Grand Hotel et de Milan, a true monument of Milanese hospitality

We never tire of saying this. Milan is no longer the grey city where people go for business. For some years now it has entered the list of international tourist destinations and is evolving into a capital of art, culture and contemporary Italian lifestyle. In a word, it is the most international city in Italy. (Forgive the enthusiasm, but after years of neglect we Milanese are very proud of this present, ed). The hospitality scene is also undergoing great renewal, with recent openings and interesting announcements by 2026, when Milan will host the Winter Olympics together with Cortina. However, the Milanese, although curious about new things, are still fond of their traditional places. And unlike in other cities, they have always frequented the historic hotels in the centre. Lunch, business or pleasure, at the Grand Hotel et de Milan is a classic.

Grand Hotel et de Milan - Suite Giorgio Strehler

At Gerry's Bar and bistro, generations have passed and celebrities have certainly not escaped Mrs Bertazzoni, who has been running this monument of Milanese hospitality with passion and enthusiasm since 1969. Surrounded by lounges of mirrors and boiseries, elegant and sophisticated in her eighty years of age, she prefers to recite the roll of honour verbally, complete with anecdotes. And Rudolf Nureyev, and Marcello Mastroianni, and Hernest Hemingway, Orhan Pamuk, and Ornella Vanoni, the world of culture passing by stopped here, in Via Manzoni, in front of Via Montenapoleone, next to the delightful tree-lined square with the monument to Pertini designed by Aldo Rossi, the architect and designer, also a Milanese Hall of Fame inductee. Surely the Grand Hotel's most important guest is Giuseppe Verdi. The composer spent the last years of his life there (until the end) in a suite - presidential we would say today - that still preserves many of his traces, such as portraits and his personal desk. On the other hand, the location was strategic: only 674 steps from La Scala, where the hotel organises guided tours just for its guests (not to be missed).

Grand Hotel et de Milan - Ristorante Don Carlos

But it is not all amarcord and tradition. While remaining firmly faithful to its past, the hotel is always up-to-date. Mrs Daniela, now flanked by her daughter Alissia Mancino, is a volcano of ideas. She rightly turned to Dimorestudio to modernise without disrupting the sumptuous lounge, bar and bistro. And the two architects Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran used floral patterns, coloured velvets, touches of pink and green so as not to upset the atmosphere. When you enter, you hardly notice the changes. Everything seems to have been there forever, but with a freshness that doesn't lie. More daring is the gastronomic choice. There is an irremediable passion behind it with chef Gennaro Esposito. His pasta with tomato sauce and his simple, genuine dishes for the bistro, his flair (he has two Michelin stars at the Torre del Saracino in Vico Equense) for Don Carlos, the English club-style gourmet restaurant with pine-green walls and dozens of paintings hung next to each other like in a picture gallery.

In short, at the Grand Hotel et de Milan you dare. But above all, it feels good. The fireplace, the drapes. The afternoon tea. The aperitif with wasabi peanuts and peaches. The bubbles in the unexpected cellar with the remains of Roman walls and hundreds of Italian and French bottles crammed on the shelves. If it is true that there is a hospitable, charming, tasteful, traditional Milan, its story begins right here.