We read a review of the Rovello in The Rough Guide and were shocked with the reality we encountered. The rooms were not pleasing. They were underlit and painted a depressing pale green. The lamps were nailed down (as was everything in the room). The first night my husband and I were on the first floor next to the breakfast room. It was noisy at night and noisy in the morning when the room was set up for breakfast around 5:30am. The next day we were moved to a much larger room upstairs where my only criticism could be the sterile institutional "decor", the stain in the middle of the bed covers, and the poor lighting level. After traveling for a month and having eaten many breakfasts, this one was the WORST we had encountered. The hotel staff was helpful to a point. But the night before we were to leave, they said there would be no problem calling for a taxi in the morning. It rained and no taxi could be found. After waiting 20 minutes, we ended up running with our luggage to the metro to get to the train station to head to the airport. Of all of the hotels in which we stayed during our trip, this was the biggest disappointment and biggest waste of money. It felt like a $70 hostel and not a $250 experience. The only good note is the hotel's location.

We booked this hotel following a review in the Frommers guide, it has clearly changed management since the glowing write up that inspired us to stay there. The lift was out of order, the receptionist claimed no knowledge of this mal function, simply shrugged and said we'd have to use the stairs, to our room...... a twin room that certainly didn't live up to the recent refurbishment suggested in the guidebook. It was 70's retro and not in a stylish sense. The beds were narrow, metal framed beds you'd expect in hostel accommodation, not in a hotel claiming to be 3 star in the centre of Milan. The bed side lights didn't work, the water was hot enough for one shower, there was no safe, we didn't even bother with breakfast, the dining area smelt of stale smoke, was pokey and overshadowed by an imposing TV. And all of this for £100? Still the bed bugs came for free - this is no joke.

We selected the Hotel Rovello for a three night stay in early October based on a description in Frommer's guidebook. The location is fantastic -- just a few minutes walk from the Via Dante pedestrian mall which connects the Duomo and the castle, and walking distance to the train station for the Malpensa express airport train. It is tucked away on a quiet side street, so you avoid the noise of the nearby trams. It has an unusual set-up with no ground floor lobby -- you have to go up to the second floor (European first floor) to a small lobby to check in. Our room was on the floor above the lobby and faced the street. The room was spacious and clean, as was the bathroom. The bathroom had a small stall shower, and was equipped with a hair dryer. There were a few problems with the room -- bedside reading lamps were dim; the TV was not working properly; and although advertised, there was no internet capability. The breakfast room is very small, and offers only a minimal Continental breakfast. The desk staff spoke English, and were helpful with restaurant suggestions (the Rovello restaurant right below the hotel is very good). The 120 Euro/night rate seemed reasonable for a hotel in a prime Milan location. I would recommend this hotel for someone looking for a moderately priced hotel in a great location, who is not as concerned with hotel amenities. For more amenties (probably at double the price), I would try the the Una Hotel Cusani around the corner, which looked very nice from the street.

We arrived on a cold rainy September night at midnight. The hotel is lobby is on the second floor of what seems to be an office building. The elevator stank of urine. The front desk guy was perfectly polite, but gave us the creeps. The room was clean but depressing. We were exhausted so we weren't about to find another place in the wee hours in the rain. Fortunately, the hotel is a 10 minute walk to Cardona train station, so the next morning, we took the US$12 train to the airport - a huge savings over a US$95 taxi ride.