A hotel near Milan w/airport transfer? Milan's SO expensive!
 

Hello...

So we're finalizing a trip next June to Venice/Lake Como - and have decided to spend last night in Milan so we can catch a morning flite back home. But good lord, that is an expensive city. is there a nearby town thats got loads of charm and nice restaurants and will offer an airport transfer? or, should we just get to Milan late at night from Venice, and just stay at an airport hotel?

Does this make any sense?
thx!

What airport? If it's Malpensa, it's quite far from Milan. Linate is closer. If you're flying from Malpensa, you wouldn't want to be in Milan anyway before an early morning flight.

If you'll be on an early morning flight and want to stay close to MXP -- assuming you'll be flying out from Malpensa -- then try First Hotel.

http://www.firsthotel.it/ln/english/index.asp

Yes if you have morning flight from Malpensa stay at the airport. We used the Malpensa Crowne Plaza and were very happy with it. It is very close to airport with free shuttle service, nice rooms, and a decent bar for late night drinks/snacks if you arrive later.

>> is there a nearby town thats got loads of charm and nice restaurants and will offer an airport transfer<<

If you're willing to spring for about 12 euro in shuttle fare, and have a 50 minute ride to Malpensa (which is what you have to do in Milano), you can stay in the town of Stresa on Lago Maggiore. Get there early enough in the day and you can visit the gardens of the Borromei Islands quite easily from Stresa.

You can reach Stresa by train out of Milano. When you reserve your hotel, ask them to reserve however many seats you need for the airport bus. Although it is a regularly scheduled bus straight to Malpensa (it stops at all the terminals), reservations for the bus need to be made one day in advance.

Unless things have changed a lot, I don't know that the food on Lago Maggiore is anything to write home about. Following the locals to where they are having dinner is generally the best.

PS: If you opt for an airport hotel, you need to find out from the hotel how to get to it without driving to it. You might have to go to the Malpensa terminals the day before your flight to find the shuttle to your hotel.

Also, you DON'T have to stay at an airport hotel for an early morning flight. The bus and train shuttles to Malpensa from Milan begin running early enough for most international flights. (A five a.m. transfer will get you to Malpensa by 5:45 am.) Taking the bus from the Central Station is about 10 euros less than taking the Malpensa XPress train from Cadorna Station.

Eurochepo sometimes has good rates on Milan hotels, but if you see a rate you like, double check the quality of the hotel by reading reviews on Tripadvisor, venere.com, etc.

zep makes a good point. We had a car which we turned in at the airport before going to the hotel, so we used the shuttle from the airport as well. That made it easy and since we arrived mid-evening we had no plans to go out once we reached the hotel. If you are not traveling by car it is likely that you will have to go to airport first (by bus for example) then locate the shuttle to your hotel or use a taxi.

It seems that the biggest point to consider is the time of your flight from Malpensa.