Porta Romana Garden Suite

Our room was fairly clean and the hotel is in a good location, but I wouldn't book an economy room, especially room 769. Its window is tiny and the ceiling low, which made it feel claustrophobic. Getting to the seventh floor also meant taking a service elevator at the back. At $230 CAD a night, there seemed to be much better options in Milan. Economy guests don't get free breakfast, either, and the rooms are quite dated and need renovation.

The underground parking is handy if you're travelling by car, and the hotel is a short walk from the subway. My room was comfortable and clean. Breakfast was okay, though for this hotel's price range I expected a wider choice of items.

The room was clean, the bathroom nice, and the staff were good. The location was good too. But it was very hot in the room, and in winter there was no way to turn on the air conditioning, so nothing could be done about it. Street noise made it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. The walls are so thin I could hear the person in the next room snoring.

I've never felt so humiliated at a hotel. My husband and I have travelled widely in Italy and abroad, and booked one night here before flying back to Australia. Since we were only in Milan briefly, I chose the cheapest option on the website, a “Budget room” for 185 Euro. Andrea greeted us nicely at check-in and offered to show us to the elevators. Instead of the regular elevator area, we went past it to a door that looked like a back exit or staff entrance. We waited there for the elevator. When it arrived, a staff member was inside with a huge trolley of garbage, taking it down to the basement. Even the brief smell when the doors opened was unbearable. There is budget for a “4 star” hotel, and then there is unacceptable and insulting. We went to the room, which smelled of smoke, garbage, and general uncleanliness. I called reception right away. After some back and forth, Alicia asked me to come to the lobby, so we took our luggage down and explained it again. Andrea and Alicia could see how distressed we were. Alicia was rude, snobby, and extremely unhelpful. They said the hotel was fully booked and offered no alternative, even though we were willing to pay for an upgrade. Both spoke to us so rudely that it felt like we deserved this because we'd booked a “budget room.” I'm disgusted, shocked, and angry. I'd never had to write a review about accommodation before this. I'm still lost for words about how this could be allowed or considered okay. Neither the booking site nor the hotel website said budget guests had to use the service elevator, so that was a complete shock. We immediately changed hotels and found a lovely nearby 3 star hotel with a budget-friendly room, better service, and better cleanliness.