Hotel Excelsior

We had a wonderful stay at Hotel Excelsior and really enjoyed our week there. The hotel is elegant and stylish, with a very pleasant atmosphere. Our room was spacious, comfortable and very enjoyable throughout our stay. The location is also excellent, right across from the beach and within easy walking distance of shops, bars and restaurants in Marina di Massa. What really made the difference, however, was the staff. Everyone we met was extremely friendly, welcoming and professional. A special mention goes to Massimo at the bar, who made our aperitifs particularly enjoyable, as well as to the entire Il Sestante team, who provided excellent service on both evenings we dined there. Il Sestante itself is definitely worth a visit: the food is excellent and the setting makes it a great place for a special dinner. Overall, Hotel Excelsior combines elegance, comfort, a great location and genuinely warm hospitality. We had a fantastic stay and would happily return. Highly recommended!

This hotel is in a fantastic location, near the sea front with lovely restaurants and a gorgeous beach. We were disappointed with the hotel when we arrived. It was very dated in the communal areas and clearly needed a refurbishment. We stayed in rooms 112 & 114. Nice rooms with lovely terraces, big enough for 2 sun loungers each. The breakfast was very disappointing, I only went down once on the first morning. Very old wicker chairs that were really uncomfortable. They desperately need replacing, the food choices were unappetising including bright yellow scrambled egg (the hard boiled eggs were a very pale yellow) clearly powered and mass produced. Odd cheese selection, large chunks of parmigiana cheese, coffee from a machine, not much fresh fruit all served in a dark, old fashioned room/corridor with no outdoor space . They give you menus on the table to order freshly cooked food but you have to pay extra. As the buffet was so poor and the room was so awful with came out of the hotel and went to the local juice bar every morning. We wish we hadn’t paid extra for breakfast. They have a cafe downstairs in the hotel with outside tables but again you had to pay. for everything. The hotel allows dogs which we thought was really nice until a very aggressive Doberman dog turned up. We were sat in the reception area waiting for our daughter when it came out of the lift. It immediately started growling at us. It was very large Doberman (really tall and very solid) The young female owner looked inexperienced and had it on a flimsy lead. The dog a few days later nearly attacked our daughter. She’s 20 years old and had nipped up to her room to change her shoes after dinner. We were waiting for her and she came down clearly very shaken & upset. The dog had been barking and growling at her. The corridors are very narrow in the hotel so she had no where to go. She eventually just kept running down the stairs not sure if it was going to attack her. I approached the reception desk and told them our daughter had met this dog on her own that evening in the corridor and it was very aggressive. We have big dogs and she’s never been scared of dogs but was petrified by this one. They didn’t take it very seriously. The next morning I complained to the day time reception staff and insisted it was muzzled in the hotel. I also met the owner on the street and spoke to her. She admitted the dog had a incident with my daughter but was very sure she could handle the dog in any situation (as she said that it nearly attacked an old, local lady that was just passing by with her shopping bag). I insisted to her it’s muzzled. It clearly did not like people or other dogs. She agreed and it was muzzled for the last 2 days but why it was my responsibility to make sure my family, other guests and dogs were safe in the hotel?? I don’t know. Had they of assessed the dog or even tried to say hello to it when they checked in they would of noticed it was very aggressive. They seem to have prioritised selling a room over the guests safety. We had a late flight back and asked if we could keep a room to shower in or another room. He clearly had quite a few rooms free but insisted on charging us 100 euros. It was my 50th birthday whilst we were there, we booked the hotel months ago as we wanted to be there to celebrate. The hotel did not make any effort for my special day. No cake, no Prosecco not even a free drink after we spent a large amount at the bar celebrating with friends that had come from Glasgow. Do not book this hotel if you have a special occasion, it’s completely overlooked other than one member of staff on reception telling me they know it’s my birthday (he did wish me a Happy Birthday). It was very disappointing. We stayed at hotel in Forte Dei Marmi def worth a visit/stay) a few years ago for my husband’s birthday and the hotel left him some gorgeous chocolates in our room. Massa is a great location for the beach (the hotel charge you for using the beach if you want chairs/sunbeds) and restaurants. Not much to do in the small town. It’s mostly Germans and Italians. It’s a very unglamorous place where you definitely don’t need to dress up for dinner. We ate lovely seafood and fish. We would definitely recommend the only Chinese restaurant there. Lovely, tasty food that was our cheapest meal there including a bottle of wine. I have included a photo of another local restaurant, Amazing Pizza! If you venture further don’t take Ubers. Apparently after being charged nearly 100 euros for 1 trip Uber informed us that in Italy the drivers can charge what they like. The trip should have been around 27 euros, the drivers can change it and rip off the tourists. You don’t even know until your out of the car and the charge flashes up. Uber were very unhelpful and told us it’s allowed in Italy. The hotel rang us taxis after that. The taxis are filthy dirty, the drivers are pleasant but it’s not worth it when you get out of a car feeling dirty. We would not stay in Massa again, we would stay further up the coast again in Forte Dei Marmi which is really lovely and you can dress up for dinner!!

We stayed for five days in this welcoming beachfront hotel. I say welcoming with true satisfaction because we have rarely felt as welcomed as we did here. Excellent staff and maximum professionalism. Every one of our requests was fulfilled with speed and kindness. The cleanliness is excellent (and this is coming from someone who always travels with disinfectant in tow, which, however, was not necessary to use here), bed linen changed every day (in addition, naturally, to all the towels in the bathroom). Breakfast with a wide selection of both sweet and savory options. The only note I can make is that there is no chef making omelets and crêpes on the spot in the dining room, but only upon request for an extra charge (there is a sort of small menu with different preparations). However, there is still plenty else available, hard-boiled and scrambled eggs, cheeses, cold cuts, and vegetables for those who, like me, have a savory breakfast. The pool is very beautiful and has excellent bar service with very kind staff. The restaurant on the top floor has a wonderful view and you can dine divinely in a quiet environment with exceptional and professional staff. I did not find anything that was not to my liking. I forgot to say that for those who want to go to the beach, there is an agreement with the hotel at a beach club right across the street. Hotel to be recommended without any doubt.