Fashion-forward Milan is one of Italy's top destinations, drawing crowds not only for its historic buildings like the Duomo, art like Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper at the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, or museums like the Pinacoteca di Brera, but also major events like Milan Fashion Week. The metropolis is also popular with day-trippers heading out to destinations like the Lake District (home to Lake Como, Lake Maggiore, and Lake Garda, among others) and smaller cities like Cremona, Bergamo, and Parma.
With such a range of sights and activities, the city draws an equally diverse range of visitors, and it has great hotels to accommodate them all. Here, we’ve surveyed Milan’s best offerings, picking our favorites across a handful of categories. So whether you’re looking for a five-star luxury hotel or a funky hostel, a romantic retreat or a family vacation spot, we’ve got you covered.
With a prime location, funky design, and affordable price tag, the Room Mate Giulia is our favorite hotel in Milan. It’s just around the corner from the Duomo and within walking distance of a number of museums and the Fashion District. Designer Patricia Urquiola was inspired by midcentury Milanese design, imbuing the space with bright colors, funky patterns, and retro furniture. Amenities are relatively minimal for the 85-room property, with two meeting rooms and a small but well-equipped basement gym that also has a steam room, sauna, and massage treatment room.
While there’s no on-site restaurant, there is a breakfast buffet (served till noon), and several area restaurants will deliver to the hotel. You can also ask the staff for a to-go breakfast if you’re looking for a quick bite on the run. One of the more unique perks to the hotel is that guests are given a portable Wi-Fi router to take out on the town to keep them connected.
With just four rooms in a 19th-century building, the incredibly affordable LaFavia Milano is one of Milan's most popular bed-and-breakfasts. It’s located in the residential Porta Garibaldi neighborhood near a major train station, though it’s within walking distance of the restaurants and boutiques of Brera, as well as the financial sector in Porta Nuova. The decor is eclectic, but tasteful, blending multiple styles that range from Art Deco to ’70s funk.
Individually designed rooms feature patterned wallpaper that give each space a fun personality, reflecting the friendly hospitality of the owners. As the B&B is in an apartment building, there aren’t any amenities to speak of, save for a greenery-filled terrace with comfortable seating, which is a great place to sip a glass of wine in the afternoons. A delicious continental breakfast is served there in the summer, while in the winter it moves to an indoor space. The hotel also provides two bikes for guests’ use.
Set in the 19th-century former private home of the Ranza family (they own the hotel), the Senato is a design-forward, 43-room boutique property in a prime location for shopping with Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga, two major retail hubs, just a few blocks away. It’s also only a ten-minute walk to the Duomo. The hotel’s central feature is a courtyard with a shallow reflecting pool that adds elegance to the property, though it can be drained to be used as an event space.
Designed by local architect Alessandro Bianchi, the Senato has a black, white, green, and gold palette with touches of luxe materials like Carrera marble and velvet offering different textures. Amenities include a small gym, a rooftop sundeck with loungers, and the Senato Caffé, a casual spot to grab a bite or a glass of wine throughout the day. There’s also a great breakfast buffet that features locally-sourced ingredients.
It doesn’t get more luxurious than the Bulgari Hotel, located in the artistic neighborhood of Brera. In 2004, the jewelry brand moved into hospitality, opening this 58-room hotel in a five-story 1950s building with an elegant black-and-white marble façade and an interior that oozes glamorous sophistication.
The best amenity is the 43,000-square-foot garden, which historians estimate is about 700 years old, but the hotel also has a fantastic spa with a swanky lap pool (check out the gold mosaics), a hammam, a yoga pavilion, a steam room, and a whirlpool tub. There’s also a fitness center, too, and trainers there offer private sessions with guests. As for dining, there are multiple options, from a terrace in the garden to an elegant cocktail bar to the fine-dining Il Ristorante-Niko Romito. The hotel is undoubtedly popular with the fashionable set, given the brand, but also because of the great shopping nearby.
European hotels have notoriously small guestrooms, sometimes making it difficult for families to find a space large enough for them. That’s not a problem at the Milan Suite Hotel, where, as the name implies, the 50 accommodations are all suite-style, including a family room with a double bed and two single beds. Some of the rooms even feature their own terraces for added outdoor space.
Decor here is modern and refined, following the principles of feng shui. There’s no formal restaurant, but a breakfast buffet is served every morning. The only downside to this hotel might be its location — it’s a bit outside the city center, near the Milano Villapizzone train station. That said, it’s quite easy to get downtown via public transportation, as a very affordable public bus stops just outside the hotel, and you can purchase tickets at the front desk. The hotel also has 50 parking spaces, a convenient amenity for travelers with cars.
Milan is a hotbed for fashion brands turning to hospitality, and the Armani Hotel Milano — a distinctive property located in the shopping-heavy Quadrilatero della Moda neighborhood — is one of the best, especially if you’re looking for nightlife. It’s home to the Armani/Bamboo Bar, a trendy spot that regularly hosts DJs and jazz nights on Sundays. But the real party is downstairs in Armani/Privé, a full nightclub that draws a top-tier crowd. You can also spend the night at the Armani/Ristorante, a Michelin-starred restaurant, if dining is your preferred source of evening entertainment.
﻿Retreat to the comfortable, minimalist guestrooms — the entire property was decorated by Giorgio Armani himself — for a respite from the partying, or head to the eighth-floor spa for a soothing treatment, a soak in the relaxation pool, or some heat in the sauna or steam room. During Milan Fashion Week, you’ll find a number of superstars staying here and partying late into the night.
With 21,603 square feet of meeting space spread across 14 event rooms with state-of-the-art technology, the Westin Palace, Milan, has all the space you’ll need if you’re looking for a conference site. It’s also convenient if you’re just in town for work a business center and spacious suites can easily serve as an office-away-from-home.
That said, the hotel is also great for leisure, with a spa and fitness center featuring two hammams, a popular lobby bar, and the sleek PanEVO restaurant. There’s also a rooftop terrace with loungers for a beautiful summer retreat. Rooms here come in two very different, but equally luxurious styles — contemporary with soothing gray palettes, or ornately classical with luxe detailing like wood-paneled walls and crystal chandeliers. If you’re a runner, this is also the hotel for you, as the hotel offers a “running concierge” to help you plan your routes, as well as running gear rentals.
While the idea of a hostel often conjures images of party-hard 20-somethings in dingy accommodations, Ostello Bello couldn’t be further from that stereotype. The incredibly popular property is located a ten-minute walk from the Duomo, near the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, famous for housing The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. There’s quite funky decor featuring a mishmash of furniture types — it almost looks like a chic thrift shop in here — but it’s endearing and gives the hostel plenty of personality.
One of the highlights of the property is the bar, which draws in not only guests, but locals, too, making it a great spot to hang out if you’re traveling solo. There’s great programming here as well, with everything from live music to art exhibitions to dramatic performances, plus fun shared spaces with amenities like video games and musical instruments. The communal kitchen is fully stocked with ingredients that are free for guests to use.
Our writers spent 6 hours researching the most popular hotels in Milan. Before making their final recommendations, they considered 30 different hotels and read over 20 user reviews (both positive and negative). All of this research adds up to recommendations you can trust.