Our favourite hotel in Milan and without a doubt the most comfortable beds in all Italy. Tucked away off a private street and set in a peaceful garden, the Bulgari is an oasis of calm in such a frenetic city centre. Designed by architects Antonio Citterio and Partners, the hotel is bold and contemporary yet the interior is a warming combination of browns, whites and blacks. The pitch black corridors contrast beautifully with the bedrooms that are full of light and overlook the surrounding Milanese villas and gardens.
Despite its achingly fashionable reputation, the Bulgari staff welcome and all guests like one of the many VIP’s who stay there each year. Managed by the charming Vincenzo Falcone, everyone from the porters to the florists are dressed immaculately, always smiling and just delightful.
The rooms are super luxurious, with the majority featuring at least two plasma screens and Bose radios on either side of the amazing beds. The vast bathrooms are stuffed with superior Bulgari products, and as an added perk we were greeted by a delicious plate of fresh blueberries – a welcome change to the dreary bunches of cheap roses that one normally expects.
One of the highlights of the hotel is the fabulous spa; sunlight pours in through the glass façade and illuminates the gold mosaic swimming pool and emerald green hammam.
The bar and lounge are packed out with the pick of the Milanese fashion crowd who descend each evening for aperitivi. In the winter the fire is lit and guests are free to help themselves to the variety of freshly baked pastries, whilst in the summer months the crowds spill out into the garden which is furnished with contemporary Italian furniture that has the same unique style as the public spaces inside.
The Bulgari is a cut above the other hotels that already exist in Milan and we could not recommend it more highly.