then rang reception and was told that they get stolen from the hotel and they have no more! They told me they could send someone to open a bottle but they couldn’t leave one with me. I explained I don’t want to bring it home but would like one to be able to open bottles of wine or beer when desired but was declined this privilege. ||My wife again visited the bathroom during last night and again the toilet continued to flush all night causing us not to be able to sleep once again so clearly they did not fix either issue. ||I again made reception aware this morning and asked for the manager to be informed and upon our return from a day trip to the islands, there was a note in my room to contact reception. ||I went to reception and was offered a complimentary dinner with soft drinks for this evening. I explained we had a reservation at restaurant 360 this evening so declined the offer. ||We paid in excess of €1300 per night for our room with a balcony and sea view which I booked directly with the hotel and feel totally ripped off. ||The breakfast buffet is also not nearly as good as it should be for this standard of hotel. The orange juice is not even fresh and lots of items missing and not replenished even at 9:30. |Avoid at all costs unless you a sub standard 5...