Crossing Manzoni

Style

Milano alla moda

Setting

Well-heeled Via Morone

This year’s most desirable Milan address, Crossing Manzoni is an intimate fashion-forward haven in the heart of the quadrilatero della moda, all decadent art nouveau flourishes, statement art pieces and dreamy slate-grey tones. Browse glossy coffee-table tomes and sip ristretto on creamy modular sofas in the minimalist lounge, before slinging on those Prada pumps and Armani aviators and catwalking your way to the design boutiques on Via Monte Napoleone, just around the corner.

Facilities

Rooms

Six. The first-floor Venezia and Bagutta rooms can be booked together as a suite.

Checkout

11am. Check-in, 2pm. Early check-in and late check-out are accommodated when availability permits and luggage can be left in the storage area if rooms are not available.

More Details

There’s a concealed kitchenette in the lounge for complimentary morning coffee, cakes and sweets, and plenty of options for a more substantial breakfast or brunch nearby.

Also

Unfortunately this compact converted palazzo isn’t accessible for wheelchair users.

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pet Friendly

At the Hotel

Free WiFi, shared kitchenette with fridge and Nespresso coffee machine. In rooms: TV, kettle with teas from La Via del Tè, bathrobes, slippers, and Diptyque bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Your inner fashionista will swoon to second-floor Montenapeolone’s blissful dove-grey tones and Via Morone views. A pair of stern-looking sculpted masks cast stony gazes across the room from atop lofty art nouveau plinths, while the stylised bird ornament on the armoire looks like it could take flight through the open windows at any moment. Take it all in as you drift away on that big, cloud-like bed with its smart Aztec-print headboard.

Packing Tips

You’re off to Milan darling, so joggers and hoodies just won’t cut the mustard. Impractical heels, cashmere coats, on-trend espadrilles and cufflinks are de rigueur here, though perhaps not all on the same person at the same time. Don’t forget that spare wheelie suitcase (designer, natch) for cramming with exclusive new togs from Via Monte Napoleone’s chi-chi boutiques. A copy of hotel namesake Alessandro Manzoni’s 1827 opus The Betrothed, set in plague-ridden 17th-century Lombardy, is also a must.

Children

Crossing Manzoni is a grown-up kinda place with no specific facilities for kids, although the second-floor Borgospesso and Spiga rooms are interconnecting, and there’s a first-floor family suite. For €20 a night, extra guests can sleep on a sofa bed.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Ask staff to hustle you the best tables at exclusive eateries including centuries-old stalwart Boeucc and the restaurant in Milan’s vaunted state opera house.

Dress Code

Gents, strut your stuff in leather moccasins, blazers, designer cufflinks and shirt collars starched to within an inch of their lives. Ladies: slinky slip dresses, strappy stilettos and bright pops of colour for the win.

Hotel Restaurant

None. Hit up the concierge corner for the best local restaurant and breakfast joint recommendations. Staff are happy to make bookings on your behalf.

Hotel Bar

None, but there are plenty of opportunities to scratch that Aperol spritz itch within a few minutes of the hotel.

Last Orders

Italians dine late so expect restaurants that are open until after midnight and cocktail bars in which to continue living la dolce vita into the small hours.

Room Service

None, but a small kitchenette in the lounge comes with free coffee and snacks, and staff can recommend the best late-night takeaway joints in the neighbourhood.

Planes

Milan’s Malpensa Airport is around an hour from the hotel; Linate is closer and can be reached in 30 minutes. A one-way transfer costs €150 from Malpensa and €90 from Linate.

Trains

Milano Centrale Railway Station, a century-old architectural gem sporting Liberty and art deco flourishes and dozens of eye-popping sculptures, lies two miles from Crossing Manzoni, for high-speed connections to Malpensa Airport, as well as Naples, Rome, Venice and beyond.

Automobiles

Driving in Milan can be intimidating for all but the most confident of drivers and parking (300 metres from the hotel) comes at a premium. The compact and eminently walkable city centre means there’s little need for your own set of wheels anyway. And, in the event you do get footsore, it costs a mere €2.20 for 90 minutes’ unlimited use of the reliable ATM public-transport system (city buses, trains and trams).

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

You don’t have to stray far from Crossing Manzoni before being suddenly, splendidly immersed in Milan’s intoxicating blend of history, art, culture, and (of course) fashion. Exit onto the cute little piazza at the end of Via Morone, where a highly decorative Renaissance Revival façade conceals the former home of one Alessandro Manzoni, now the Casa Manzoni museum. Step inside for a journey through the life of the celebrated Milanese novelist and poet, best remembered for his 1827 novel The Betrothed. Highlights include the study in which it was written, artworks inspired by the novel’s characters and landscapes, and a series of portraits and bronzes depicting the man himself.

Sandwiched between the quadrilatero della moda and mediaeval Sforzesco Castle, the elegant streets of nearby Brera are just made for aimless meandering. It’s here you’ll find the Pinacoteca di Brera gallery with its centuries-spanning collection of Italian European art, including masterpieces by such little-known daubers as Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Caravaggio, and El Greco. Pause to admire the Astronomical Observatory in the monumental Palazzo Brera and to goggle at the astronomical price tags on one-off garments and jewellery pieces by up-and-coming designers in the boutiques that line the cobbled lanes.

Such credit card-melting couture reaches its apex along Via Monte Napoleone, aka the most expensive street in Europe. From Valentino to Versace and Moschino to Missoni, here’s where you can give yourself a big-brand designer treat. Gucci loafers and Dior handbag duly secured, confess your capitalist sins beneath the soaring serrated spires of Milan’s central duomo, the extraordinary Renaissance-Gothic confection from which all major Milan thoroughfares radiate. Follow one of these (Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II) to Teatro alla Scala – Milan’s storied opera house – for soul-nourishing performances of Madama Butterfly, Turandot, Aida and other timeless Italian classics, many of which received their premieres here.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .