25 Milan Hotels and the Stories They Keep

A convent on Via Gesù, the archbishop’s old seminary turned public piazza, the suite where Verdi died, and a perfume factory remade as a scented hotel.

Milan turned a convent, a seminary, and a perfume factory into hotels, along with its palazzi and old banks. This list has the 15th-century convent on Via Gesù, the archbishop’s 1564 seminary whose courtyard is now a public piazza, the suite kept as Verdi lived it in the hotel where he died, and the Tortona factory remade as a hotel built around perfume.

The list is grouped by character, not ranked. Where a hotel’s own site could be confirmed, its name links there; the rest are listed without one.

The grand old names

Grand Hotel et de Milan · Montenapoleone / Quadrilatero

The Grand Hotel et de Milan opened in 1863 and is the oldest luxury hotel in the city. Giuseppe Verdi lived here for years and died in the hotel in 1901. The rooms he kept are preserved as the Verdi Suite.

Hotel Principe di Savoia · Piazza della Repubblica

The Principe di Savoia opened in 1927 on Piazza della Repubblica, in a neoclassical Lombard style. It is part of the Dorchester Collection, and over its history it has put up visiting royalty, heads of state, and film stars.

Excelsior Hotel Gallia · Piazza Duca d’Aosta (Milano Centrale)

The Excelsior Gallia opened in 1932, facing Milano Centrale station. It was closed for years, then reopened in 2015 after a major restoration. It runs now as a Luxury Collection hotel.

The Westin Palace, Milan · Piazza della Repubblica

The Westin Palace opened in 1950 as the Palace Hotel, on Piazza della Repubblica beside the Principe di Savoia.

The Carlton, Milan · Quadrilatero della Moda (Via della Spiga / Via Senato)

The Carlton is at the corner of Via Senato and Via della Spiga, in the fashion quarter, in the building that was the Baglioni Hotel Carlton. It reopened in 2026 as Rocco Forte’s first hotel in Milan.

Used to be something else

Four Seasons Hotel Milano · Via Gesu (Montenapoleone)

The Four Seasons is in a 15th-century former convent on Via Gesù. Original frescoes and the colonnaded cloister survive in the courtyard and the rooms. It opened as a Four Seasons in 1993.

Portrait Milano · Quadrilatero (Corso Venezia)

Portrait Milano is in Milan’s Archiepiscopal Seminary, built in 1564 and one of the oldest seminaries in Europe. Its 17th-century colonnaded courtyard reopened to the public as a new piazza in 2022, when the hotel opened as part of Ferragamo’s Lungarno Collection.

Park Hyatt Milano · Centro Storico (Via Tommaso Grossi)

The Park Hyatt is in a 19th-century palazzo on Via Tommaso Grossi, next to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It opened in 2003 and reopened in 2022 after a renovation. Its La Cupola lounge sits under an original glass dome.

Mandarin Oriental, Milan · Quadrilatero (Via Andegari)

The Mandarin Oriental took four linked 18th-century buildings on Via Andegari, near La Scala. Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel restored them, and it opened in 2015. One of the buildings had earlier been reworked by the Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi.

Maison Milano | UNA Esperienze · Centro Storico (Via Mazzini, near the Duomo)

The Maison Milano is in an early-20th-century palazzo near the Duomo, attributed to the architect Luigi Broggi. It stands a few minutes from the Piazza del Duomo.

Magna Pars Suites Milano · Tortona (Via Forcella)

Magna Pars is built on the site of a former perfume factory in the Tortona design district. It styles itself an ‘hotel à parfum’, with each suite given to a fragrance and its own perfumery on site. It opened in 2013.

nhow Milano · Tortona (Via Tortona)

The nhow opened in 2006 in a converted industrial building in the Tortona design district. Its interiors are by Matteo Thun.

Savona 18 Suites · Tortona / Savona (Via Savona)

Savona 18 is in a restored early-20th-century Milanese building on Via Savona. The architect Aldo Cibic redesigned it, and it reopened as a hotel in 2019.

Palazzi and period houses

Bulgari Hotel Milano · Brera (Via Privata Fratelli Gabba)

The Bulgari is in a restored 18th-century palazzo on a private lane in Brera, its large garden running up against the Brera Botanical Garden. It opened in 2004 as the first Bulgari hotel, designed by Antonio Citterio.

Palazzo Parigi Hotel & Grand Spa · Brera / Montenapoleone (Corso di Porta Nuova)

Palazzo Parigi opened in 2013 on a site linked to the old Palazzo Cramer, between Brera and the Quadrilatero. The architect-owner Paola Giambelli designed it.

Chateau Monfort · San Babila (Corso Concordia)

Château Monfort is in an early-20th-century Milanese Liberty building near San Babila. It is a fairytale-themed hotel run by Planetaria Hotels.

Hotel Gran Duca di York · Centro Storico (Via Moneta, near Piazza Cordusio)

The Gran Duca di York is in an 18th-century building on Via Moneta, in the old banking quarter near Piazza Cordusio. The building is said to have belonged first to the Church. It is a short walk from the Duomo.

Design and fashion houses

Armani Hotel Milano · Quadrilatero (Via Manzoni 31)

Giorgio Armani turned a 1930s rationalist building on Via Manzoni into the Armani Hotel. It opened in 2011, with everything from the interiors to the amenities designed by Armani.

STRAF · Centro Storico (Via San Raffaele, beside the Duomo)

STRAF is in an 1883 building steps from the Duomo. It is a design hotel known for raw, unfinished materials such as concrete, scratched brass, and burnt iron, with interiors by the artist-designer Vincenzo De Cotiis.

Room Mate Giulia · Centro Storico (beside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II)

Room Mate Giulia is in a historic building right alongside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Its interiors are by Patricia Urquiola, her first complete hotel, and it opened in 2015.

Hotel Spadari al Duomo · Centro Storico (Via Spadari, behind the Duomo)

The Spadari is an art-minded hotel near the Duomo, hung with work by 20th-century Italian artists. Its lobby fireplace was designed by the sculptor Giò Pomodoro.

Casa Baglioni · Brera

Casa Baglioni opened in Brera in 2023. Its interiors were made with the Boschi Di Stefano house-museum, drawing on its collection of 20th-century Italian art.

Small houses with character

Antica Locanda Leonardo · Corso Magenta (near Santa Maria delle Grazie)

The Antica Locanda Leonardo is a small guesthouse on Corso Magenta, a short walk from Leonardo’s ‘Last Supper’ at Santa Maria delle Grazie. It is in a 19th-century Milanese house around a private courtyard garden.

Maison Borella · Navigli (Alzaia Naviglio Grande)

Maison Borella is in a restored 19th-century house on the Naviglio Grande canal. Its rooms are arranged around a traditional ringhiera balcony courtyard.

Hotel Milano Scala · Brera / Via Manzoni (near Teatro alla Scala)

The Milano Scala opened in 2010 as the city’s first zero-emission hotel. It is in a restored historic palazzo a short walk from the Teatro alla Scala.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these hotels ranked?
No. The groups sort them by character, and the order within each group carries no meaning.

What made a hotel interesting enough for this list?
A story. Every entry was a convent, a bank, a palazzo, a factory, or a grand old name with a documented past. Comfort alone did not qualify a hotel.

Why are there no prices?
Rates change daily and a priced list goes stale in a month. Where a hotel runs its own site, its name links there, so you see the current rate and book direct.

Which hotel puts me closest to the day trips on this site?
Most day trips from Milan leave by train from Milano Centrale or Cadorna, or by road toward Lake Como and the lakes. The hotels in the centro storico and around the station sit closest.

Do the small hotels book out faster than the grand ones?
Usually. The small houses — the Antica Locanda Leonardo, Maison Borella, the Gran Duca di York — hold few rooms and fill first. Book those well ahead.