staying in Milan

Since it appears that you are not locked in to Milan, I would suggest Rome in a heart beat. Even if you only have 2 days, you can see the essence of this fantastic city.

I agree--if Rome is an option I'd do that rather than Milan. If you decide on Milan, a hotel convenient to the train station is the Best Hotel (www.thebesthotel.it). We stayed there in April--it was about 80 Euro per night. Not fancy but for convenience it worked o.k.--a 5 minute walk from the train station and a quick metro ride to the Duomo. Have a great trip!

The Best Hotel in Milano is one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in in my life. Dirty, rotting walls, bath unbelievably bad, plumbing terrible, noisy, people hanging about were scummy. Really a terrible place. And the market in the park across the street seems to attract a druggy, rough crowd. Horrible!!

Kent,

You can get up on your soapbox anytime you want...as long as you keep delivering lines like these: "if it's good it won't stay cheap for long, and if it's cheap it won't stay good for long."

OK, Kent lured me over from the "Northern side". In my opinion, Spain, Italy, and So. France are third world countries. Culturally it is like going to to Mexico and Central America. In twenty years of traveling in Europe, I have confined my travel to Northern Europe, mostly German speaking countries. In my opinion, they are culturally like the US.

I would never hesitate to stay in the least expensive hotel in a German town. They kind of have a work ethic where anything they offer is going to be nice. The room might be small, but it will be clean and well maintained. On my last trip, I stayed in rooms for an average of €37 per night, single, and no place was shabby.

OK, Kent lured me over from the "Northern side". In my opinion, Spain, Italy, and So. France are third world countries. Culturally it is like going to to Mexico and Central America. In twenty years of traveling in Europe, I have confined my travel to Northern Europe, mostly German speaking countries. In my opinion, they are culturally like the US.

I would never hesitate to stay in the least expensive hotel in a German town. They kind of have a work ethic where anything they offer is going to be nice. The room might be small, but it will be clean and well maintained. On my last trip, I stayed in rooms for an average of €37 per night, single, and no place was shabby.

Wow Lee....don't ever go to Madrid or Barcelona and say that! You won't get out alive (and you'll be wrong!)

OK, I too need a room (actually two) in Milan for one night before we head to Venice. We fly into
Milan early afternoon and want to only see the duomo and the Last supper. And then leave for Venice the following day by train. Unfortunately our plane arrives into the malpensa airport and it's a bit of a jaunt to the city center. Any recommendations?

Thank you
Connie
Minnesota

I've just finished planning my trip to Italy for this October and found booking a reasonably priced room in Milan was the most challenging part. My advice...don't even look a Rick Steves' guide for Milan and rely totally on Trip Advisor. There are 440 hotels in Milan rated on that site with very detailed opinions. All of Rick's listings that were under 125 euros ranked in the bottom 100 on trip adviser (including the Best Hotel). I ended up booking in a place fairly far out (4 or 5 metro stops from the Duomo) of the city center to get a place that was 'clean' with 'nice people' and in a 'safe neighborhood' for 125 euros.

Also note that the Lonely Planet recs weren't any better than Rick's when cross-checked on Trip Advisor.

http://www.casamiahotel.it/en/
We stayed here last year. It wasn't the most elegant or overly pretty place, but it was clean, there was breakfast included, they made us wonderful coffee and cappuccinos to order anytime we wanted (at no cost)and they were super friendly. It was easy to get to the metro and was across the street from a park. They had free internet in the lobby too.

I respectfully withdraw my suggestion of the Best Hotel in Milan. While I agree that it wasn't great--it was convenient to the train station--it is a case of "getting what you pay for." We also tried another hotel recommended on this site (Hotel Charly) with similar results. I think that Matt has the right idea about checking the reviews on Trip Advisor--as long as the hotel is near the metro it's easy to get to the train station from almost any location.

Sharon: Exactly. Getting hotel recommendations on this site is a very hit or miss way of doing it. In answer to a post on this site for a hotel pick, you're typically getting the review from only one or two travelers--that's not very reliable. It's more reliable to do two things:1) Consult Rick's books, they keep on top of the situation with their recommendations, yes I know there are exceptions, but I've had conversations with Rick's staff and they really do make an effort to monitor performance of those they pick. 2) And then also check with TripAdvisor so that you're getting the benefit of 20 or 40 reviewers instead of just one here on the Helpline.Isn't this just common sense, or am I missing something? Are we that good here at picking hotels?

Each one of us has different criteria for what's acceptable in a hotel--Kent's right--we have to be aware of that when we accept someone's recommendation. While the Best Hotel in Milan worked for my husband and I for convenience and lower cost (and it was in Rick's 2008 Italy book)--it's just not up to everyone's standard.

The Best Hotel--I believe I was on the third floor in a room that looked out to a garden--it had obviously just been renovated. Expectations were low, as it was a quick stop on our way elsewhere; however, we were pleasantly surprised! It was clean, modern, and just had a good feel. Now, we did walk on the other floors and notice that renovation was happening, and when one of the rooms was being cleaned, we looked in and were thankful that we didn't get that room! I would write to them, if you planned on staying, and tell them that you want one of the newly renovated rooms that looks out to the garden.

Thanks to everyone for the great comments. I bit the bullet (it tastes vaguely like chicken} and booked a "cheap" hotel on venere. We stayed in a hovel, no that's too nice, a horror, in Mexico after missing a flight once, so we can stand almost anywhere. It's nice, though, to find those gems that are hospitable, inexpensive, friendly, and clean; and who serve a nice breakfast. HEY, that sounds like my house--why don't I just stay home??

Hi Jerry!
Let us know how your hotel works out--judging from many previous posts finding a decent hotel, at a reasonable price, near the train station or Malpensa in Milan has been a challenge for many. Have a great trip!

Why would Lee travel to Europe looking for the same culture as the US? I have been traveling to Europe for 40 years and avoid the Germanic speaking countries. They are the most boring places imaginable. If I want to be bored I only have to take a short drive down to Denver.

The key, IMHO, is being honest about your expectations and realistic about the cost attached to those expectations. You must also read carefully (maybe between the lines) WHY the hotel is rated high or low. It may be that a conveniently located, clean, secure, etc. hotel may meet my needs for a sleeping spot whereas it wasn't up to the expectations of a romantic getaway. Another thing I do is throw out the high and low ratings (just like in the Olympics) and listen to the consensus. I've had great luck.