We booked a night at this hotel in order to catch an early flight from Milan's international airport. A prime consideration was their "free shuttle" to the airport. However, once there, we were informed that the "free shuttle" is offered only in the morning, a fact that they fail to disclose in their internet site. In addition, when we called from Milan for directions on how to reach the hotel, they told us to use the train to Gallarate and gave us the impression that the hotel was across the train station. We found out, however, the hard way, that it is located at a distance nearly impossible to walk while carrying luggage’s. Furthermore, when we complained about the fraudulent information given, they rudely told us to take our business elsewhere, despite the fact that we had confirmed reservations. Needless to say we will NEVER pay this hotel a return visit.

The hotel stated it is 10 minutes from the Milan (Malpensa) airport and has a free airport shuttle. What they didn't say is that the shuttle operates for only 3 hours, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. When we arrived at the airport at 5:00 p.m., we soon learned we were facing a $30-$40 taxi fare.

If you've ever tried to find a decent hotel close to Malpensa, you know how hard that can be. This time we tried the Hotel Astoria, and I'm glad we did.

Getting there was difficult, perhaps because I was tired. There are many many signs off the road to Malpensa that pointed the way, and it seemed like we were getting the grand tour of Gallerate. However, with the help of a passer-by, and persistence, we did eventually find it. The hotel turned out to be located across the street from a small city park with soaring trees.

The exterior was not reassuring to me (see photo) but I went in and asked about room rates and availability. The courteous desk manager answered me in excellent English and assured me there was plenty of room. There is freek parking is across the street next to the little park.

The rooms are air conditioned and we paid 100 Euros for the night, which included breakfast. Also they have a shuttle to Malpensa which runs from 7AM to 5PM - I believe it is free. You just have to tell them when you check in. We ended up deciding to drive the rental car in later but this would have been a very nice option to have. When we were leaving the next morning we did see the shuttle so I know it operates as advertised.

The room was very nice, clean and had one of the best showers we had in Italy. The air conditioning is a bit over-rated, since it didn't really work well. On the other hand A/C in Italy is not something you can expect will be the same as it is in the US. Fortunately the weather was quite cool and we just opened the windows to let the cool air in before we went to bed.

My husband was pleased that there was cable TV, and we watched one of the early elimination matches for the World Cup. I noted also that CNN was available.

We walked around the piazza and looked at the various little shops. A little deli near the Franciscan church had good creme caramel and cookies that we took back to the room. The exterior of the church looks newly re-done and has beautiful decorations. There is a restaurant diagonally across from the hotel that had lots of business, but we weren't in the mood to eat out.

In the morning when we were leaving, there was a fruit vendor setting up his stand for for the Saturday morning market. It would have been fun to stay...

I rate this hotel Above Average because the room was clean and the hotel well maintained. The service was courteous. Breakfast was very good, with the standard Italian presenation of bread and pastries, muesli, cheese, cold meats, and fruit. The rate was reasonable.

We were very pleased to find this hotel and will definitely use it again when traveling in or out of Malpensa.