Hilton Milan A Perfect Hub To Reach The City's Tourist Sights Quickly With A Cheerful Staff Always Ready To Help By Doug Krikorian As a European vacation destination, Milan never had been at the forefront of my desires during my many visits to Italy across the decades preferring the country's glamorous triad of Rome, Florence and Venice. Oh, I knew it was one of the predominant fashion centers in the world and the site of The Last Supper, the famous mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci and that it had the second largest cathedral extant in the massive Duomo with its 3,400 statues on its facade. And I did make a couple of brief stops in the city over the years---and took in a few of its most famous tourist attractions that certainly were impressive but for some reason the city failed to stir my emotions. But, oh, have my feelings about Milan changed dramatically from having spent a week in it early this past December at the Hilton Milan near the city's iconic Centrale Train Station where the local Metro subway is also located to take you to almost all the important places around the city. The hotel itself turned out to be the perfect hub, since from there it's a mere 8 minute walk to the sprawling railway center and a mere four-stop, 15-minute Metro ride to the frenetically busy downtown center featuring the Duomo and the stunningly beautiful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with its massive Dome towering above all its upscale restaurants and apparel stores and other commercial outlets. Almost from the time I checked into the Hilton, I had a positive vibe about my upcoming stay in Milan because we were greeted immediately by the smiling friendliness of the bell captain and front desk receptionists. I say almost because that all changed instantly when my wife and I entered our fifth floor room, and found it disappointingly small for a couple that planned to spend a week in it and was led to believe by the gentleman signing us in that we were being given quite an abode. Well, not quite, especially for a long-time Hilton gold-card member long spoiled by upgrades. So, I promptly returned to the front desk, and, blessedly, came across an understanding lady named Moira Cattaneo, who quietly listened to my complaints about my claustrophobic room. After I finished my rant, she smiled and said, ``No problem. We just happen to have a room on the same floor available I'm sure that you will like much better.'' And, oh did we! It was twice as big with a nice sofa, and that was the start of a memorably entertaining stay in Milan where we wound up visiting countless exotic old churches, many old art museums, the great opera house,Teatro alla Scala, the sprawling Castello Sforzesco, the stunning 116-acre Parco Sempione, the architecturally breathtaking Porta Nuova business district, etc., etc., etc. Never realized that Milan had so much to offer, and I'll put its food against any I've eaten throughout Italy, especially its incomparable risotto, which, in the stirring parlance of culinary connoisseurs everywhere, ``is to die for.'' It turned out that Moira Cattaneo was the front office manager, and, obviously, was determined with a sweet smile to make her Hilton customers satisfied. I have no complaints about the Milan Hilton. The bedding was clean and fresh. The service and food at the buffet breakfast were superb---a lot of goodies to choose from---and the cheerful cook made perfect customized omelets. I got a kick out of the automatic orange juice machine in which the oranges are actually dropped from a tube attached to a box of oranges and are squeezed in front of you in what actually was a thrill to watch. The fitness gym has all the proper cardiovascular and aerobic equipment, and there is ample room. The Hilton Milan, natch, has a terrific Italian restaurant on its premises called CololiAMO, and of course there are many other exceptional Italian eateries in the area with IL Tavolino at the top of my list. Another Hilton Milan employee who deserves praiseworthy mention is Gianna Sardone, a guest relations manager who looks like a younger version of Italian actress Maddalena Corvaglia and who was a fountain of information for my wife and me of where to go and what to see and what to do in what turned out to be a wonderfully eventful seven days in a city I now savor passionately and one day will revisit at the same hotel.…
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