I stayed at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Milan for five nights in July 2022 after picking up a great…read moredeal redeeming my Hilton Honors points.
As a Diamond Hilton Honors Member, I'm used to experiencing perks when travelling at Hilton properties, I did not feel as valued as other properties here. I was unable to get an upgrade of any type during my stay, while the staff were great and tried their best, I wouldn't say I received the usual "Diamond" experience.
The location of the hotel is in a business district of Milan, so it is a good 35-40 minute journey on the tram into the centre of the city, with services 1, 12 and 14 just a short walk away from the hotel, there is a small train station, Milano Certosa nearby as well as a couple of places to eat, including Joy's and McDonald's, in terms of getting food essentials for the room, there are branches of LIDL and Penny Market within walking distance.
Tram tickets can be purchased from the hotel reception, or many tobacconists around the city, I did find them hard to obtain, so I would suggest stocking up on them from reception, as they last 90 minutes once validated after boarding the tram, and can then be used on any AMT service including the Metro and buses. Be aware, that when purchasing from the hotel, the only accepted payment method is cash. No cards or charging to the room accepted!
I arrived at the hotel late in the evening, I was originally unhappy with my first room, I found it to be small, dark and miserable, after asking for a room change, the only other room type offered was a disabled room, the room was a slight improvement, it was slightly brighter, larger and I ended up opting for this one. The bathroom in this room was awful, unlike the standard room it lacked a bidet, and the shower was very difficult to use, as if you moved the lever too far to one side, you'd be hit with ice-cold water in the middle of a hot shower!
The room had basic and acceptable facilities, there was a kettle for coffee and tea (sadly no coffee machine), a mini-fridge, a desk, and an opening window. The bed was comfortable, as standard, like one, would find at any Doubletree property.
The hotel does need to work at improving technology to modernise the hotel, this was the first time in years of staying in Hilton properties that I was unable to check in via the HHonors app, after asking a staff member, they were very confused and told me they did not offer this service. Digital Key is also not offered.
The staff in the hotel seemed friendly and happy to help and resolve any issues that I did come across, most of the staff members spoke basic English which helped out a lot too.
Housekeeping is available upon request, however on the final day of my trip, despite requesting housekeeping they forgot to visit my room, as 24-7 housekeeping is not available and they had gone home by 7 pm, I had to request a room change, which was provided. They again provided me with a disabled room, but for some reason despite being the same room type, and just 5 rooms down from my previous room, it was very different again as the windows wouldn't open and the bedside lights would not turn fully off, so I couldn't remove a faint light, almost like a night-light while I was sleeping, presumably to draw in mostiquos, who made a mess of my arms anyway!
There were plenty of plug sockets around the room, sadly no USB charging as advertised though. I would have liked a set of plug sockets closer to the TV, sadly I was unable to use my Fire Stick during my stay.
Breakfast is served until 10 am, daily, even on the weekends, I find this way too early, especially on a weekend. My guest and I both had problems with breakfast, the food quality was not good at all, the selection was poor, and the eggs were dry and bland, even the fruit juice tasted watered down, and certainly wasn't fresh.
I probably wouldn't stay here again mainly down to the number of minor problems I experienced, and the location just seemed way too far out for my liking. I was also confused with the lack of consistency across the rooms, even with a similar or the same room type. 3* mainly down to excellent service, value and comfortable beds.
