The Westin Palace, Milan

I stayed at this hotel for four nights in December, and while the property itself was quite nice, my overall experience was marred by a disappointing incident at checkout. During my stay, I ordered room service but had to send it back because the quality of the food was shockingly poor—the pizza they delivered was entirely inedible. At checkout, I refused to pay for the meal until I had the opportunity to speak with the manager. The receptionist assured me that the manager would contact me before processing the bill, but this never happened. They kept trying to fob me off with extra points. Despite following up multiple times via email, I received no response whatsoever. As a Marriott Gold Elite member who frequently stays at their hotels, I expect a much higher standard of service and accountability. This lack of communication and resolution is both unprofessional and deeply disappointing.

The concierge team at the Westin Palace Madrid was exceptional during our business stay. Riccardo, Andrea, Alexandra & Sofia helped us manage shipments from the hotel to the US, not once, but twice as they were returned by customs. Communication was excellent and they provided this assistance over the course of a month, long after our hotel stay had ended. Rarely do you find service like this that goes above and beyond, and every other aspect of our stay was amazing as well. We are in Milan twice a year and this will be our hotel of choice every single time.

Excellent service from the arrival to the check out. Received a complimentary room upgrade. Would like to highlight the concierge team Riccardo, Andrea, Alexandra & Sofia. They helped us to visit some of the iconic places in Milan on the last minute. Thank you! Maiia

“I chose to stay at the hotel based on the reviews it received on social media. However, I was shocked and disappointed, as the price did not match the quality of service provided to me as a customer. First, upon arrival, there was a delay in receiving the room. Additionally, there were shortcomings in the room’s cleanliness; we are three people in the room, yet there were not enough towels in the bathroom, nor adequate toiletries. We also found mosquitoes in the room daily. We contacted room service, but to no avail. I hope your services will improve in the future.”

We stayed here for 1 night on a Sunday in September because it was close to the train station and not too far from Linate Airport (a 23 minute taxi during what seemed like a busy morning commute). Turned out to be a little farther from the train than expected: a healthy 12-15 minute walk. Totally doable with a carry-on. If you have kids or a tired partner with a big bag, I'd recommend the super short cab ride. The important stuff: pretty lobby, very comfy bed with rich thread count, beautiful marble bath with good pressure in shower. The weird/disappointing: I reserved a room (and paid extra) specifically because it said it came with a terrace. The picture on the website (which I did not imagine) showed a terrace on a high floor with a view of the city laid out before it while looking down the street. It was our last night in Italy. I hoped this would be romantic. It was not. I used the app when checking in the day before to request a mobile key. I've done this many times before. It's even listed as a "perk" for my Marriott status. The key never came through, but I wasn't worried. We got to the hotel, and the guy at the front desk was perfectly nice. "And we have your room with a terrace, sir..." Great. "But we will need you to sign this" He handed me some kind of disclaimer I had to sign and date that said I accepted the "risks" of the terrace. I assumed this was some indemnification against people who might be rash and jump off it. The desk clerk smiled and rolled his eyes and said "Italian law..." as if to say "It's silly, but what can you do?" Ok, fine. No worries. I'm here to have a cocktail and take in the grandeur of the city. No plans for a swan dive. Happy to sign it. I assumed this waiver was why I couldn't just be assigned an electronic key. "We will send someone to unlock the terrace for you....it's for security" Ok. I guess this is to protect kids? Wow, they're really worried about people falling off this terrace way up high! We got our key with what looked like a dramatic 4 digit number that might be on the 14th floor, but were told..to walk past the conference rooms. We did that and buzzed ourselves through a glass door. The textures of the walls changed and we seemed to be in an annex, or an older part of the building. Oddly, there was a 3'x2'x1' cardboard box on the floor in the middle of the hall. It was filled with office detritus. We went up a carpeted ramp through a hall with silk wallpaper and...there was our room. Our terrace was on the first floor. The waiver was signed not because we might fall or jump off the terrace, but because any idiot with a step ladder or on the roof of a car could probably jump onto it. I guess this is why Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet in Verona instead of Milan. The door to it was NOT locked. It had 2 black plastic fake rattan chairs and a coffee table, and a view of nothing. It overlooked the alley next to the hotel, and a streetlamp that shined directly through the French doors, which, if you wanted a last ditch effort for romance, I suppose you could imagine was the moon. The room was "classic", but not outdated, decorated in heavy gold fabric. Thankfully the blackout curtains worked very well, and the street lamp could be ignored. The bathroom was spacious with nice products. The window was frosted because it was so low, and also had a security lock on it that required a physical key. We did not try to open it. About 10 minutes into our stay, there was a knock at the door. I assumed it was the guy sent to unlock the already open terrace doors. It was not. It was a pleasant butler-looking fellow who asked if we'd like drinks. It was about 7:30PM and we had dinner reservations soon, so we said thank you but declined. Seven minutes after that there was another knock at the door. My girlfriend answered. This fellow spoke no English, but she's fluent in Spanish, and he asked "Would you like some drinks?". Um...no? Perhaps these are amazing drinks and we were foolish to turn them down. We left for dinner about 45 minutes later, and that big cardboard box was still in the middle of the hall, which means both of those gents just walked around it. Room was very quiet at night and restful. Breakfast is on the main floor in a nice space across the lobby from check in. A la carte menu was reasonable. The buffet was not cheap at nearly 40 Euro, but it was quite extensive, with all manner of delicious pastries, charcuterie, and fruit. If you're the health conscious type, they had a station to make your own green juice, and multiple gluten free and vegan sections. Impressively, there were 5 different brands of yogurt (1 even vegan). Distressingly, all 30 little jars and cups were flavored "Plain". In a room filled with delicious gourmet foods of all stripes, it was bewildering that the scrambled eggs were possibly the most off-putting I've seen outside a V.A. hall in the hinterlands of Wyoming: grainy, runny...like someone had whipped mustard into a loose porridge. The strudel was divine. Overall seems an excellent hotel for traveling business people. Just avoid the misnomer of the "terrace".