My final stop in Italy was Milan and I had only 2 nights to spend here. Arriving late and leaving early, I decided to save a little money and choose a cheaper hotel (I’m broke after the stay at the St Regis Florence)
Looking at the various options, I managed to find a BRG at 105euros instead of 133euros so that brought it down to 80euros per night. With breakfast included. A very decent price indeed. Taking the train from Florence I arrived at the train station and proceeded to walk to the hotel.
I noticed the Excelsior Hotel Gallia was next to the station and wished the price were lower. It was around 300euros when I was checking the rates. Next hotel on the way was the Hilton. Sigh.
The distance isn’t great, but the cold made it quite difficult. In fact, the fountains outside the Milan Castle (fontana di piazza castello) froze over when I visited in the morning.
As a Platinum guest, I got upgraded to a Superior Room and got a USB charger as a welcome gift.
The room was rather basic as expected, with no major complaints. I was rather surprised the hotel managed to put in a sofa in such a small room.
The toilet was functional with good water pressure and ample hot water.
As the hotel was undergoing some minor renovation at this time, access to the breakfast restaurant required a slight detour as the main door was blocked.
The spread wasn’t much but was pretty edible. I was amused by the different pies for breakfast.
The waffles were unexpectedly yummy, and it is obvious from how fast they disappear.
The breakfast was going for 20euros according to this menu on the table and for 80euros per night, I was effectively paying 40euros for the room for 2 guests.
This would be the first time I see such a sign, discouraging guests from taking away food from the breakfast buffet.
The highlight of this visit to Milan was being able to see Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and the proximity of the hotel to the train station and metro lines make this an excellent hotel to stay at for a really affordable price.
Leaving early on the last dayย as mentioned above, it was again an easy walk back to the train station for a uncomplicated ride to the airport.
Perhaps I would stay at the Excelsior Hotel Gallia for my next visit here, but for this time, the Four Points hits all the right notes.
How was your visit to the Last Supper viewing?
It was great! Delightful that photo-taking is allowed, because some of my friends were denied previously. I have no idea why.
Maybe previously they thought that the flash would ruin the mural but now it was verified to be okay. That’s good, I’ll be going in July. Cheers!