goingtoitalia

Does anyone have a recommendation for accomodations close to Malpensa airport? We have a 10:30am flight and don't want to have to worry about driving and traffic.
We'll be coming from Lago Maggiore.

grazie!
less than three weeks and counting!!!

nessundorma

You should leave from Lago Maggiore. Malpensa is in between Lago Maggiore and Milano. If you don't want to drive, you can have your hotel reserve you a seat on the airport shuttle bus that regularly goes, every day including Sundays, from Lago Maggiore to Malpensa. I know that the bus stops in Stresa and I believe Baveno, as well towns south of there. Send an e-mail to your hotel and ask.

If you switch to an airport hotel, you will probably be facing a bigger hotel bill.

sssteve

Try Arona. It's a pleasant little town on Lake Marggiore and is about 25 minutes drive from Malpensa. It's not Bellagio, but it's a whole lot nicer than the depressing area around Malpensa!

goingtoitalia

We have to return the car to Malpensa by 8:30am on our departure day, so taking a shuttle is not an option. I've heard that the 45 minute drive from Maggiore (we will be staying in Baveno) can actually take 2-3 hours with the morning traffic, that's why we'd rather stay close to the airport and spend our last evening in Italy resting and relaxing.

davidjac

stayed at villa malpensa. A great hotel with a shuttle to the airport. Got there early the day before the flight and went to Milan by train. Hotel also has a good restaurnat and pool.

David J

Byrd

We had a very nice night-before-flight stay at Cardano Hotel.

It has excellent shuttle service, pool, and pleasant staff.

www.cardanohotel.com

Byrd

nessundorma

Who told you that morning traffic to Malpensa from Baveno takes 2 to 3 hours?

Which day are you flying? If you have to drop off your rental by 8:30 am, you will be leaving Baveno by 7am.

isabel

Hotel Cervo (www.hotelcervo.it)is right on the airport grounds. It has parking but if you return your car the day before they have a bus to the airport (5 minutes) that starts around 7am. I easily made a 10:30 flight. It has no charm, is in fact downright ugly on the outside (inside is pretty nice) and was about 70€ a couple of years ago.

nessundorma

If I were very nervous about driving from Maggiore and preferred the Cervo or some other airport hotel, I would turn in my car a day early and take the Malpensa Xpress train into Milano to visit Leonardo's Last Supper or the Sforzeca and have your own last supper at one of Milano's better restaurants. There are lots of enjoyable bars where you can have a cocktail (the via Brera is especially nice, I think). A favorite restaurant of mine, off the Corso Magenta, is I Borromei (sort of a nice symmetry to you Baveno stay). That's all within walking distance of the Cadorna Station, where you can catch the Xpress train back to Malpensa after dinner.

Round trip train tickets to Milano from the airport are not all that cheap, so you'd end up spending more than the savings on a day's car rental. But it would be preferable, I think, to hanging out in the vicinity of the airport for your last night in Italy if you are reluctant to spend your last night on the lake.

SurferX

I just drove from Lago Maggiore to Malpensa in 40 minutes on a weekday morning. A nice hotel 10 minutes from Malpensa terminal 1 is the Astoria in Gallarate. 90eu per night includes breakfast.

LoveItaly

I have stayed at the Astoria Hotel in Gallarate and it is a very suitable hotel. Try not to get a room in the back though, the last time that happened to me and I was awake quite early due to garbage trucks. Not a big deal but I would have liked a bit more sleep.

dorkforcemom

Hello goingtoitalia!
We stayed at First Hotel right by the Malpensa airport and was pleased with our choice. That said, our plane left at 7:00am. If I had had a later flight like you, and with nessundorma's detailed information, you might not need to stay next door to the grounds unless you find too much anxiety in others' recs. Happy travels!

goingtoitalia

There was another post, I can't remember if it was here or Slow Travel, that talked about being stuck in morning weekday traffic on the drive from Maggiore to Malpensa. They, and a few others that responded, said the trip took well over 2 hours because of the traffic. Another poster said that occured regularly, so that was the informaion I was going on when I posted this question.

Nessun, I love the idea of going into Milan and having our own "Last Supper"! I'll bet we might even be able to find someplace to go balloom dancing! We are flying out on a Wednesday morning.

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. The Cardano looks nice, but expensive, at least for our tastes. We'd love to find a decent place for 90-100 Euro.