Review: Excelsior Hotel Gallia Milan

Did you use points or cash (or a combination) for this? Great write up! Scrolling through it occurs to me that it's been such a long time since I've stayed in a hotel that took my breath away. Thanks for the motivation! 🙂

A beautiful hotel in an unfortunate location.

You don't get any sense of how Milan residents live in that area.

Heck it doesn't look like a single soul was staying at the property.

Revisit Milan - but force yourself out of the chains and upgrades and discover something that will captivate you the way Sicily does, with its lack of chain handcuffs.

I can't comment on the location, but it sure does look amazing.

@ Greg - Next to Milano Centrale is a great location. Especially for single night stays, you do not want to be hauling luggage back and forth for long distances. As for how the Milanese live, hop on the subway which stops at the train station for a look around the city.

Yes! My girlfriend and I just stayed there a week and a half ago for three nights. (Took advantage of an AA fare sale from this past summer and earned lots of AS miles from the trip.) As you say, Tiffany, it's a stunning contrast between the exterior and interior. A lovely place, with very high-tech and unusual/interesting lights and shower, and the breakfast was excellent. We enjoyed the location, too— convenient to MXP, a bit separated from the more crowded bits of downtown, a nice walk to Brera and Porta Nuova, and a short metro or Maserati ride to the Duomo and lots of places to eat and explore.

What was the rate?

I missed the subtext of your tomato riff. Explain?

@Tiffany I love how you write about the hotel. Do you have a background in art history or architecture?

Also can you use points to pay for this hotel? Is this OMAAT or One Floor Tile At A Time

Milan is one of my favorite cities in Italy. While this property looks amazing I still believe its location is only good if you will be using the train station. Milan is great for walking and the Park Hyatt location by the Duomo os way better.

I stayed here in 1994. It was a great property. I remember having a room facing the train station with a little Juliet balcony. Very tall ceilings and tall French doors that opened inward. It was during a summer heatwave, so we were thrilled with the air conditioning. The interior was very heavy and gilded. This renovation looks amazing. I enjoyed it back then, but it was definitely updated and improved upon.

The comments about Cirque de Soleil and about the emotional shower made me lol.

I would offer to go to Milan with you, but this hotel looks expensive AF.

@ Garrett -- Oops, forgot to include that. I booked a paid rate, but if you wanted to use points rooms start at 25,000 points per night.

@Stvr: I think it's just that Tiffany does not like uncooked tomatoes.

@ Greg -- I think that has much more to do with when I took my pictures. I made an effort to capture the hotel rather than the guests (hence no pictures of the spa, as there were a dozen or so people there at the same time as me).

@ Tony -- Glad you enjoyed the location! I liked being out of the crowds as well.

@ Woj -- Thanks! I took AP Art History in high school, but other than that no. I do like architecture though.

@ Santastico -- I dunno, the location thing might be personal preference. I was down by the Park Hyatt for a few hours, which was plenty to convince me that I wouldn't find being able to walk out the front door of my hotel into a throng of tour busses compelling. Other people would probably enjoy that though.

@ Mark F. -- Oooh! A balcony sounds lovely too!

@ Andrew B -- You can still go! There's a $40 a night hostel on the other side of the train station 😉

@Tiffany - First of all, nice review of a very nice property. What was the paid rate? Not sure why people rave about PH Vendome and its breakfast. I just spent 3 nights there with my family in a suite plus and adjacent room and found the breakfast to be very nice but nothing spectacular. I believe PH Vienna and PH Sydney have better breakfasts thatn PH Vendome. I'd say Vendome and PH Milan are pretty close. Just my $0.02 🙂

@ Angel -- Thanks, and great insights!

I booked the luxury privileges rate, which was ~185 Euro (plus tax), and included an 85 Euro F&B credit. I think I lucked out with my dates though, as a spot check shows much higher rates on average.

So the Maserati shuttle is complimentary to anyone that books any room?

@ Ever -- Yep! It runs one-way only, pretty much on demand. You could probably negotiate having them pick you up if they happened to be bringing someone else, I'd imagine.

Some little corrections:
1) the Excelsior-Hotel-Gallia-Milan-Review-002.jpg picture is the "Milan Centrale exterior" and not the "Excelsior Hotel Gallia exterior"
2) the Excelsior-Hotel-Gallia-Milan-Review-069.jpg picture is for sure the "Entrance to the Galleria" but it's a side entrance, just few meters from the Milan Park Hyatt
3) you missed an "i" in "Apertivo" (2x), it's instead "Aperitivo"
Yes the area around the Central Station is not the best but perfectly enjoyable if you travel from the subway to the trains or from the train to one of the many hotels. Just try to be the less-tourist possible to be ignored by the bad guys there.
P.S. Lucky continue to call "BVLGARI" what is "Bulgari" (with an ancient/latin V for U), but you Tiffany can explain this to your colleague after this Milan trip.

Looks fine, but hardly wow, wow, wow. Maybe my standards are different, but those pics look like an ok place to stay--hardly worth getting excited about.

But Milan is a cool city.

@ Fabio -- Thank you!!

Tiffany, thanks for the review. I'll be staying there 3 nights in October with my mother at 20K SPG points (vs 400+ euro)/night...and likely get suite upgrades anyway since I'm SPG Plat 100. I considered the PH, but at 30K points/night, the Excelsior seemed the more exciting property and much better deal--plus I arrive by train from Venice (after 4 nights at the Gritti Palace, also on points). Everything you and others have shared about the hotel makes me salivate. I also prefer to be a bit away from the tourist throngs so that's a plus for me. I love art deco style, so the photos you and others have shared make this property really look amazing. I also have heard tremendous things about the F&B here...so I can't wait to test that. I can say that the concierge service has already been tremendously responsive and helpful with our reservations and activities planned for our stay.

@Tiffany: Don't get me wrong. Your reviews are amazing and I wish we had more of those. Your writting style ia just perfect. As for the location, agree that you will have tons of tourists in the Duomo area but that is the main area in Milan. From there you can walk to Via Montenapoleone and all the other streets for window shopping in the most amazing fashion stores you can find. My point is that if you will spend just couple days in Milan that is the area you will probably want to visit.

I thought the cheese in insalata caprese is mozzarella and not burrata?

Tiffany I'm so glad that you enjoyed your (brief) time in Italy!
I think that we're sincerely trying to improve our offer of "international" hotel -especially in Milan- but also all around our country...as you know we've got so many contradictions but sometimes we make it right 🙂
ps. just a small request: I'd like to read a new review of an Alitalia flight, as you know they're changing lots of things since the Etihad affair

The secret to great gelato is to find places where the gelato is not overflowing the bins, that gelato was not freshly made. Fresh gelato tends to be covered with lids to preserve it, and fewer flavors as its not possible for one place to make that many flavors each day!

The hotel looks great. Milano is an underrated city that I enjoy visiting. Even the Hilton near the Central Station is nice. Though the best hotel in Milano is in the shopping arcade that you visited.

Milan is such an extraordinary city with an equally extraordinary collection of hotels. My personal fave is the Armani with the Palazzo Parigi (especially the bar!) being a close second. I am anxious to try the new Mandarin Oriental, though I have not been impressed with the promo photos; the place too closely resembles the MO in Barcelona.

I regret to say that I have not experienced the Excelsior Gallia. Actually, I have never given it any consideration. But thanks to Tiffany I am now so very eager to try out the hotel bar. I absolutely love hotel bars and the Excelsior Gallia's looks stunningly beautiful.

@Dylan

Oh, I hope you weren't referring to the "Seven Star" Townhouse Galleria, or whatever the hell it's now calling itself. To each his own, but I thought it was thoroughly dreadful in terms of decor and service. However, the location is brilliant.

Excellent review. And I'm surprised you didn't hide the tomatoes in your napkin, LOL! The interior decorator must had fun with this; it's stunning.

Great review as always Tiffany - I must say I was not totally feeling the decor at the start of this review, but I guess it's effectively a gesamtkunstwerk (if I can be so pretentious in describing a hotel!) with a total commitment to the design throughout, which itself is quite appealing once you adjust to it.

I think I need an "emotional shower" after that

@ Bill -- Sounds like a fabulous trip! Jealous of the Gritti Palace!

@ Greg -- Typically yes, (I think). That's why I ordered this one, sounded unique.

@ Alex -- Thanks! I'd like to fly Alitalia again as well; have only flown short segments in recent years.

@ Dylan -- Ugh, I know in re: gelato. This was the best option of the places I walked by (I generally judge by the color of the pistachio). Do you have a suggestion near the city center that we can point people to?

Lovely, just lovely!!! Very interesting and great photos Tiffany! I love the way you capture the beauty!

I stayed there about 6 months ago. Great hotel!!! I did notice one very tiny, kind of funny detail: when you go to the gym there is a sign listing all of the services on the floor. 2nd from the top, under an arrow directing you to the right, is "Virtual Golf." I play golf so I thought Virtual Golf sounded really cool...the problem is that there is no virtual golf: when I asked at reception they explained they intended to add that later. Sure got that signage in place. Virtual, indeed.

Curious is you noticed if it was up and running when you were there.

(@thedavidjaffe on insta to see a photo of the virtual golf signage, posted 30 weeks ago.)

@ David -- I didn't notice that! Sounds very Italian 😉

Another great review Tiffany, thanks.