We have early departure from Malpensa. Previously stayed in Milan but wondering if there is something wonderful closer to Malpensa. Looking forward to suggestions.

Yes. Try the Villa Malpensa. This was the villa of the industrialist that owned all of the property in the area--including the airport property--prior to WWII. He was a fascist who entertained both Mussolini and Hitler. At the end of the war,he was convicted and destroyed and his property ransacked by the local peasants whom he had ruled over. The hotel provides shuttle service to the airport which is on the edge of the property. If you go to this link, you can read more about it. http://www.janeandken.com/Italy2 Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Yes, this place looks much nicer than the ugly First Hotel where we stayed--one of those soulless airport hotels. Only virtue is its proximity to the airport for a very early morning flight.

Another good and inexpensive option is the Hotel Cervo, about 1 kilometer from the Terminal Building (you can hear planes take off until 11 pm). For 3 Euros per person each way, they also offer a shuttle service from the terminal building which takes 3 minutes (phone them from the arrivals level). The hotel is modernized, has air conditioning, an elevator, and a breakfast room (continental buffet breakfast is included in price of the room). It is located in a rural area surrounded by open fields, and there is NOTHING to do there at night except watch TV (their restaurant is open for dinner until 10 pm daily except Saturday and Sunday).

We just stayed at Villa Malpensa a couple of weeks ago (170 Euros). We had stayed at a cheap place about eight years ago and regretted it. Dinner at the hotel was good, also (not cheap, however). Shuttle to the airport (5 minutes) starts at 6 am.

We also stayed at Villa Malpensa a few weeks ago. The rooms are reasonably nice and the restaurant is excellent though overpriced. Ask for the house Chianti. It is not listed on their wine list but it is pretty decent and much cheaper wines on the list.

Another comment on the rooms. When we stayed there, we decided to splurge for our last night on that trip and took one of the large rooms with balcony. It was a lovely room and the balcony was huge, overlooking the workers village next to it and looking the other direction to the airport. As I said, some very villianous, notorious people were guests here and so you could imagine them and the owner on the balcony watching the worker and serfs around them. It was quite a strange and uncomfortable sensation. If you stay there, be sure to walk through the old workers complex across the street. You can hear the ghosts of the past. The hotel will give you a write-up by a previous guest which explains more about the villa and its history. If you can't get one, let me know (e-mail address on website) and I will send you a copy.

Thank you all. Villa Malpensa it is.