Hotel Sanpi Milano - Milano, Italy     

The problem with the Sanpi is that it’s not really a 4 star hotel --- on paper it somehow qualifies, but the bar is tiny, the concierge is the front desk clerk, the internet network barely works (and there’s no support/technical help to call), etc. Rates I think can be reasonable, but the hotel creates higher expectations and then fails to deliver. Furnishings in the single and standard rooms are very bland and dated. Even the superior rooms are unimpressive, to cite one example their bathrooms have no tile or stone but painted walls and floors, and no bathtub but a small plastic shower. I believe there are a handful of interesting rooms in an historic building in the courtyard, but chances are you won’t be in one of these. The location is reasonably convenient though not particularly charming. The staff is friendly, and the breakfasts are good. But the hotel owners need to live up to their marketing and upgrade this hotel.

We booked this hotel through lastminute.com for ?160 total for 3 nights - much less than direct or through other sites. The hotel is in a good location off a main shopping street, course buenos aires, and very near a tube station. The hotel is nice on the outside and clean and modern on the inside. The room was of a small/moderate size but certainly not cramped. The bathroom was of a good quality though only a shower, no bath, and the cubicle was very small. Overall good bathroom though. Had good air con but the windows were also able to be opened and there was a nice view of the street. There is a nice little bar area but it is very small and hardly counts as a proper bar really - just a portable tv in one corner, that type of thing. Nice though nonetheless. There is also a lovely courtyard out the back that you can sit in. I liked this hotel but i think I would not have been so pleased if I had paid more. The hotel mercure, on the other side of the shopping street, looked better and we could have had that for the same money through a mystery hotel deal on lastminute. (I did not see the rooms though so could be wrong). There are plenty of bars, fast food places, little local convenience stores, restaurants, pizza places, and also a supermarket just along the road from the mercure (by a car park). I really liked a takeaway pizza place just off the corso on the way to the hotel, and also opposite the mercure is a nice restaurant with outside seats that wasnt a complete rip off. The only sting in the tale for us was that we ordered breakfast to the room and through a mistunderstanding we ordered 2 omlettes as part of breakfast thinking these were included, but at checkout we got charged ?12 for these - for a start, they werent worth ?12 for 2 let alone one, and secondly we were given the impression these were part of the included breakfast - ok, partly my fault as in it's my own fault if I can't speak Italian, but also it's a hotel that caters for guests from many places and I would think the staff should be able to converse in English properly. This really tainted things for us as we were very low on money, but the hotel is a decent one I would still say. We walked to the castle and Duomo from here - a good 15 minutes, and we walk quick. We also got the metro and it is 10 minutes max to the Duomo - one day on the way back we just stopped at places along the way to have a look around - really is totally simple as the castle and duomo are both on the metropolication line 1 as is the stop near the hotel (pt venezio or something). Milan is a wonderful place - when I first got there I thought it looked a bit like London - imposing, bit grotty, rough in parts - but it soon reveales itself as a place with stunning architecture, nice shops, good food, pleasant people - really really nice and I already want to go back.