Locanda dei Mercanti (130E for standard room) or Hotel London (88E, standard ,single room). Is the Mercanti worth spurge for last nite before long flight home? Anyone stayed in London? thanks

Lois, I stayed at the Hotel London a few years ago for one night and it was fine. Excellent location to the Duamo and very nice staff. The room was quite big for what we were use to by then (had been on the road through Europe for a month) and we had a large bathroom with a great shower. Our room had 2 double beds.<BR><BR>

Lois, I stayed at Hotel London for one night (departure out of MXP next day) a couple years ago. I'd describe it as a businessman's hotel. I stayed in a single. It was a small room, clean & tidy. Location was great. Via Rovello is a quiet street, right off Via Dante, with the Cairoli metro stop close by. Walkable to the Duomo & Sforzo Castle. I think it's a good value. Can't compare it to Locanda dei Mercanti as I've never stayed there.<BR><BR>Like I said I enjoyed being in a quiet location, yet close to the action. Did notice another hotel across the street from the London. Name escapes me at the moment; it's also listed in Rick Steves' book as an economical accommadation in Milan. Guilio Caesar, maybe ????<BR><BR>

don't stay at London Hotel: staff knows very little english and rooms are very little and unconfortable.<BR>Locanda dei Meranti is soo good, a secret hotel in the center of town.visit: www.locanda.it, i tryed and love it<BR><BR>ciao<BR>paul

Can only provide you with an opinion about one of these hotels.<BR><BR>I stayed at Antica Locanda dei Mercanti in April 2002. IMO, this hotel really wasn't much of a splurge (facility-wise). It was comparable in price with the other hotels I stayed at in Italy (Hotel Casci, Florence; Hotel al Piave, Venice). <BR><BR>I stayed there based on the many recommendations I'd seen. It's in an ideal location, very close to the Duomo and Sforza Castle and a block away from a pedestrian-only shopping/dining area. There's no sign on the outside of the building, just a little nameplate next to the doorbell. [You'll need to look for the address to find it.] My room, #31, was on the 4th floor and very quiet. However, it was pretty basic in terms of amenities. No toiletries were provided to us. The fresh flowers that were advertised actually consisted of a potted plant. The library in our room included a number of out-of-date magazines and two paperback books. There was a tv set, but it was on a high shelf in the closet and not connected. (I think if we had asked, they probably could have gotten the tv working.) Our room was clean, but it really reminded me of a dorm room. There's no a/c, only a ceiling fan. <BR><BR>If you stay there, you'll probably need to carry your keys with you because you'll need them to get into the hotel. From 11:00pm to 7:00am, there's no one at the front desk.<BR><BR>In addition, double check your bill. They tried to charge us for bottled water, which we never ordered.

Wow, Kathy, thanks for that report. I have tried to stay there and couldn't get in as it is small and very popular. The only negative I had heard was that it can be very noisy from the restaurant downstairs. Sounds like we were lucky it was full!!<BR>I don't need or want to travel to Milan to stay in a "dorm" room.

Well, everyone gets different impressions. My friend & I really liked the Antica Locanda dei Mercanti! The room & bath were very small, but the room was spotless, the beds the most comfortable of a 3 week trip, & the sheets were real, crisp linen. I would never refer to the room we had as a dorm room.<BR><BR>We only slept there, so the size of the room was not a problem for us. Location is great, quiet at night, we slept with the window open in May. Didn't notice any restaurant downstairs.<BR><BR>Staff extremely helpful, English speaking if it matters to you. they arranged taxis willingly & even arranged to deliver breakfast 1/2 hour early for our AM departure.<BR><BR>Answered e mail reservation request within 24 hours & answered all questions asked via e mail too.