Milan accomodation

John, You might check your local Library or Bookstores to see if they have a copy of the RS Italy 2011 Guidebook. The book has listings for several Hotels in Milan, with good descriptions of the facilities, prices and website information. You might have a look in your local Library or Bookstores to get some idea on Hotels in Milan. You'll be issued the Italy book for your tour, so it wouldn't make sense to buy one. You might try Coles Books in the Aberdeen Mall or Chapters on Hillside Drive (assuming they're still in the same locations?). One place to consider is This Hotel. It's located close to Metro stops, within walking distance to the Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, and close to some nice restaurants. As suggested in the Guidebook, I'd probably plan on having breakfast elsewhere as the breakfast room at the Hotel is VERY small! As it's close to the Metro, it's relatively easy to reach Milano Centrale when you need to travel to Varenna. I'm not sure Milan is the best place to provide a "good positive introduction to Italy", but I suppose it's worthwhile for a day or two (especially if you're planning to see The Last Supper). An alternative would be to travel to Varenna straight away, and spend your first few days there whilst recovering from jet lag and becoming "acclimatized" to Italy. If this is your first RS tour, you're in for a treat! I'll be signing up for my fifth tour in the next month or so. Happy travels!

As always the RS book was invaluable to us. Several RS hotels were full but we stayed at the Hotel Berna, a family run hotel a block away from the Central Train station, easy to use and not a creepy neighborhood. The online rates were good while we were there (conventions raise the rates). Had a rate with an surprisingly great breakfast included and it was not the usual hardroll with a glass of juice.

Try Una Hotel Century in Milan. I stayed there 2 years ago and it was a lovely hotel. Excellent location. 2 blocks from main train station.

John, I just left Milan yesterday. My husband and I stayed at the Eurohotel. It was fantastic! Free breakfast (hot and cold food). It has a metro stop across the street and everything is close by. The rooms are relatively small, but it's Europe. The bathrooms are modern. The room has a TV. Our room had a view of a cute little courtyard. There is a lift/elevator. Giuseppe was extremely helpful with any questions we had. What more can I say? I'd definitely recommend it. Very affordable. (If you do stay there, and you take the Metro (Porta Venezia stop) there is a small cafe right when you walk in to the right. You MUST ask them to make you a panino of ham and cheese on focaccia bread - OH MY GOD, it was delicious!! and we've been craving it since we left.)

We stayed at Hotel Star which is close to Opera house and not too far from the Duomo. It was very easy to walk around to the central cites. We used metro a few times as well. We stayed 1 night for 104 euros. The rooms are clean, bright, but with cheesy animal murals. Great bathrooms with tubs. And a decent breakfast. http://www.hotelstar.it/

Please ask for price ranges in dollars\Euros because reasonable is a nebulous term and it means different things to different people. You could check with venere.com and trip advisor.com because they both provided hotel choices, pricing, map locations, and client reviews. We have been frequent visitors to Milano in the last 10 years and we always stay at the Hotel Berna mentioned above. The hotel is 4 star and a great value. It also has the best breakfast in Milano with both Italian and our more familiar morning items. The place is extremely clean and 100% non-smoking. Buon viaggio,