Hotel recommendation in Milan close to LaScala

We stayed at the Hotel Star, which is very close to La Scala, and was quite nice. Not terribly expensive either. I'd be happy to stay there again. Since there were four of us, we took a cab to the airport. The hotel is not that convenient to the Cadorna station, which is where the train is, but the station isn't close to La Scala, so you might not be able to get both objectives.

A nice hotel near Milan's Cadorna Station is Antica Locanda Leonardo.

You can get the train to MXP at the Milan Centrale train station. That is a short metro ride from the LaScala area.

Lucky you if you have tickets for a La Scala performance. The rest of us can at least get a glimpse of the interior some afternoons when tourists are allowed into one of the galleries, with the lights turned on. There is also a small museum of artifacts connected to its long history although I think it would appeal only to those with some opera background. In general I consider Milan fairly easy to get around with some of the centre reserved for pedestrians. Walking on the roof of the nearby cathedral is also a pretty unusual experience.

We stayed at Hotel Gran Duca di York -

http://www.ducadiyork.com/
Check their website.

and loved it - small, squeeky clean, free mini-bar, excellent breakfast (with superb coffee drinks and service), classy, stlyish, great bathrooms and amenities, and just around the corner from the Duomo, a 10 minute walk to La Scala, and across the small pedestrian street from the Biblioteca Ambrosiana - historic library containing many Da Vinci items, plus it's an exquisite medieval building - a surprising pop-in visit turned into 2 hours of wonder- so much more than a library, it's an ancient Academy - also art gallery etc:

http://www.ambrosiana.eu/cms/english.html

Duca di York is not cheap, but not pricey either for Milan standards, and the streets are actually quiet, considering you are about 2 blocks from the Duomo and lots of eateries, gelaterias, bakeries, etc. It was worth every penny to us - loved it. Has everything you want in spades (including a small bar for guests) - and the location is the best of both worlds. Would go back if ever in Milan again. We missed getting tickets for LaScala,Opera we wanted to see sold out in 4 days online - yikes !!
Enjoy :)

Thank you all for your suggestions and recommendations. I appreciate the time you took to answer my concerns.

The Duca di York was our other candidate for a nearby hotel, but we decided that Star was closer--and I think it was less expensive. I don't remember where we stated the time before when we went to La Scala, but it was at least a 15 minute walk. Both of these would be much more convenient.

As for getting tickets, advance planning is essential. Since we planned an extra day in Milan at the end of the Village Italy trip, we knew way in advance what the date would be. I checked the site, and I think non-subscription tickets for that date were not yet available, so I made note of when they would be on the internet, and purchased them then. I took the same approach to tickets for the Opera Bastille next February--tickets for one of the performances I want went on sale in September, and the other will be on sale next week. They go on sale at 9am Paris time, which is 3am on the east coast, but I'm compulsive enough that I set my alarm to be able to get tickets as soon as possible. That worked for the first performance, so I'll do the same next week. I don't know how available last minute tickets are, since real advance planning isn't always possible. But if you do have tickets, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time!

We were in Milan just last week and stayed in Hotel Star. We thought it had a great location and were very pleased with its cleanliness and care. LaScala is a short walk around the corner.
We also had a ticket to catch the train and go from Milan Centralle to Milan Malpensa airport. We talked to Vittoria, the desk lady at Hotel Star who was incredibly helpful. She suggested that we take a cab the early morning of our flight to the Milan Cardona train station which was smaller and closer and SO MUCH easier to negotiate. Matter of fact, our cab driver took us right up to a Milan Malpensa entrance at Milan Cardona and it made our life a lot easier!
Word to the wise......my kind husband was trying to help 2 ladies get their huge luggage off the train racks when our train stopped at Terminal 1. The train door closed on him and we were separated for a few seconds when he thought to push the green button and reopen the train before it took off.....YIKES! Be quick at getting off that train!

I always stay at La Maison Milano. It is virtually on the Duomo piazza. It is beautiful, clean and so convenient. The staff are remarkable, very accomodating and helpful. I have stayed here multiple times and always am sad to leave.

I want to thank everyone's responses to nrbalto's question as it was also my question. I called every hotel listed in these responses to nrbalto's question. Yes Milan is expensive. Celtic0103 did the best sales job so I "handed" over my credit card for two nights after our Village Italy trip in May. I have reservation for Last Supper but only thing on at La Scala is ballet even though we are in Milan in May over Fri and Saturday nights. It was a huge disappointment but since I will not be purchasing Opera tickets I am giving all my money to Hotel Grand di York.ha. All tips wrlcome