Luxury Milano – Hotel Principe Di Savoia and Ristorante Il Solferino
You know that shameful feeling when you walk into a party in jeans only to realise everyone else is dressed to the nines? Well arriving at the Hotel Principe Di Savoia in Milano after 5 days on the slopes was a similar experience.
Wearing a bright blue ski jacket and wool beanie, I felt like a fraud checking into one of the most luxurious hotels in Milan. The lofty ceilings, the imposing marble flooring, and the super chic clientele all made for a very impressive, if not slightly intimidating, first impression.
Hotel Principe Di Savoia’s Lobby
This opulent establishment was purchased by the Dorchester Collection in 2003 and is considered to be one of the city’s landmark locations. The hotel is also excellently located, being a mere hop away from the main central station (5 minute walk).
Casual
Checking into the room was a fabulous experience as you can see from the photo above, and I simply loved having our own private pool in the suite!
I guess this will do
Just kidding, those photos are of the Presidential Suite! With prices starting from €11,000 a night it wasn’t quite in our budget but if you are ever in search of a suite with 3 bedrooms, a private bar, a dining room, a pool, a jacuzzi, and a Turkish bath, now you know where to find it!
Classic Room at the Hotel Principe Di Savoia
Our room was a little more modest, but still very nice. I am a big fan of beds that you can lie on in every direction and still fit. Sorry for the poor quality photos, my camera was out of battery so had to resort to iPhone snaps and never got around to re-taking them, eeeek.
That bed was heavenly
Anyways, back to the room… I was especially happy to see a nice shiny modern bath after days on the Mountain. This was made even better by the Acqua di Parma toiletries, so fancy!
The bar Principe was closed for renovations when we visited, so instead we went to the lobby bar called Il Salotto for our pre-dinner drink.
Principe Bar photo credit Dorchester Collection
Now I get that Milan is an expensive city and we were probably in one of the most expensive places in this expensive city but I was a little irritated when I saw the cost of a coke was €9. I just don’t believe there is any need to rip people off so blatantly. There were also no cocktails being served in the lobby bar, so needless to say it wasn’t long before we hot footed it out to dinner.
Spending my life savings on Coca Cola
A few blocks away from the hotel in the Brera district is Ristorante Il Solferino, an adorably warm and cosy place serving traditional Milanese cuisine. If the picture of the Christmas tree above didn’t give it away, we visited Milan just after New Years so all the Christmas decorations were still up. Walking into Il Solferino was like walking into a warm winter wonderland.
Ristorante Il Solferino Milano
Fairy lights, snowflakes, and tinsel lined the walls of this tiny restaurant. The place was humming with chatter and activity as waiters tried to jostle between the tightly packed tables.
10 points if you can squeeze another person in
The wine selection was certainly of note and as far as I could tell, exclusively Italian… fine by me!
For starters we ordered their homemade liver pate and the burrata cheese to share, both were delicious, as were the endless pieces of bread they kept putting on our table.
Burrata
Now as much as I like to travel and explore new places, when it comes to food I can be guilty of finding something I like a sticking to it… forever… This habit unfortunately was noticed by the group so when I tried to order mushroom risotto for about the 5th time that week I was met with firm protests from the rest of the table so instead I went for the lamb chops.
Lamb Chops
The portion was incredible generous and the potatoes were perfect. Raeesa went for the more interesting choice of pasta linguine with black squid ink sauce. I am not sure how I feel about black pasta but Raeesa was definitely very happy.
Linguine with Black Squid Ink
Tanya went for one of Il Solferino’s classic dishes – the ossobuco with risotto – and yes I did stare enviously at her risotto but the potatoes more than made up for it.
Ossobuco Con Risotto
Sadly we were all so full after the enormous portion sizes that we didn’t manage to squeeze in any dessert… will have to go back! After our lovely meal we headed out to a club called Old Fashion which was fun but be careful which night you go as Milan tends to empty out during the holiday season. If you happen to be in Milan during summer time then I would highly recommend Just Cavalli as they have a terrific outdoor area!
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