Recommendations for last night stay either in Milan or nearer the airport via train or bus

I can’t answer your specific question but would like to suggest a back up plan. Last spring our flight home from Milan was changed by the airline a few weeks prior to our travel dates from a late morning to very early morning departure. I was SO glad we had decided to play it safe and stay at the Moxy Milano airport hotel. You should be able to book a fully refundable reservation (that can be cancelled completely up to 24 or 48 hours of check in). We paid less than $100 last year for a very nice room. We were out the door at 5:30 am to start our travel day and we didn’t get through all the lines and the hike from one end of the airport to the other with much time to spare — we had time for a cup of coffee and then boarding started.

Go ahead and book a refundable room at a Milan or midway to the airport hotel as you choose. If your flight time doesn’t change, just cancel the airport hotel. If you’re suddenly on a very early morning flight, keep your airport hotel room and cancel the other one. (Maybe I’m just super cautious. But booking an extra reservation will take 5 minutes and cost you nothing— unless you forget to cancel it).

Ruth, that is a great idea! Thank you. I'm very cautious and airlines are always changing times. I like the idea of having a last minute backup and have a spreadsheet so will remember to cancel in case not used one way or the other, Milan proper or the Moxy solution. Did you take the Malpensa Express to the airport and then grab a shuttle to your airport based hotel?

What is 'mid morning'?

Where does that flight land? If at a Schengen destination, then 2 hrs before is needed; if a non-Schengen destination then being at the airport 3 hrs ahead is the norm.

We stayed here --
https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotels-in-cardano-al-campo/best-western-hotel-cavalieri-della-corona/propertyCode.98235.html
Would not hesitate to stay there again.

Convenient shuttle bus. Had dinner in Milan and traveled to airport ( took bus); took hotel shuttle to hotel and at check in registered for the morning trip back to airport to catch our 8AM flight to London for our connection home.

Thank you Joe! We're flying out currently to a schengen country, France, via EasyJet, at 11:30am. We are coming back up to Milan via train with our luggage at 2:30pm in the afternoon, so would need to lock up the luggage somewhere - hopefully at the Central Train Station? - then wander a bit before coming back to the station for a the train shuttle after dinner and out to the airport. Where'd you pick up the Malpenza Express bus in Milan may I ask?

Where'd you pick up the Malpenza Express bus in Milan may I ask?

On the East side of the train station ( the right side as you look at the main entry)

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4863078,9.2065872,3a,90y,161.98h,84.65t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s2FwRE8CUb0LEL_pjoHT12g!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D5.3477666005959605%26panoid%3D2FwRE8CUb0LEL_pjoHT12g%26yaw%3D161.9828397880056!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTExMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

We just returned from Italy last month. We did not fly out of Malpensa but we needed to be there at 9 am one morning to meet our hiking tour group for the shuttle to our hotel in Verbania on Lago Maggiore. WE did not want to stay at an airport hotel, but I learned of a nice local hotel in a small village in the countryside, 10 minutes away, with a free shuttle to the airport (either terminal). So I booked that, and it was great.

https://osteriadellapista.com/?lang=en

We. were coming from Lago di Garda and took the Malpensa Express to the airport, calling the hotel when we were ready to be picked up at T1. The van arrived in about 10 minutes and took us to the hotel 10 minutes away. The next morning they took us back to MXP in good tie to meet our group.

The hotel itself is horse-themed (each room named after a famous show horse), as the town in home to 7 equestrian centers. The reception agent was friendly and professional, and our room modern and nicely furnished. No great view out the window. As I recall, the shower, etc. was good. Cost for the room was €140.

The highlight was the in-house restaurant, which is very attractive and popular with the locals. The menu is interesting and everything we ordered was nicely prepared and tasty. I would go back just for the dinner.

The only downside was that I pictured a nice walk through the town or the nearby countryside, but that didn’t happen. The streets around the hotel had no sidewalks; just the narrow street hemmed in by buildings on both sides. It wasn’t very pleasant for walking. We did head out toward what looked like a nice green space on Satellite view, but it was further than we realized and we turned around.

The Hotel bar wasn’t open yet, but the desk clerk recommended a little pub down the street—-I believe the name is Crazy Horse. We went there for a glass of wine while watching the America’s Cup on the large TV screen. Pretty chill scene and everyone was very friendly.

I would recommend this little hotel over a chain hotel at the airport.

If you decide to stay in Milan, Hotel Garda and Hotel Berna are two hotels very near Milan Centrale that are frequently mentioned on this forum. I stayed at Hotel Garda which was clean, safe, convenient, and reasonably priced; Hotel Berna also sounds good and is on the same street. Both of the Malpensa Express train lines do have stops closer to the airport, but none of them get mentioned as towns of any charm as far as I have seen. Porto Garibaldi is just one stop closer to Malpensa than Milan Centrale but might be a different neighborhood to explore for your last evening.

Thank you all! Lola, we booked the Osteria Della, looks fantastic! And I have a backup in Milan in case the airline makes our flight much later in the day. Just need to remember to cancel the one I don't end up at. Thanks again for everyone's help!

Hi Darla — we traveled by direct bus from Stresa on Lake Maggiore to the Milan airport. There’s a bus stop directly across the road from the Moxy. There’s a free shuttle bus from that same stop to the international terminal. If you do end up having to stay at the airport, our experience was very positive.