Excelsior Hotel Gallia

This is maybe the nicest hotel we’ve stayed at during our trip to Italy, and my main goal was only to aways stay near the train/​metro station. It is literally across the street from Stazione Centrale in Milan. I’m looking at the station from a top floor suite right now because it’s raining and all curtains are open and it’s very pretty. It’s decorated in a modern yet throwback to the forties and feels very great Gatsbyish. I read that it was very recently renovated by architect Marco Piva and that writer immediately thought Fitzgerald would approve as well.
The hotel was packed this week so they upgraded us to a suite and gave us a very nice view of the piazza. It’s very old and beautiful on the outside (the large plaque on building says Hotel Gallia rather than Excelsior which made us walk right by at first) but it’s very modern and perfectly maintained inside.
The check in time is 3 pm but we did have a bit of a wait because the hotel is at capacity. We watched an American throw a fit over this and there were eight hotel hosts pretending not to speak English, but they giggled when he left.
Americans do take everything much more seriously than the Italians, we need to relax a bit more, and this hotel is a very nice place to relax. Also, it’s scented. I think Gardenia comes out of the air vents in the lobby.
Once we were officially checked in, our room was impressive, the lights were motion activated, there were a million iPhone/​Mac docking stations, marble floors and turn-​down service came like clockwork, while I look forward to them for the cookies they bring, I’ve never fully understood why a grown up would need this but this hotel earns its five stars completely.

This beautifully decorated hotel will not disappoint. The hotel staff are friendly and offer top notch service. I highly recommended this property. The hotel has a 24 hour gym with top quality Technogym equipment which will meet the needs of most gym fanatics. Centrally located and close to the train station and the business district it is an ideal choice for business travellers or those making a short stay in Milan.

Great hotel, stayed here for a week and it was definitely a pleasure to come back to every night. Very conveniently located, you can take a train from the airport directly to the train station and then you just cross the street and you are right there. Pretty much everything worth seeing in Milan is a 10 minute ride on the subway.
And the train station has direct entrance to the subway + there are always taxis in front of it. so it’s very conveniently located. Hotel is stunningly beautiful, just renovated, so everything is in tip top shape.
Perfect service.
Rooms are very modern, had all the latest gadgets. The views were very nice as well. All the lighting is controlled from every location, so you can turn off everything without having to get up. Word of advice, there is just one alarm even though the control are by each bed (if you have 2 beds in the room)…this means if one person sets the alarm it’ll override the other person’s alarm settings. There is a nice big TV, but pretty much the only thing on in English is the news.
There is no ironing board in the rooms (by law), but they go out of the way to offer to do that for you.
The gym will be a bit of a disappointment if you do any serious lifting (i.e. the equipment maxes out at 150 pounds, and the free weights max out at just 22 pounds), but there is enough equipment to keep yourself in shape.
The spa seemed interesting enough (you walk through it to get to the gym) but that’s not really my thing.
The restaurant was excellent. Good selection, good food, good ambiance, good service, not your average hotel restaurant. Prices were very excellent for the quality of food you get (i.e. most main courses were in the 22 – 28 euro range, wine by the glass was in the 7 – 9 euro range but you can always pay more to get a bottle, and deserts were 10 – 12 euro). Breakfast by comparison felt a bit overpriced (35 – 40 per person). The food at the bar was decent too and the room service menu had a decent selection (although they do seem to give fries with everything and the friest were kinda meh).
Overall, definitely a 5 star hotel, and was a pleasure to stay in.

This hotel rocks, the Gallia won me over, in many ways. By adding the more South-​facing wing and completely renovating the whole complex, Sheraton has built an impressive (and massive) landmark steps away from Stazione Centrale, you can roll off your comfortable bed and be sitting on the Malpensa Express in 3 minutes. Unless you’re considering indulging on breakfast, which won’t disappoint in terms of options and freshness of the ingredients. Not very different from a high-​end Westin, but that’s no trifling reference point to start with.
This hotel must have been the interior decorator dream, the ambiance reflects an artistic, modern flair that permeates the whole building, in a consistent and yet functional way. Yes, you have marble everywhere and reflecting surfaces, and a different design for each pair of elevators, but you also have smart lighting, embedded plugs, dials, outlets and whatnot to control every technological aspect of your room. As soon as you step out of bed, the courtesy lights switch on, you don’t even have to press a button. If you want to connect your laptop, you have an HDMI outlet for the most demanding techies. And if you’re running on a treadmill, you can browse Youtube from the attached screen. A rewarding experience across the board.
Couple of things I didn’t like. No ironing board in the room, ostensibly by law. The Hilton next door has them, I’d say it’s just a ruse to have you pay to iron your shirts. If you do pay for the laundry service, you’re probably going to pony up 50% more than in any other hotel. Finally, the gym is excellent, but the range of dumbbells is way too limited. The restaurant promises to be excellent, but it’s still under construction, and so is the SPA (bound to open in April ’15).
All in all, a deserved Unilocal 5 stars for a legit 5-​star hotel. It’s beautiful inside and outside, it’s functional, it’s a modern experience not easily found elsewhere in Milan.