Atahotel Executive - Milano, Italy     

I am a meeting planner who booked business at the Atahotel Executive for an Ad Board. The hotel itself is comfortable and is in a safe and convenient area, however, the area in front of the hotel is not the most attractive because of some neverending construction. That staff speaks good English (a plus), there were some great restaurants and such around the corner and the train station directly in front of the hotel was great. Be advised, however, that there is a club next door to the hotel and if you open your window, you will hear the music go thump thump until the wee hours of the morning. It was not much of inconvenience but if you like absolute silence, you probably should stay elsewhere. It was unseasonably warm in Milan during the days I was there so the rooms were HOT. Despite that fact, the front desk manager refused to cut on the air conditioner in the guest rooms, lied about the reasons why (saying they had to call an outside service because it was not an easy process but that the place was closed and could not be contacted over the weekend) and promptly instructed us to "just open your windows for air." Several guest opened their windows, only to be pestered by blood sucking mosquitos ALL NIGHT. After being approached by numerous complaining meeting attendees in sauna like rooms, we had to take it many steps further and demand to speak to the GM to see what could be done. Again, the run around. To make a long story short, the GM did authorize the air conditioning be turned on, which I might add was only the click of a switch and not the complex process mentioned before, and offered a discount on the rooms for those guests who had been incovenienced and eaten by mosquitos! The hotel markets itself as a meetings & conventions hotel, but honestly they could use a little help with customer service. Many things that we needed them to do they told us they could not, but after we gave further instruction and showed them what to do and how to do it, it was done. It was like it was all new to them. Even when we showed up at the front desk to be directed to our designated meeting office, we were told the room did not exist and were stuck in the vacant hotel bar. I finally located the room but the front desk guy stated he had worked there for 4 years and had NEVER even heard of it (although it did exist). Most times the answers were always NO, we can't do it. This was challenging as I felt as if I had to haggle them for services and answers during the entire meeting. Things got much better, however, when my CSM came in on Monday! I was very happy to see her because most others did not have a clue. There was a definite disconnect somewhere. On a positive note, the banquet captain was PHENOMINAL as well as his staff and I was quite disappointed that the hotel would not allow us to give them gratuities. The meeting space was great and is centrally located so this is a plus. The AV Company hired to assist was also EXCELLENT. They could use a chef to expand the menus but then again, we Americans love LOTS of food and choices and Europeans eat much less than we do. Some options would have been nice. One thing about the meeting space that did annoy me, however, was the fact that I was never told that they lock up the space at 10 or 11 pm AND they de-activated my keys. We came back from dinner one night and I needed to work but the front desk night manager told me NO and to go to my room and come back in the morning. Of course, I refused to leave and after dealing with his irritation with me, they finally let me in to work. Overall, the place is good but not great and will remain in the "Diamond in the rough" phase until they can manage to get it together. Perhaps we helped them in the right direction.

I took a small party of 28 people to this hotel. The main consensus was that the hotel was comfortable and earned its 4 star rating. From a personal point of view the hotel catered more for the business person than tourists. It was also used by a lot or airline crews which normally indicates a fairly high standard. Whilst the location is not central, there is a metro station right outside that will allow you to travel to the centre of Milan in a matter of minutes. Walking will take half to three quarters of an hour. The staff were friendly and efficient and most of those working in the reception area spoke English. As you would expect the "Executive" offered good dining facilities as well as a comfortable bar area. However a number of restaurants and bars are located close by. The rooms were comfortable and clean, but most of us found them rather too warm and no matter how much you adjusted the thermostat in the rooms the temperature remained the same. If you are considering using this hotel please do not be put off by the building works that is being carried out around the hotel. There was no noise from the construction site, but it does make the surrounding area look a little unattractive. It does not however, take away any of the quality the hotel has to offer.