Clean, basic rooms that can smell very bad

If this is the fourteenth-best hotel in Milan, I'd hate to see the 15th. I actually clicked on the hotel photo posted here to make sure we were talking about the same place.

I stayed here for two days in February 2006, and when I went up to the room, I was pretty horrified. It was a pretty basic square, with relatively ugly furnishings. (Call it 70s Italian design if you want, but I'll stick with ugly.) I might have put up with it -- reluctantly -- but it stank to high heaven of cigar smoke.

I got another room which stank just as bad, though only of cigarettes. Back at the desk again I mentioned that I specified a no-smoking room. The clerk thoughtfully pointed out that (1) Expedia requests are JUST requests, and there's no guarantee you'll get them, and (2) the Hotel Brunelleschi doesn't have no-smoking rooms.

Now, I didn't particularly blame Brunelleschi for this, since Expedia took my request for something that didn't exist. However, I assume Brunelleschi is aware that this is happening, and something should be done. Surely *some* of the tourists that visit -- and there were hundreds there when I was -- have mentioned this.

I was upgraded to a suite, which was very nice of them. (The suites don't smell as bad, being occupied less). However, I resent being put through this -- having to impress on these people that a room that stinks is a very bad thing -- and I resent how subsequently the staff sneered at me every time I walked by.

If you can get upgraded, this place is fine. Otherwise, I'd give thumbs down. The cheap rooms aren't great, and can smell horrible. Maid service requested at 10 PM never came. One positive is, they call the hotel "post modern," and in (just) one way it is: there are electronic wall switches controlling everything from the curtains to the do-not-disturb sign for your door. Very cool! Frankly, though, I'd never go back.

FANTASTIC HOTEL AND GREAT VALUE

We just returned from a family holiday to Milan - we booked on expedia and got a deal on this hotel when booking together with flights. It far exceeded our expectations, very clean, pleasant service, fabulous breakfast, late check out, great with kids and close to all museums, shopping and great restaurants! Would recommend to anyone wanting value for money...

Not what I expected

Well lets just say we expexted more than we got. The trouble started when I emailed for directions to the hotel from Florence and was told to just call when I got in town. Unless you have an intimiate knowledge of Milan, good luck finding the hotel. When we arrived and asked to valet the car, we were told the doorman cant drive our car. After some arguing, he was allowed to drive with us to the garage. Same issue upon checking out: you retrieve your own car. We asked for directions to the airport upon checkout and were told by the front desk "we have no directions"! On a positive note, we were upgraded to a suite on the third floor. The suite was very well sound proofed. Both front doormen were polite and offered help other than to park the car. Stefanie at the front desk was a super concierge and managed to score us tickets to Teatro alla Scala. Overall cleanliness was good..but the experience with garaging the car and directions to the airport really soured us on the hotel. The restaurant directly across the street has phenomenal food and service. And I almost forgot, the bartender was a real life saver when we arrived late the first nite....even though the restaurant was closed, he arranged for a pannini to appear. If they could offer 5 star service to their guests, this would be a great hotel. The location cant be beat....steps away from the Duomo.

Excellent overall rating

I had the opportunity to stay in this hotel when I visited Milan for the champions league football match against city rivals Inter. The only bad comment is that I was served by an Interist fan for breakfast. Jokes apart, it is wonderfully located centrally, just 2 minutes walk to Piazza Duomo, very clean, very good breakfast, very nice and spacious rooms. And it has a unique thing, check out is at 2:00 in the afternoon. I wonder if there is any other hotel in Europe to offer this service. It was very convenient to me as I had to leave at 1:30. I do not hesitate to recomment it and I will surely book it again for my next visit in Milan, hopefully very soon for another football match. FORZA MILAN.

Antonello Briffa

Good location and value

We recently had occassion to stay 2 nights at the Hotel Brunelleschi in Milan at the end of a 10 day vacation in Italy. I would definitely recommend this hotel. It is perfectly located and is just a 5 minute stoll to the Duomo and the metro stop. The area felt perfectly safe. One of the best meals we had in Italy was at Bruno's which was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. Our room was immaculate. In fact, the hotel was immaculate. Great buffet breakfast. We would definitely stay there again!

Excellent 4* Hotel

I stayed here with my partner for three nights at the start of April and can only recommend this hotel. The location is excellent (4 minutes walk to the Duomo), rooms are medium sized and comfortable, the staff very friendly and efficient and the breakfast buffet is probably the best I have come across in continental Europe for a hotel in this class. Also, the aircon was on in early April allowing us to keep the windows shut at night - important to avoid being woken by the trams passing 20 metres away from our room.

Being hyper-critical I could criticise the absence of a pool / fitness area inside the hotel and the lack of drawer space in the room - we had to live out of suitcases. Also the local area lacks any of the excellent local trattorias that so enhance city breaks in Italy.

However, if you want a comfortable and reasonably priced 4* hotel in central Milan, this hotel takes some beating.

Good location, outdated furnishings, good value

The location is great - just a few short blocks from the Duomo. You pass by a block which has an adult club or two on it between the hotel and the Duomo, but I felt quite safe, with my wife and my 2-year-old accompanying me. The front desk staff is great and pretty helpful, but their restaurant recommendations were mediocre.

The rooms are nice and clean, although the furnishings are rather outdated. When I used the shower, the glass partition was not enough to block water, so I invariably soaked the whole floor.

There was no Internet connection in the room, just a terminal next to the front desk.

Great Service, Great Value - Highly Recommended

Travel to Milan for business and often stay at Brunelleschi. Best service and restaurant/breakfast and the staff really look after you. Not as modern or with as many facilities as some central Milan hotels but nothing is too much trouble for them - highly recommended and very good value for the location near Duomo.

Very nice timewarp

The Hotel Brunelleschi is a 1970s timewarp, it is decorated completely in 70s Versace, including Versace branded Bathroom Tiles! Very nice front desk staff, excellent breakfast with different fresh fruit daily and a warm food section and comfortable rooms.

The maid access is quite confusing, they press a buzzer next to the door which buzzes quite loudly in the room and wakes you up, and to not be disturbed, you need to press another button next to the bed which lights up a panel outside your room door.

Rooms looking onto the street outside can be quite noisy due to the traffic.