Review Boscolo Milano Autograph Collection

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
The Boscolo Milano Autograph Collection is a boutique hotel in the Marriott family of brands. The hotel is located in the heart of the fashion district in Milan quite near the stylish Via Montenapoleone and walking distance from the Duomo. From MSP it is best reached via the Malpensa Express train to Cadorna station. It is about midway between Cadorna and Centrale stations, but the hotel is on the red subway line so it is quite easy to get off the train at Cadorna, get on the subway and go four stops to San Babila station and walk a couple blocks to the hotel. My stay in March 2014 was for three nights. I had booked two nights on points at a point saver rate and one night paid reservation. I asked at check in to combine the reservations in order to stay in the same room throughout the stay. This was not a problem checking in, but it proved problematic in terms of getting credit for the stay....more on that later. I was upgraded to a 5th floor "panorama" room with a Duomo view. The view of the Duomo at night was breathtaking, really. Breakfast was included as a Platinum member and I liked the breakfast buffet and in particular the blood orange juice which was fresh squeezed. There is also an upstairs restaurant on the rooftop with an outdoor patio named the "luxury terrace". It is a very pleasant spot for a cocktail and I got a free drink each night as my amenity. The food was excellent at the restaurant there, but quite overpriced. The terrace could be reached by a small elevator that was separate from the main elevator. The hotel has a very modern, hip and almost funky decor. It reminds of some of the artwork in the futurism genre. One of the most memorable things about the room was the toiletries. There were 16 different liquid products numbered in a rainbow display. There was a separate toilet and shower area. I appreciated the terrific location and generally I had a comfortable stay. However, there were several service issues I did want to mention. When arrived in the morning, my room was not yet available. I had notified the hotel ahead that I would be arriving early and requested early check in. OK, no problem as I tried. The issue was that I had to wait several hours for my room and there are so many things that could have happened to make this easier. Eventually they brought me some rolls and tea, but they charged me for them. I thought it was a gesture because of my patient approach. Remember my request to combine my reservations? This was a nightmare to sort out once I returned to the US. The hotel charged me for one night and incidentals but only credited me with an award stay. I was working on a Marriott promotion and needed the night that I paid to count for a stay and a night. I had all of my receipts but they were in Italian. No problem for me, but problematic in terms of proving I had paid for a night. First I tried to just call Marriott to sort it out. I was told it was and I waited several weeks....still no credit. I eventually got the credit, but needed to translate the bill into English and forward it on. There was no way to tell this would happen at checkout and fortunately I was proactive and got the whole thing in order, but it wasn't easy.
 

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
I did the PH Milan and loved the location and property, but didn't get the view you speak of, sounds great!

Need to wrap my head around Marriott's program next.
 

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
Marriott gets beaten up on the blogs. I grew up in DC where Marriott has a huge footprint and it just has so much familiarity for me. I don't know. I actually really like the brand. I am sort of glad that they are under the radar. I have been gold or platinum for several years and they are very good to me. I almost always get an upgrade of some kind. I took the Hyatt Diamond Challenge this year and when I began the challenge I felt like I was cheating on Marriott! No, but it seemed weird. Everyone is dissing the credit card as one to not put spend on, but you can get one night credit with just 3K spend and do it as many times as you need to keep status. And they give you 15 nights just for having the card. I think upgrades are a YMMV situation, but I have done very well with Marriott.
 

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
I did the PH Milan and loved the location and property, but didn't get the view you speak of, sounds great!

Need to wrap my head around Marriott's program next.
If you take road trips at all in the US, Marriott is a good program to have. If you are searching for rooms in smaller cities or towns, Marriott is one of those you will find. Some of the chains, like Hyatt just won't have a property in those places.
 
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