Charming hotel in Milan?
 

Hi. We're looking for a place to stay for one night in Milan. Nothing modern or ultra trendy, ideally in a charming or interesting part of the city. I was looking at the Mandarin and Four Seasons because I can use points, but am concerned that they will feel, well, like a chain hotel.

What do you think about these:

Gran Duca di York
Santa Marta
Grand Hotel
Principe di Savoia

Anything I am overlooking? Thanks very much!

I haven't stayed in any of these hotels.

If only one night, I'd pick a property located closest to what I hoped to see/do in the few hours available.

For me, free would be hard to pass up, but I'm not a shopper so the location of the 4 Seasons and Mandarin would dissuade me before any concerns about them being chain hotels.

And exactly what is it that you don't like about a chain hotel? You like the free part.

We stayed at the Hermitage. A cute boutique hotel. It is on the tip of Chinatown, but also surrounded by great restaurants and shopping. There was a cute wine shop up the street that had a wide selection of Amarone wine. The proprietor was very knowledgeable.

My friends and I just got back from a long week-end in Milan. We stayed in a nice (4-star) but not fabulous hotel that was located in a very fabulous neighborhood. And we'd do it again, even if we could afford to splurge on one of the top hotels.

FYI, do you like cats? The Four Seasons Milan now counts two cats among their staff -- Vivienne and Vera (short for Veranda). They do pigeon patrol in the hotel's beautiful garden. Vera is very friendly and perfectly happy to hang with you while you and your girlfriends have coffee outside on Sunday.

When we are in Milano we only stay at the Hotel Berna on Via Napo Torriano. It is a 4 star property that is exceptionally clean, the staff is outstanding, it is convenient to public transportation, and it serves the best breakfast in the city.

Buon viaggio,

Antica Locanda Leonardo. Quiet, charming, set back from street , near The Last Supper.Wonderful breakfast. Garden area. As far from a sterile chain hotel as you could get.

I stayed at the Gran Duca Di York for 4 nights this May and loved it.
Not sure what your definition of charming is but I was very happy at this hotel.
It is a fairly small hotel and very comfortable and clean.
Great location, close to all the major sights , very good breakfasts and a wonderful staff.

I just returned home from Italy and spent my last night in Milan at Hotel Berna. I have to agree with rbciao47.... It is a wonderful place. I accidentally left a bottle of nail polish, and they emailed me to let me know they'd found it and to ask what I wanted them to do with it. My goodness. I loved that place! It's a five minute walk to Stazione Centrale.

Years ago we stayed a couple nights at Antica Locanda dei Mercanti om. Ped only side street very near the duomo. It was great, but that was in 2005 and I understand they have become quite popular and expensive since then! You might check it out. We found it very charming.

Depends on what you want. If a charming hotel is your top priority and your not that fussed about the neighborhood, then the Berna is a great choice -- we've stayed there once and have repeatedly stayed at the sister property in Lugano. Comfort and service (and breakfast!) are top notch.

OTOH, if the neighborhood is more important than the hotel, then I recommend the Carlyle Brera. It's in one of the best neighborhoods in Milan -- the outer edge of the Brera district near the Muscova metro stop. We've stayed in that neighborhood four times in the last two years and like it more and more. You're a 10-15 minute walk from the Duomo but removed from the hordes (and they are hordes, the area around the Duomo and galerias is absolutely jam-packed).

The Garibaldo/Muscova/Brera area offers superb people-watching, lots of cafes and restaurants, lovely non-chain shops, and wonderful little streets for exploring like via Fiori Chiara, Via Madonnina, Via Vicolo Fiori, etc in addition to Corso Garibaldi and Largo La Foppa etc.

The Carlyle Brera is what I'd call an "adequate" four-star hotel. Delivers on the main counts (comfort and service) but won't bowl you over with charm and style. Nonetheless, we will keep staying there because it's the only four-star hotel in the neighborhood. There is also one three-star hotel and a B&B; that's about it, so you'll see far more locals than tourists.

We stayed in the Petit Palais Hotel de Charme - found it charming by name and by nature, though the breakfast buffet was a bit lacking. Good central location and cheap enough prices if you are there at the weekends

https://www.petitpalais.it/en/

Another vote for Hotel Berna! Great staff, fine room, and best breakfast buffet around!

Thanks, everyone. The Berna is booked so I went with Antica Locanda dei Mercanti. The reviews, pictures, location, and price all look promising so we'll see how it goes... Much obliged!

Hope you like it jeepyland. Taxi drivers back when I visited were not familiar with the tiny street since its ped only. I imagine the hotel is much better known now.

Buon viaggio!

You know, I thought the Hotel Berna was fine, but I really didn't like the surrounding area at all. I would try a different neighborhood if I were return to Milan.