The hotel is 20 minutes away from the airport and while the hotel offers a free shuttle service, i had to find a working pay phone at the airport at 11 pm to call the hotel so the shuttle would pick me up (the tourism info office closes early). I had email the hotel in the morning to provide my flight details. Since the hotel had not replied by 7:30 pm, I decided to call; the hotel receptionist told me call them when i got to the airport in malpensa. i explained i do not have a cell phone that woks in italy; the receptionist couldn't care less and told me to call from the tourism office, which we all know closes in the early evening! i was about to give up when i asked a security guard at the airport who was leaving for the day for help. i was tired and desperate, ready to go to book a room at the sheraton and fearing that they would have no rooms. he helped me make the call and 15 misutes later the van came. I should add that the van parked away from roofed area and there was pouring rain. the driver insisted i cross under the rain to get to the van. i was in disbelief and ask him to move the van to a place would i would not get soaked, and he finally agreed. i just can believe this hotel.

the next morning, ti needed to be at the airport at 7:30 so the van took 6 of us to the airport. The driver dropped all passengers at the entrance of the airport, a long walk from the Delta terminal event though all of us were flying Detla. We asked the driver to drop us further up and he refused, giving some lame excuse excuse. as a result, we all had to walk and carry our luggage some 10 to 15 minutes to Delta,

The room is not charming and somewhat clean. the toilett did not have the "sanitized" ribbon that hotels usually place in toilets after they ahve been clean, and was missing a few toiletries like the shampoo which made me fear about whether the bathroom had actually been cleaned after the last occupant.

All in all, i cannot recommend this place. It is not worth the trouble.

I have stayed here several times on business trips. One very positive aspect is that the hotel provides transport to and from Malpensa airport with their shuttle buses (maxi taxi's) - you have to call the hotel from the airport if you want to be picked up. You may have to wait quite a while, but once the shuttle bus arrives at the airport, it only takes about 10-15 minutes to drive back to the hotel.

I have had variable experiences with the staff, some are friendly but unfortunately many are not particularly helpful (it looks like they don't like their jobs at all and you feel that you are annoying them by asking questions). The rooms are standard business-like hotel rooms, the bed is comfortable and the bathroom nice. Both wireless and cable internet connection is provided in the rooms. On the downside, you can't open the window yourself, you have to ask in the reception to get someone to open it for you. The airconditioning system sometimes functions, sometimes not. In some of the rooms, I haven't been able to get the temperature sufficiently low for sleeping, and then it's a hassle to have to go down and ask the receptionists (hopefully you meet the helpful ones) if they could pease be so kind and help you open your window.

The breakfast and lunch is quite good. It's also possible to have dinner in the hotel, but I haven't tried this.

The closest supermarket, Carrefour, is about a 15-20 minute walk away from the hotel, and the area is not exactly pedestrian-friendly (narrow roads, cars driving fast). You can also walk into Somma Lombardo (also about 20 minutes, I reckon) where there are some restaurants and a bit of Italian cozy small-town atmosphere, and you can also take the train to Milan, or e.g. Arona, which is a very nice little town by the Lago Maggiore. I definetly recommend having a map with you or knowing your way around a little before you start walking in the area around the hotel. And watch out for those cars.

It's OK as a business hotel, but I wouldn't stay here during a vacation since there's not much to see around the hotel and it's not a good base for exploring the area.

I had intended to start this review by saying that, unless you have particular loyalty to the Hilton brand, then there is little extra reason to stay at this hotel. In fact, it left the Hilton family at the end of June 2011 and is slowly being rebranded as an independent hotel (warning if you’ve booked and are expecting HHonors points!).

The reason for my comment is that, whilst the hotel is modern and comfortable, its location is poor both as an airport hotel and as a base for nearby Lake Maggiore and there are much better alternatives. For the Milan-Malpensa Airport, it does offer a courtesy bus, but the hotel is of greater distance than other branded hotels and I was kept waiting at the airport for 45 minutes after phoning the hotel for the bus (a taxi having refused to take me as the driver was wanting a big fare to Milan).

As a base for Lake Maggiore, it is about 30 minutes by car or longer using the infrequent train service at Somma Lombardo (15 min walk to the station), so it is quite distant and a totally different location. I suggest that it is far better to be based in a lakeside town where there are a wider range of restaurants, shops and nightlife catering for visitors, than at Somma Lombardo – a busy small town though it is, with a pleasant historic neighbourhood, several bars, restaurants and shops serving local people.

The hotel does offer comfortable accommodation. The room was large, well furnished and had all the ‘extras’ that one expects including safe, toiletries, coffee/tea, etc. The room wasn’t serviced on one day of my stay. Unfortunately, the advertised internet access wasn’t available in the room during my 4-night stay and, judging by the makeshift internet room off the lobby offering free wired net access, this was a long-term fault.

Breakfast was wide-ranging and plentiful and, in the evening, there was an a-la-carte menu or a pizza menu in the restaurant, plus a small and pricey “pantry” of microwave-meals and snacks. Bizarrely, the hotel seemed to have a 1980s-rock music American radio station playing continuously which was somewhat off-putting.

The staff were a mixed bag – some were good, but there were a few who were unhelpful and unwelcoming.

Overall, the positive points about the hotel can’t overcome the poor location, surly staff, relatively expensive prices and deficiencies in service. The loss of the Hilton link is undoubtedly a step-backwards as well.

Upfront, this hotel purports to be a Hilton property. My main reasons for picking this hotel were twofold: 1) Near Milan Malpensa Airport; and 2) it was supposed to be a Hilton Property (i.e. reliably good).

When I asked about my Hhonors credit, etc., the desk staff told me that there could be no credit given....because the hotel IS NO LONGER AFFILIATED WITH HILTON. And yet, the "Hilton Garden Inn" branding is EVERYWHERE. From the moment the HGI shuttle bus picks you up at the airport, you're visually assaulted with Hilton branding. Hhonors references are on signs at the check-in counter, etc. And yet this property is like no Hilton property I've ever stayed with.

No Hhonors credits
No easy internet connections (two cabled connections on a table in the lobby; and two wheezing PCs in the "business center". NO WIFI ANYWHERE).
Shortage of staff--any request takes a while to accomplish
Inconsistent room cleaning (dirty tea/coffee service left in room from previous tenant)
Room climate control was odd and never really cooled
Somewhat irritating front-desk staff (haughty)

We did find the provided breakfast very nice and the hotel's location somewhat near Malpensa Airport fit our needs as far as getting to the airport on time. The price paid for the room was not bad for the MXP area. Bottom line: If you're expecting a normal Hilton experience, stay somewhere else.