Gillieru Hotel

I rarely write negative reviews, but I feel compelled to share my experience to help prevent other travelers from going through the same thing. ​The only positive aspect of this hotel is its location on St. Paul’s Bay—and absolutely nothing else. ​The room was extremely outdated. The furniture looked like it had simply been given a quick coat of paint to appear new, with very poor results. The bathroom was equally old and unmaintained: the toilet was loose and wobbly, there was a persistent unpleasant odor, and the exhaust fan made an unbearable noise. ​The air conditioning was so loud that we had no choice but to turn it off completely just to be able to sleep. On top of that, the television was not working at all. It was truly an embarrassing state of affairs for a hotel claiming to offer a 4-star experience. ​I sincerely hope other rooms in the property are in better condition, because if this is the standard across the board, the 4-star rating is completely inexplicable.

Great location and lovely staff, but the room needs major refurbishment

I stayed at the Gillieru Harbour Hotel for five nights after being impressed by its photos and reviews. The location is excellent, the air conditioning worked well, and the staff I met—including the receptionist and cleaning team—were friendly and helpful.

Unfortunately, room 515 did not meet the standard I expected from a four-star hotel. The furniture was very dated, and the paint was cracked and peeling in places. The room needs repainting and substantial refurbishment. The two small beds pushed together were uncomfortable, there was little space in the bathroom for personal items, and the shower controls, fittings and lighting all felt tired. Even the toilet paper was very rough.

Breakfast was also disappointing. The selection changed very little from day to day, the hot food was poor, and on one occasion I had to ask for bread before it was brought out.

I’m sharing this as a warning for anyone thinking of booking. Please look carefully at recent reviews and don’t rely on the photos alone; my room did not reflect the impression they gave me. Based on my stay, I would not describe the room as meeting the standard I expected, and I found its condition unhygienic. It was worse than I would expect from a small B&B in Europe. If you’re travelling to Europe and expect the quality commonly associated with European hotels, please bear my experience in mind before booking.

I can only speak about the room I stayed in, but it needs substantial attention and refurbishment. The hotel has a beautiful location and welcoming staff, and I hope it invests in improving its rooms and breakfast.

Not a four star hotel, dated rooms in need of an update, pine MFI furniture, nothing matched and was quite worn. Bathrooms not particularly clean, not very inviting, sealant mouldy and extremely tight area. Balcony furniture old school chairs and very uncomfortable, two tea cups, 2 teabags, no tray for kettle to stand on, half board experience not good, breakfast selection poor, cornflakes and coco pops!!! Dried fruit was a jar of raisins, no selection of teas, just teabags in a bowl. Hot selection marginally better but have had better selection at holiday inn expresses. Restaurant in the evening could do with a different selection of choices, too much repetitive food like rice and pasta, also squirty cream on puddings, why not use ice cream. Also five euros for a bottle of water is quite expensive as the beer was cheaper, think the staff were on commission to sell it. Not allowed to run a tab so always had to have money or card with you. The hotel in general needs to establish exactly what it is trying to be, as there is also a cafe/bar as you go in and they said it was a separate thing to the hotel, but all the staff worked there, it was very confusing. Was called Gilliero Kaffe , if you wanted a herbal tea ie peppermint tea in the hotel you had to pay extra for it , which is ridiculous. Themed night on a Friday night extra 50 euros each. No bar area around the pool, meaning you had to go down 2 floors to get a drink if you didn’t have one with you.