Our tickets back to Singapore originated from Milan, so we decided to spend the last couple of nights of the trip in Milan, also to get shopping done. We were coming in by train from Venice, and planning to head to Malpensa Airport via the Malpensa Express. This meant staying close to Milan Centrale FS preferable. The Hilton Milan was the obvious choice, given its proximity to Milan Centrale FS.
We spent two nights at the Hilton Milan, and in some ways we were glad it wasn’t more. It wasn’t ra terrible or even objectively bad hotel. However, the room was a little cramped and outdated. Coming directy from a great stay at the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice, it felt like a big downgrade. Admittedly, that definitely coloured our perception of the Hilton Milan. Other aspects of the hotel, such as the Executive lounge and breakfast were fine, but nothing to really shout about. The location was what we had prioritised and it did work well for our needs, being just a couple of minutes walk from Centrale FS.
Read on for my review of the Hilton Milan!
Booking and pre-arrival
I booked the entry-level King Hilton Guest Room for EUR387 (~SGD564) for 2 nights.. This was a Semi-Flex rate, so a little higher than the cheapest non-refundable Honors Advance Purchase rate. Points stays here seem to start around 51,000 for a Standard Room Award, and are currently impossible to find in 2024, I guess due to the renovation affecting inventory. Still, at 51,000 points, the cash rate I paid represented better value than redeeming my Honors points.
The day before we arrived, I noticed in the app we had been upgrade to a King Executive Room. This was what we eventually received. Unlike with the Hilton Venice, there was no pre-arrival email other than the usual generic auto-generated Hilton ones.
Location
The Hilton Milan is located near Centrale FS as mentioned. This makes it convenient for those arriving by inter-city train, or by Malpensa Express from Malpensa airport. The walk from Centrale FS is around 5min across a couple of traffic junctions. It was tolerable with suitcases, although the footpath is a little narrow and uneven in parts. Centrale FS metro station is 4 stops from Duomo via Line 3. Line 2 also serves Centrale FS.
In terms of nearby amenities, there’s an Aldi supermarket in the same building, which was very welcome. There isn’t that much else nearby otherwise, with more food options being a 10-15min walk away. We didn’t really find it an issue, and we were able to easily walk to the highly-regarded Ratanà for dinner one evening.
Check-in
We arrived at the Hilton Milan around 4.40pm in the afternoon off our train from Venice. The exterior of the building looked utterly impressive and dull, but at least the lobby looked modern and rather promising. A bellhop offered to help with our bags, but given we’d just walked from the train station, assistance was quite unnecessary.
There were a couple of groups checking-in, but we were attended to immediately. The front desk agent acknowledged my Diamond status, and explained the Executive Lounge opening hours and the breakfast timing as well. There was no welcome letter. Once the formalities were completed, we were directed to the lifts at the back of the lobby.
King Executive Room
Our King Executive Room was located on the 6th floor of the hotel. When I looked at the room categories during booking, the pictures of each room type suggested some were more outdated than others. The Executive room wasn’t exactly ancient, but the overall decor was definitely outdated. What we were perhaps not quite ready for was the tiny size of the room. Coming from a massive suite at the Hilton Venice, this was shock to the system. I can’t find info on the room sizes, but I’d put at at around 25sqm. It wasn’t as small as the room we had in Paris in May, but this felt cramped.
The room was configured like a typical hotel room, with the wardrobe on one side of the entryway and the bathroom on the other.
The bathroom was as cramped as the overall room. The decor and layout also belonged in a different era. There was a vanity with single sink, separate WC and bidet, and a bathtub. The toiletries were the usual Crabtree & Evelyn, but it was the “original” Crabtree & Evelyn in small bottles, rather than the “resurrected” Crabtree & Evelyn.
The shower head in the bathtub was rather annoying and a clear sign of the age of the room and hotel in general. The water couldn’t maintain a consistent temperature. Regardless of the temperature it was turned to, the water could vary from scalding hot to cool.
Deeper into the room, there was a foldable luggage rack and the desk. While the desk itself was in good condition, the chair was way past its prime. It was peeling everywhere. The folding luggage rack was also pretty much the only space for luggage, so I had to store mine in the wardrobe.
At the end of the desk was the coffee/tea making equipment and minibar fridge. Nothing fancy here, and the kettle didn’t look particularly clean.
By the window was a small coffee table and chaise lounge. The view out the window was nothing exciting.
Maybe it was a psychological of the small room, but the king bed also felt smaller than other king beds we slept in on this trip. The pillows were too thing and soft for my liking.
There was a type-C or type-F at each bedside. One side also had a USB-A port. A welcome amenity of two cans of San Benedetto were found here when we got to the room. These were the only water provided during the stay.
The room was just too small and outdated for our liking. It wasn’t really in pristine condition either, most evident with the desk chair and shower. We had of course been spoilt by the Hilton Venice, so it’s a little unfair to the Hilton Milan. Nonetheless, the rooms are clearly in need of refurbishment. It sums it best that we were glad to be staying here for only 2 nights. It was clean and did the job, so it was an acceptable if extremely uninspiring room.
Executive Lounge
The Hilton Milan has an Executive lounge on the 8th floor. As a Hilton Honors Diamond, I had access to the lounge. It’s open from 10am to 9pm, with evening aperitifs from 5.30pm to 7.30pm if i recall correctly. It’s not a big space, with seating for perhaps 35-40 guests. There’s an outdoor terrace, but I didn’t venture out there since we were well into autumn.
During the daytime hours, the lounge only has soft drinks, fruits and some basic snacks such as potato chips/crisps, pretzels and nuts. Definitely a step down from the Hilton Venice. Slightly annoying was that the water was in dispensers, so no sneaking out a can or two of water.
The spread during evening cocktails doesn’t improve that much. We only went evening, where there was 2 cold canapes and 2 hot ones, plus a couple of cheese. Oddly there was both a cold and a hot canape with rice. I did enjoy the chicken sticks, which resembled BK Chicken Fries, a fast food item that’s equally unhealthy as it is addictive.
Drinks-wise, there was one each of a red, white, rose and prosecco. The prosecco was actually quite drinkable. There were a handful of spirits, none of which could be described as premium.
The evening offerings were unexciting and quite limited, which is not entirely unexpected for a property not in Asia. It wasn’t exactly high quality either. The food on offer definitely wouldn’t be sufficient as a dinner replacement, and in fact one would probably be better off leaving stomach space for dinner. The lounge decor looked tired as well, not exactly the kind of space I’d spend too long lounging in. I wouldn’t come back just for happy hour, but if your itinerary has you back in the hotel in the evening, then it wouldn’t hurt to get a drink in the lounge.
Food & beverage
Breakfast
Breakfast was served at Pacific Milano Restaurant, to the right when exiting the lift at ground level. As a Hilton Diamond, I received the full buffet breakfast complimentary.
The circular buffet area in the middle consisted of cold items such as fruits, yoghurt and cold meats.
The surrounding area in front of the open kitchen had cereals, breads with spreads including jam in dispensers. I have to say that was a first for me. More amusing was the giant Nutella dispenser.
The hot food was a little limited, mainly consisting of breakfast staples such as scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages and hashbrowns. There was vegetable gyoza and Asian stir-fried bak choy though.
There were a handful of juices, plus a machine for freshly squeezed orange juice. Having freshly squeezed juice is nice, but the oranges were rather sour.
Overall, breakfast wasn’t particularly exciting. The quality was also definitely a step down compared to the Hilton Venice. We only had breakfast once, and on our second morning we preferred to pop out to a cafe instead for a nicer breakfast.
Other F&B
Besides breakfast at Pacific Milano, the only other F&B venue in the Hilton Milan is CotoliAMO, located opposite the reception area. It’s a combined lobby bar and dining venue. It seemed to attract a good crowd during the evening.
Facilities and amenities
The only amenity within the hotel is the gym. Which I somehow missed visiting. If you’re looking for a more feature-filled hotel, the Hilton Milan isn’t the right place.
Conclusion
We chose the Hilton Milan for its location (and my current loyalty to Hilton), so the quality of the hotel was secondary. The main complaint about the hotel being the outdated room. It was still clean and well-maintained, apart from the temperamental shower (pun intended). All other aspects of the product were fine, if pretty average. The Hilton Milan felt exactly like what it was, an aged city hotel. It’s also a pretty bare bones hotel, with limited F&B options and facilities. There’s definitely better places outside of the Hilton portfolio, but if you’re loyal to Hilton, then there aren’t really any great and convenient options in Milan unfortunately. According to the hotel’s website, the rooms are undergoing refurbishment throughout almost the entirety of 2024. That sounds like a pretty major refurbishment, and hopefully the rooms emerge greatly improved. If so, that would make the Hilton Milan a much more compelling option.