The Chicest Milan Hotels to Book for Design Week
From Casa Brera to Bulgari Hotel Milan to the new Rocco Forte at The Carlton, these hotels offer the local and worldwide best in design and comfort
Milan Design Week returns on April 20, with the main event, Salone del Mobile, running April 21–26. The event promises to be well worth the full week, given the over 1,900 exhibitors at the main fair alone, showing their material theses on what’s next in décor for home, office, and outdoors. So where to stay? Will it be airy linear, palazzo splendid, revamped midcentury modern, 19th century grande dame, or Renaissance romantic? The editors at Galerie have compared notes to hone in on some key reservation candidates for a dreamy stay.
1. Casa Brera
A recent Galerie Hotel of the Week, Casa Brera has drawn attention for Galerie Creative Mind Patricia Urquiola’s exciting renovation, which paid tribute to Italian architect Pietro Lingeri’s original designs while incorporating the latest plush furniture and beautifully employed local materials. Over 100 guest rooms and luxury suites beckon with the most striking, comfortable elements that Milan’s design culture has to offer. The location can’t be beat, either. Casa Brera is a quick walk to the Brera district’s renowned museums and galleries.
2. The Carlton Milan
An exciting new addition to the Rocco Forte portfolio, The Carlton Milan offers a residential ambiance as well as stylish dining options curated by Chef Fulvio Pierangelini, the Creative Director of Food for Rocco Forte Hotels. Kudos to Olga Polizzi, Philip Vergeylen, and Paolo Moschino for the 71 glamorously appointed, Art Deco-infused rooms. All of the rooms have marble baths with soaking tubs and walk-in showers, perfect for when you’ve been chasing the hottest Milan Design Week exhibits all day long.
3. The Portrait Hotel
Owned by time-honored Italian brand Ferragamo, the Portrait Hotel is home to what must be one of the most beautiful hotel pools ever created, a tranquil columned room with arched ceilings within The Longevity Spa. If you’ve been to Bath or visited the remains of the Roman baths, you may wonder if this was how those places felt in their heyday. The sense of timelessness is no invention: the Portrait repurposed a 16th-century monastery that itself referenced the still more distant classical era. There are, of course, plenty of reasons to stay at the Portrait beyond gazing in awe at the pool. The Baroque piazza is stunning, and the sumptuous rooms were created by Michele Bönan.
4. Four Seasons Milan
Located in a 600-year-old former convent near the Duomo, Four Seasons Milan boasts frescos, high ceilings and Chef Fabrizio Borraccino’s restaurant Zelo. The Penthouse and Fashion Suites have their own terraces. All of the rooms and suites were recently given a widely praised, history-conscious redesign by the brilliant Pierre-Yves Rochon in shades of cream and rosy terracotta, with rosewood trim. Rochon, who previously updated the George V in Paris, took special care to ensure that each room feels like a perfect home to its guests during their stay in Milan, and no two rooms at the Four Seasons Milan are exactly alike.
5. Bulgari Hotel Milano
Seasoned travelers know that Bulgari has scope beyond jewelry. Considered a hot spot for Milan Design Week VIP energy and dealmaking, the Bulgari Hotel Milano is outfitted in precious materials such as teak, oak, black marble, and Vicenza stone, and design by Antonio Citterio that delightfully gestures to the brand’s bejeweled background.
6. Palazzo Parigi Hotel & Grand Spa
Every bedroom at the Palazzo Parigi features a balcony or a terrace with a postcard view. The Parigi is full of old-school European grand hotel touches that bely its 2013 birthdate. The Grand Spa here is a star. The service menu’s abundant experiences include a pink marble hammam and other treatments inspired by bathing rituals from around the world.
7. Gran Meliá Palazzo Cordusio
Top hospitality name Gran Meliá recently oversaw a major revamp of this neoclassical palazzo before launching the Gran Meliá Palazzo Cordusio. The new Cordusio has furnishings from beloved Lombardy brand Motenti&C and Gio Ponti throughout. Rooftop Ristorante Isola serves authentic Italian fare, while Japanese restaurant Sachi has robata grilling as well as sushi.
8. Hotel Principe di Savoia
The attention to care here is astonishingly detailed, as is the Pompeii-style decoration in the private pool in the Presidential Suite. The spacious rooms start at 376 square feet in the Deluxe room and top out at over 5,000 square feet (in the aforementioned Presidential), and beautifully reference the most beloved ideas of a range of eras from Neoclassical to Victorian to Art Deco. Hotel Principe di Savoia is part of the Dorchester Collection and is close to the excellent shopping on Via Montenapoleone.
9. Armani Hotel Milano
Aside from all the things expected from Armani, the venue offers location. A key thing to understand about Milan Design Week is that the fairgrounds used by Salone del Mobile.Milano are simply not walking distance for anyone but the most determined pedestrians. Armani Hotel has one of the shortest taxi journeys of any of the luxury Milan hotels, at 15–20 minutes. Another location, location, location factor to mention here: the remarked-upon frequent presence of editors, designers, and all-around players.
10. Excelsior Hotel Gallia
Some of the interiors at the Excelsior Hotel Gallia have the feel of a retro ultramodern ocean liner, while the imposing mansard-roofed 1932 corner facade is all about stately tradition (parts of the hotel are situated in a Marco Piva steel-and-glass tower) and the stone-walled baths are as sleek as they come. The property’s somewhat trapezoidal, lean footprint and long shared border with Piazza Duca d’Aosta make for plentiful light.
11. Grand Hotel et de Milan
The 153-year-old Grand Hotel et de Milan has hosted practically every opera and ballet luminary ever to make the easy commute to Teatro alla Scala down the street. The Prada Milan flagship store is just another block further and around the corner. Inside, immerse yourself high-ceilinged in up-to-date fantasies of another century. Consider one of the 12 named suites, each honoring a different star who stayed here.
12. Casa Cipriani Milano
The Milan chapter of Casa Cipriani is a boutique experience offering 12 rooms and three suites. Cipriani’s bespoke touch abounds: each guest space is carefully planned, with well-chosen walnut panelling, Venini lighting, and linens so softly crisp and white that even photos of them are refreshing.
13. Mandarin Oriental Milan
One standout option is the Fornasetti Suite, decorated entirely in in works made or inspired by the great Piero Fornasetti. All rooms and suites are in classic Milanese style. The spa’s enticing list of services including the 3 hour and 20 minute Golden Saffron Ritual, and the restaurant and room service options are exquisite. Mandarin Oriental Milan, sitting at the northwest of the historic district, also has one of the shorter commutes to Fiera Milano Rho, at 15–20 minutes by car.
14. Casa Baglioni
Toast Milan Design Week and the arrival of spring at the rooftop terrace bar at Casa Baglioni Milan, which has the only 360-degree panoramic view in the Brera district. Downstairs, the Michelin-starred Sadler Restaurant serves delicacies such as filet of turbot and chestnut ravioli. Bath accoutrements are by Acqua di Parma. Junior suites have views of the Via dell’Annunciata, while the Leonardo and Milan give you the Milan skyline. Best of all, the Baglioni is pet-friendly: guests can bring animal companions under 33 pounds.