World City Guide

Hotels

Hotel prices are subject to IVA (value added tax) at 10% and service charges. These are usually included within the prices given. Breakfast is usually extra, although some hotels may include it in their rates.

The prices quoted below are the starting prices for a double room, including tax but excluding breakfast, unless otherwise specified.

Business

Excelsior Gallia
Toscanini, Hemingway and Gorbachev are just three of the many celebrities who have stayed at this grandiose establishment over the years. Situated close by Milan’s main station and built at the turn of the 19th century in Art Nouveau style, the Gallia’s interior of glass and ironwork echo the streamlined interiors of the sleek ocean liners of the 1930s. First opened in 1932, the hotel now forms part of the Royal Meridien chain and boasts 237 rooms and suites, a gourmet restaurant and excellent health spa facilities. All rooms include modem points, direct-dial telephones and air conditioning. In addition to a dedicated business centre, the main conference hall caters to groups of up to 600 and several smaller conference rooms are spread across the seventh floor.

Piazza Duca d’Aosta 9
Tel: 02 67851. Fax: 02 6671 3239.
E-mail: sales@excelsiorgallia.it
Website: www.lemeridien.com
Price: From ¬169.

Four Seasons Hotel
The five-star Four Seasons Hotel, at the heart of Milan’s shopping and fashion district, enjoys a well-deserved reputation for understated elegance and quiet efficiency. The 118 rooms, set around a 15th-century cloister courtyard, all feature multi-line telephones, fax and modem points, which make this a favourite among business travellers. There are seven different room categories rising from ‘deluxe’ to the presidential suite. In addition to a state-of-the-art business centre, the hotel also offers secretarial and translation services, mobile phone rental and a choice of seven meeting rooms. A function room for up to 300 guests and a private dining room provide ample space for entertaining clients. Guests have included Madonna, Robert De Niro, Elton John and Pierce Brosnan. The hotel has two Mediterranean restaurants; the traditional Italian La Veranda for daytime and the acclaimed Ristorante Il Teatro (see Restaurants section).

Via Gesù 8
Tel: 02 77088. Fax: 02 7708 5000.
E-mail: mil.concierge@fourseasons.com
Website: www.fourseasons.com/milan
Price: From ¬490.

Grand Hotel Fieramilano
Despite an unsightly exterior, the four-star Grand Hotel Fieramilano is everything a business hotel should be. Situated within the Fiera or business fair complex, the hotel includes 238 rooms, each with multi-line phones, fax and modem points, as well as two fully equipped meeting rooms accommodating up to 240 people and a brand-new conference room, the Domodossola, seating a further 200. Photography, sound and lighting systems and secretarial and translation services are provided on request. The Ambrosiano restaurant specialises in Lombard cuisine and overlooks private gardens. Themed parties, banquets and musical entertainment are also possible.

Viale S Boezio 20
Tel: 02 336 221. Fax: 02 314 119.
E-mail: prenotazioni@grandhotelfieramilano.com
Website: www.atahotels.it
Price: From ¬160 (including breakfast).

Regency Hotel
Housed in a converted palazzo in the Italian Art Nouveau style, the four-star Regency Hotel lies just north of Piazza Firenze within walking distance of Milan’s Fiera district. The 52 rooms, including seven suites, are swathed in floral damask, with attractive bijou attic rooms under the eaves. The concierge will arrange tickets for anything from the opera to football. Two small meeting rooms are available for hire – one seating up to 30, the other up to 50 equipped with screen, overhead projector and flip chart. Car hire and chauffeured limousines, plus a babysitting service, are also available. One drawback is the lack of restaurant but simple buffets can be provided for meetings.

Via G Arimondi 12
Tel: 02 3921 6021. Fax: 02 3921 7734.
E-mail: info@regency-milano.com; or prenotazioni@regency-milano.com (for bookings)
Website: www.regency-milano.com
Price: From ¬170 (including breakfast).

Luxury

Grand Hotel et De Milan
Famously home to composer Giuseppe Verdi for 20 years, this elegant hotel is located on one edge of Milan’s Quadrilateral (the home of Milanese fashion). Since 1901, when the streets around the hotel were muffled with straw in deference to the last hours of the maestro, the 95 rooms and suites have been home to various artists like Hemingway and Nureyev, premiers and supermodels like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. There are 75 double rooms, eight suites and 10 junior suites but only two single rooms. All rooms are individually furnished with beautiful parquet floors, objets d’art and period furniture in styles ranging from 19th century, through Art Nouveau to Art Deco. Following the recent refurbishment, all have modem points, direct-dial telephones and voice-mail. Fax, additional lines, video and stereo equipment are available on request. The ground floor offers three elegant lounges available for business meetings, receptions and dinners, which can be fully equipped at extra cost. Both restaurants, the Caruso and Don Carlos (see the Restaurants section), enjoy an enviable reputation and, in winter, the open fire in the bar is a particularly homely and welcoming feature.

Via Manzoni 29
Tel: 02 723 141. Fax: 02 8646 0861.
E-mail: reservations@grandhoteletdemilan.it
Website: www.grandhoteletdemilan.it
Price: From ¬572.

Hotel Principe di Savoia
The five-star Principe merged with the Duca di Milano in April 2000, to create central Milan’s largest hotel, offering a total of 404 rooms including 126 suites. This Belle Epoque hotel dominates the Piazza della Repubblica in Milan’s business district. Marble statuary and gilded furnishings dominate the hotel’s public spaces, while the decor is no less opulent in the restaurant, piano bar and café, whose fine pastries draw in the local fur coat brigade. Famous guests include the Duke of Windsor, Charlie Chaplin, Eva Peron and Maria Callas. There is a dedicated business centre and the hotel is adept in arranging receptions for up to 1,000 guests or banqueting for up to 600. Additional features are the gym, beauty salon and 10th-floor rooftop spa including a swimming pool and a Turkish bath. All rooms are en suite with modems and satellite TV, while the Presidential Suite boasts its own Turkish bath and plunge pool. Recent guests have included Madonna, Elizabeth Taylor, Harrison Ford, Kylie Minogue and Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II.

Piazza della Repubblica 17
Tel: 02 62301. Fax: 02 659 5838.
E-mail: info@hotelprincipedisavoia.com or reservations@hotelprincipedisavoia.com (for bookings)
Website: www.hotelprincipedisavoia.com
Price: From ¬680 (including breakfast).

Moderate

Antica Locanda dei Mercanti
Fourteen individually decorated rooms make up this hugely popular bijou hideaway – an oasis of tranquillity just a stone’s throw from Milan’s top tourist attractions, such as the Cathedral, the Castello Sforzesco and La Scala. Situated on the second floor of a residential palazzo, each room has a private marble bathroom. Here, there are few concessions to technology, with books and fresh flowers replacing TVs and modems. The three top-floor terraced rooms are fitted with four-poster beds and air conditioning, while the others have overhead fans. There is no restaurant in the hotel, but continental breakfast can be served in the room. The hotel is particularly suitable for those on public transport (metro Carioli or Duomo), as parking is difficult.

Via San Tomaso 6
Tel: 02 805 4080. Fax: 02 805 4090.
E-mail: locanda@locanda.it
Website: www.locanda.it
Price: From ¬135 (including all taxes, breakfast extra if required ¬9 ); terrace rooms from ¬215.

Antica Locanda Solferino
With just 11 en suite rooms and a host of regulars, the Solferino almost certainly requires booking in advance. Located in the Brera district (home of the city’s top fashion houses) and five minutes walk from the Pinoteca, this stylish yet friendly family-run inn is a favourite among artists, writers and poets. Recently refurbished, it has nonetheless carefully preserved its roots in the country inns of Europe of the 1920s. Attention is paid to detail, with arty trimmings, such as the Daumier engravings, in each of the rooms, creating an intimate and romantic ambience. Room amenities do not extend further than a TV. Breakfast and a newspaper can be delivered to the room on request. Note that the hotel closes for the August holidays.

Via Castelfidardo 2
Tel: 02 657 0129. Fax: 02 657 1361.
E-mail: info@anticalocandasolferino.it
Website: www.anticalocandasolferino.it
Price: From ¬150.

Other Recommendations

Hotel Ariosto
The most atmospheric of a chain of ecological hotels in Milan, the three-star Ariosto occupies a convenient location close by the Stazione Cadorna, the terminus for the Malpensa Express, the high-speed shuttle between Milan and the airport. Just 200m (650ft) from Milan’s most famous treasure, Da Vinci’s Last Supper, the turn-of-the-century palazzo has been recently renovated and offers 48 rooms – many overlooking the pretty courtyard garden. Natural wood interiors, organic breakfasts and a free bicycle are among the environmentally friendly perks but the piece de resistance is the pillow menu that offering eight choices of pillow, including the ‘Sleep In A Meadow’ option, stuffed with aromatic herbs.

Via Ariosto 22
Tel: 02 481 7844. Fax: 02 498 0516.
E-mail: ariosto@brerahotels.com
Website: www.hotelariosto.com
Price: From ¬204 (including breakfast). Room discounts may be available when the trade fairs are not on.

Hotel Sheraton Diana Majestic
The only Milan hotel surrounded by its own gardens, this converted Art Nouveau palace has recently been renovated and returned to the highest reaches of both the cool Milanese and the international fashion crowds. Many of the rooms overlook the garden and all have Bosh sound systems. Besides a spa and a fitness centre, there is also a dedicated business centre and five meeting rooms seating between 10 and 115. The Milanese Curioso restaurant serves fusion cuisine and spills out into the garden in summer. There are three sleek, modern bars and the Diana Garden is very much a centre for the young fashion crowd for early evening aperitivi. The designer Cerruti still lives at the hotel and it was taken over by MTV during the last Milan fashion week.

Viale Piave 42
Tel: 02 205 81. Fax: 02 205 82058.
E-mail: SheratonDianaMajestic@sheraton.com
Website: www.starwood.com
Price: From ¬350.