handy accommodations with 11:30am flight from Milano Malpensa

My theory on a flight that early is to stay near the airport. You'll save a lot of time and hurrying in the morning, especially if you need to check-in extra early. I haven't stayed at that airport so I do not have a selection. Try Booking.com.

You can stay in the center near Milano Centrale or Milano Cadorna
Take the Malpensa Express in the am

https://www.malpensaexpress.it/en/

Do a search here for hotels, several near Centrale that are often recommended

We stayed here --
https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotels-in-cardano-al-campo/best-western-hotel-cavalieri-della-corona/propertyCode.98235.html

Handy shuttle bus service.

Would stay again

The airport is over 30 miles from Milan. For an 11:30 flight you'll probably be told to be at the airport by 8:30 (or possibly earlier if there are extra COVID procedures required at the time). The Malpensa Express takes nearly an hour. I don't know how much of a walk you'll have from the nearest train stop at the airport to your check-in counter. I always build in at least an extra hour when headed to the airport, so I'd want to take a train departing before 6:30 AM, which would mean getting up no later than 5:30 AM (which would be pushing it). That's assuming the train tickets were already in hand. This sounds really unpleasant to me, so I'd opt to stay out at the airport or within a very short taxi ride of the airport if there's an attractive small town up that way.

We had a morning flight out of Malpensa some hours earlier than yours and stayed here:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/madisonhotel.html

Walked over to Milano Centrale station to catch an airport shuttle bus to Malpensa (we bought our tickets the day before). You could also catch the Malpensa Express train from Centrale.

https://www.milanomalpensa-airport.com/en/from-to/by-coach

We have tried several hotels and apartments the night before a flight out of Malpensa. We really don't like staying in hotels and we really, really, really don't like airport hotels. HOWEVER, we found Osteria della Pista, open since 1875 but with newly remodeled rooms, in a town very near the airport and with a quick shuttle to the airport. The shuttle was free when we have taken it. There is a decent restaurant in the hotel and the hotel people were all very pleasant and helpful and non-corporate. I'd include a link to their website but it is being renovated. So, here is the hotel in TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g670909-d572021-Reviews-Hotel_Osteria_Della_Pista-Casorate_Sempione_Province_of_Varese_Lombardy.html

If you'd rather stay in Milan, the Hotel Berna is a couple blocks from the train station where the airport buses leave from. Leave plenty of time in case of traffic. I believe that the buses leave every half-hour but not on a real strict schedule.

Nancys, thanks for the hotel recommendation, I'll bookmark this post.

We have stayed at the Hotel Berna, in Milan, it is a RS fav., is about a block from the central train station, and has a nice breakfast.

However, we did have a problem with the punctuality of the express trains to the airport, and it caused much stress. We allotted plenty of time, actually were standing at the tracks when the express train before ours was there. However, because our ticket was for the NEXT train, we were not able to board. Then, our ticketed train was canceled- no explanation- it just disappeared off the board. So we had a 30 minute wait for the next 45 minute train ride. It was not a happy time. Thanks to the Milan airport being smaller and easier to navigate, we made our flight easily, but never again. We will stay in the airport vicinity next time.

Safe travels!

I’ve always stayed at the Best Western Cavalieri della Corona suggested by Joe32F above. I love the place and it’s only 5 min from the airport by shuttle or taxi. But if you want to stay even closer there is also the Sheraton across the terminal.

First, forget about staying close to Milano Centrale and taking the 55 minutes train to Malpensa. The area is deserted at night and there is a faster option.

If you want one last night in Milan in a lively neighbourhood, Stay close to Milano Nord Cadorna Station. The airport trains depart from Cadorna every 30 minutes and take 35 minutes. First run at 6:27 AM.

Since a ticket is valid for 3 hours after the departure of the booked train, get a ticket for one leaving before the train you actually want to get on. This way, if you arrived at the station earlier than expected you'd avoid what happened to Pat (who probably couldn't understand the voice announcements).

I second the recommendation to stay near Cadorna. It is a nice area, walkable to the Duomo, and the trains to the airport are indeed much faster and just as frequent.

If you decide to stay at the airport, I stayed at the MOXY at Malpensa. It was very convenient and a nice modern hotel - slept well. I like to give myself plenty of time at the airport, so I just had breakfast after I checked in. I do remember thinking that morning that I was glad I had decided to stay there.

'Big thanks to all for your detailed explanations of your experiences, suggestions, and rationales. I've decided we will linger in Milan City Center into the evening (see the Duomo lit up!) then proceed out to the airport area for an overnight.

We have stayed at Hotel Villa Malpensa several times. One reason we like to stay there is that they have a wonderful dining room for a last night in Italy.

Dee-
Be sure to allow time on your last day to get your COVID test for departure

If you don't mind getting up early stay in central Milan; otherwise, check out the Moxy Hotel right at the airport. We had a good night there back in 2016.

great advice from all! thanks. looking forward to our trip to Italy

I'd say anywhere in the center of the city would be great. Our departing flight from MXP is at 6:40am and we hired a car to pick us up at 3:30am to take us to the airport. Staying in the city is always preferable for us so that we can enjoy walking the streets and seeing the sites as late into our last evening as we like. We use www.suntransfers.com for our shuttles outside of Malpensa Express hours.
Good luck!

An extraordinarily helpful thread.

Any suggestions for a hotel near the Cadorna station?

We are currently booked at the Hotel Garda near the Centrale train station, but after reading all of this helpful advice, I’d like to change hotels.

Our problem is that we will be arriving in Milan from Cinque Terre. I’m not sure if any trains go from Genoa to Cadorna. (I’ll check.) If we have to go to the Centrale station, we will need to get from Centrale to Cardona with luggage. I remember that the metro is good, but with luggage? Maybe a taxi…

Stay near the airport. It’s way too far away from the city center to get there in the morning. Pack lighter. One carry on and a medium backpack maximum per person.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the airport and did not regret it. That night we walked to a local restaurant and it was one of the best experiences we had in Italy. No worries in the morning about getting to the airport in time.

All very good information. Grazie to those who responded