When I plan a stylish city break, I look for a hotel that balances a central location with thoughtful design, attentive service, and a team that can unlock the city’s best shopping, culture, and hidden corners. Most importantly, it needs to be somewhere I genuinely look forward to returning to after a full day out, and Palazzo Cordusio met that brief. Central, elegant and intelligently restored, it offers the rare combination of prime location, architectural gravitas and contemporary ease.
The moment you arrive at Palazzo Cordusio, a Gran Meliá Hotel, there’s an immediate sense of stepping into Milanese history. Set within a late 19th-century palazzo once home to Generali, Italy’s largest insurance company, the building carries the authority of Milanese heritage. Designed by celebrated architect Luca Beltrami, its restoration respects the original structure while introducing a distinctly modern living experience for how the hotel is experienced today. Rather than a conventional arrival, guests enter at street level before ascending via a glass lift to the fifth-floor reception, an “upside-down” layout that offers an intimate view of the building’s original detailing along the way. It is a subtle signal that this is a hotel shaped by its past design.
Its location is as central as Milan gets. Piazza Cordusio sits at the intersection of the city’s past and present, framed by Neoclassical and Art Nouveau architecture. Via Dante stretches directly opposite, leading to Castello Sforzesco, while Piazza Mercanti, the medieval commercial heart of the city, is moments away. The Duomo is an easy walk, as are Milan’s luxury shopping streets, museums and transport links. Despite this, the hotel manages to feel removed from the bustle outside, offering a composed and well-positioned base that allows guests to navigate the city with ease.
Inside, the hotel houses 84 rooms, including 29 suites, each designed to honour the building’s original features while delivering modern comfort. Interiors are elegant and restrained, with Rubelli textiles, considered lighting and a calm, neutral palette. Thoughtful details include pillow menus, Illy coffee and tea, and Carner Barcelona toiletries. Bathrooms are generous and functional, while select suites offer separate living areas, private balconies or direct views of the Duomo. The design strikes a balance between heritage and modern practicality, preserving character without slipping into ornament.