Perfectly spotted at Milano Centrale the Excelsior Gallia delivers! Superb service and spacious rooms! Well equipped gym and amazing breakfast! Felt very much looked after in a discreet way and they excelled my Milano trip. Thanks to the team!
This hotel is by far the best hotel we’ve stayed at in Europe. Everything, from the room size, the hotel location, the breakfast products, to the great service we received from every member of the staff. Everyone was super courteous and friendly, always willing to help. The breakfast staff was the greatest. They are always attentive, willing to help and very worried that you are 100% satisfied. The rooms were very spacious, clean, and everything was very well maintained. We had to call maintenance to unclog the bathroom sink and were impressed with the speed and effectiveness of the hotel staff. Location-wise, it’s a little far from the city center. It’s right next door to the Central Station, but it’s about 30 minutes walk to the Duomo and the Castello. You can always rent one of the electric scooters parked around the station. We used them to move around and it was a great experience. I highly recommend to go to the top floor and have some drinks or snacks on the hotel rooftop bar/restaurant. We didn’t have dinner, but went up for drinks and it was a great experience.…
We stayed here in December, 2022 in two adjoining rooms. The staff were friendly and helpful at every turn. Our rooms on the top floor gave us a great view of the train station. The beds were comfortable and we appreciated the welcome from the hotel in the form of drinks and fruit sent up to our rooms. The breakfast offerings were varied and delicious with great service. My only issue with the hotel is the shuttle service it provides to the Duomo area. I had read that a car form the hotel can take you to and from the area (it's about a 7 minute cab ride). Instead, we learned it's a shuttle that runs on a schedule. We kept missing it and didn't want to wait the 40 minutes until it returned to get on so we took our own cabs each time. We've stayed in other hotels of this level and they would always just call the shuttle for us when we wanted it. That would have been easier, considering the short distance, and would have been a nicer touch. Otherwise our stay was great and we would return.…
The concierge worked a miracle for us, getting us on a Last Supper tour that had been sold out for weeks. Warm tile bathroom floors made visiting the spacious bathroom even better. Great bed, too. 24 hour room service made things super convenient as well. Having the train station across the street was a beautiful thing on a rainy day.
The Excelsior Gallia Milan is a beautiful hotel with great service, excellent restaurant. I found Milan to be quite ‘spread-out’ - so be ready for lots of walking to see all the sights. The Gallia is in a pretty good location and very convenient (across the road) to the central train station. Rooms are modern and comfortable. I especially liked the Acqua de Palma toiletries.
I am breaking this into sections to give a fully detailed, honest and useful review of the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel Milan. I found my stay overall UNDERWHELMING. You can do much better for this price point (try the Westin). we paid $433 USD per night including tax. Hopefully future travelers will find this helpful. Location: 5 star. Right outside Milan Centrale (1-2 min walk, literally right there), Milan's main train station. Very very convenient location, was one of the main reasons I chose this hotel. Every bus and train you need to travel anywhere in Milan (or the country for that matter) is literally right outside, footsteps from your hotel room. Pre Check in: 2 star. The Hotel sends me a confusing email confirming my reservation, saying I had booked 2 guest rooms, though I had only booked 1 for myself and my fiancé staying together. They also asked in the email if we wanted to book any spa treatments or activities. My fiancé had booked an appointment ahead of time a month in advanced at the "luxury Sheseido spa" at the hotel, so I also mentioned that in my reply. Check in: 3.0/3.5 star. We arrived around 1pm on December 30th 2022 for a 3 night stay. We were greeted by Bellman who kindly escorted our bags inside the hotel and up to our room. At reception the staff working were kind and explained how we had a 115 euro credit for food and beverage to be used for either of the 2 restaurants or 2 bars, or room service as we booked with AMEX. They also asked if we wanted to book any activities in Milan or appointments at the spa. I had mentioned yet again we already made an appointment at the spa. The check in agent also told us we received a double upgraded room via AMEX, this sounded like it would be nice, but was ultimately underwhelming. The Room: 3/3.5 star. The room looked like it was trying to emulate the vibe and ambiance of the Four seasons, but it failed in this aspect. A wannabe 5 star hotel room (Room 220 to be exact). The door was scratched, the desk was worn with scratches, the carpet was stained in multiple places. The light switches were supposed to be smart lighting, but were impossible to use, and the lighting for the bathroom mirror was broken, and made an ongoing scratching and clicking sound that kept me up at night. The pros: bed was comfortable, and the view from the small balcony was nice. They also provided nice robes, and toiletries from Aqua de Parma which were really nice. The room also provides complementary still water and a Nespresso maker/coffee station. There is also a stocked mini bar for a fee. The bathroom is spacious, and the climate control worked fine. The worst part of this “double upgraded” room though was that it was located right next to the service lift, so we continuously heard staff exiting/entering the lift. Spa: 3 star. This was really where I had my largest issue. We centered a good portion of our stay around a hotel spa booking. We wanted to have the convenience of walking down the hallway from our room to a 5 star spa. To begin, my fiancé booked a spa appointment at the hotel for New Years day at 11am. This booking was made a month in advance. The spa said they would email her a confirmation. No email came. A week before our trip, she called up the spa again to reconfirm. They said they saw the reservation on file, and apologized for no email being sent; they said they would resend it. The email never came. On the day of our arrival, we had no time to stop by the spa in person before 7pm since we had a tour booked for the Duomo. So I decided to drop by the next morning, as I was thinking of making an additional booking. When I stopped by in the morning the spa manager (who was very friendly) informed me that the spa was closed for treatments from December 31 through January 2 for the holiday, and that they had no record of our booking. His excuse for the mistake was that when we made the reservation the spa was under different management. After going back and forth with him (and having to show proof of phone records) , and the management at the lobby, the hotel kindly accommodated by booking us a couples massage downtown at the Four Seasons (could only get 530pm and we had to get ourselves downtown, but this was a fair accommodation). This was the one right thing they did for us, as Excelsior Gallia paid for the service. But there is nothing like getting the Four Seasons to fix your mistakes! The Four Seasons service and couples massage was amazing. The spa facilities at Excelsior Gallia include a sauna, steam room, relaxation area, a pool and a jacuzzi that is only open 11am-7pm Italian standard time, so communicating from the US to the spa isn’t the easiest task. The pool area is not well kept, with broken spa jets and a dirty floor. The jacuzzi is lukewarm. There was a towel shortage when I went to the pool my second day at the hotel (took about 10 min to get a towel). There are not that many chairs (cheap recliners), and only 1 attendant (the friendly, hardworking, understaffed manager, who seems to be given a low budget) working the spa. It was hard to find a chair at the pool, and was crowded with children, as well a couple making out. No spa etiquette was enforced. There seems to be 0 communication between the spa and general management as the reception area was promoting treatments to guests for the dates of our stay. In hindsight I am happy our treatment wasn’t at Gallia but instead at the Four Seasons. In contrast the Four Seasons spa is open 9am-9pm, well staffed and immaculately clean/comfortable. The service and facilities do not compare. This is why I call Excelsior Gallia a “wannabe 5 star hotel”. Staff/ Service: Inconsistent, 3.5 star. The staff were mostly friendly, but we were rushed to finish breakfast on New Years day so they could get ready to sell their special 60 euro pp brunch. When they rushed us out we noticed multiple other families enjoying their breakfasts, we found this obnoxious. We felt guests were assigned tiers where certain families are clearly given better service, in broad daylight. We also wanted to use our AMEX credit at the terrace bar on New Years eve for cocktails but it was closed to us for a private event. As a back up we tried to get drinks at the downstairs bar, but that was apparently also fully reserved (though we didn’t see anyone sitting). To accommodate they sat us at the lobby and brought us drinks (20 euros per drink, 6 euro for a bottle of glass still water, includes small snacks). The lobby is not the same experience as the bar itself or the hotel’s acclaimed terrace. It took over 20 minutes for them to bring out a single drink. On the bright side we were given a free bottle of decent prosecco served alongside canapés as welcome gift since we booked with AMEX. We felt the staff at the four seasons on our spa day were nicer even though we weren’t even staying at their hotel. Food/Beverage taste/variety: Delicious, no complaints, actually 5 star. Gym: open 24/7, well kept, great variety of equipment, also 5 star Overall:3.5 stars. It’s a shame when the 5 star hotel you are not even staying at treats you better then the supposed 5 star hotel you are staying at. Excelsior Gallia lacks the kept rooms, spa amenities, and service/staff communication necessary to truly be considered 5 star. If some improvements are made in these areas, it is attainable in the future. For now, I would consider it 3.5 starts on average, 4 stars at best, a 5 star wannabe. I would not pay more than $300 per night to stay here. Amex should remove it from the Fine Hotels/Resorts list. Marriot Bonvoy should not place it on the same tier as the Ritz Carlton and St Regis.…
What a beautiful hotel! We only stayed one night but it was perfect! The room was beautiful, nice updated bathrooms. It is directly across the street from Milan Central, so perfect for train travel. Hotel staff was so friendly and helpful! Would absolutely stay again when in Milano!
Good location friendly staff Hotel renovated a few years ago Old tired in places No hot water in a few rooms after telling them time and time again to fix . Basically told them three mornings and two nights !!! No one came back to us even once. No front office no manager nothing Obviously will not recommend
I want to write positive things about this hotel; but beyond the breakfast and the iconic historical hotel there is little to rave about here. We stayed in a signature suite but the room lacked the upkeep a hotel of this caliber is expected to have. I had a specific request for the concierge and they sent us astray which was disappointing. The hotel needs to address its level of upkeep in rooms and polish the service provided.
Most probably my best experience I've ever had in Italy. Friendly staff, they arranged more than asked for our anniversary, great breakfast, nice spa. I also enjoyed the location - directly at the main train station and stations of two underground lines. The only shortcoming is that the materials were obviously not of the top quality, as some parts are worn out ('leather' on the drawers in the wardrobe, etc.) Can fully recommend!
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