Castello Sforzesco Suites by Brera Apartments

We got locked out, and nobody answered the phone or contacted us. This doesn't feel like a real hotel. A lot of the positive reviews seem to be about the nearby castle. Something is seriously wrong here.

We loved the place, and its central location was great. The one problem was that we couldn't place a call. We'd just arrived in Milan from America with a basic cell phone plan. If we book again, could the owner explain how guests can reach him by phone after hours from the Airport or Via Cussani?

This was the worst part of my five weeks in Italy. The air conditioning and Wi-Fi didn't work, and they had no intention of giving me a refund. There isn't a desk, so everything is self-service. The people were nasty. You'd be crazy to stay here when you could pay less for a hotel with fine service. Never again.

We arrived and couldn't figure out what to do because there was no front desk. We were traveling abroad and didn't yet have an international SIM card, so calling the hotel wasn't an option. A neighboring business, which seemed used to this happening, kindly lent us a phone after suggesting we call. Someone from the hotel came over, then asked if we'd seen an email sent 30 minutes earlier telling us to call on arrival. We'd only just stepped off a plane. They should have explained this when we booked so we could make sure we had a SIM card. It felt very unprofessional, and we were lucky we didn't arrive at night when the nearby businesses were closed. I didn't speak Italian or their native language, so I couldn't help if other guests ran into the same issue. Don't expect a hotel front desk here. The whole setup caused us a lot of confusion.