Mandarin Oriental Milan features 104 guestrooms, including 34 suites and junior suites, and is located in the heart of Milan, at the point where the city’s fashion, cultural and financial centres meet. A few steps away from the hotel are Milan’s most precious heritage sites, Teatro alla Scala, via Montenapoleone and Duomo.
The hotel is housed within four 18th century buildings overlooking two parallel streets. While the hotel’s Mandarin Bar & Bistrot and Seta Restaurant are accessible from Via Monte di Pietà, its main entrance is on quiet via Andegari, a side street of fashionable via Manzoni. According to legend when the Romans first set foot in Milan, they found a Celtic settlement that’s completely surrounded by thick hawthorn hedge. A section of via Andegari – “andegavium” means hawthorn in Latin – follows that ancient hedge line. Originally built as a luxurious manor house, Palazzo Confalonieri, the building later housed the city’s tax office, Esattoria Civica Milanese, between the 1930s and 1950s, and a bank, Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde, from the 1960s. Original coats of arms of historical “Lombard provinces” are visible on walls above the arched colonnade, reflecting the building’s illustrious past.
The restoration project was conceived and completed by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, a well-established Milanese firm of international interior designers. To create a harmonious design across the four buildings, leading architect Antonio Citterio blended oriental touches with Milanese style. Like other prestigious Milanese buildings, the hotel features architecturally grand inner courtyards behind its elegant facade. Citterio’s design for the hotel’s common areas is inspired by the concept of dimora milanese (“Milanese noble residence”), and he has given them a residential feel with his choice of colour palettes and furnishings.
The concierge and lobby area is a welcoming, light space that resembles an elegant living room, with large fireplace and refined, contemporary decor. With its wide, U-shaped bar counter, Mandarin Bar & Bistrot is the hotel’s beating heart. Reached through hotel reception its walls are covered with black and white geometric, mosaic patterns. Together with glasses, mirrors and other reflecting surfaces, these walls frame views of an inner courtyard visible through glass doors. Lunch and dinner bistro menus, created by executive chef Antonio Guida, and a range ofcocktails for aperitivo and after-dinner, are available for guests at Mandarin Bar & Bistrot. The mood in the bar evolves from relaxed daytime oasis to vibrant nightspot as the hours pass.
Accessible from Mandarin Bar & Bistrot and from its own street entrance on via Monte di Pietà, Seta restaurant welcomes hotel guests and visitors for lunch and dinner, inviting them to savour executive chef Antonio Guida’s gastronomy. Awarded with two Michelin Stars, the restaurant features its own inner courtyard, embracing it on three sides so these outer and inner realms merge into one harmonious whole, with guests able to watch chefs at work through large glass windows. A haven dedicated to wellness, The Spa’s holistic approach provides physical, emotional and mental equilibrium. The hotel’s oriental heritage is evident in its treatments and architecture.
For its interior design, feng shui principles have been followed to create a space that encourages relaxation and rejuvenation.The guests’ journey to full wellness begins with welcome rituals that invite them to receive the benefits of therapies that blend ancient and modern techniques, and are developed in consultation with Traditional Chinese Medicine specialists, to ensure they meet the needs of each individual guest.
The spa features six treatment rooms, which include two single rooms, two double rooms, one Thai Massage room and one Spa suite. Beauty treatments are available at the beauty studio and the Spa also features a hair salon by celebrity hair stylist Massimo Serini. The fitness centre has hi-tech training equipment, while time spent at the pool invites contemplation of its design, which is both functional and beautiful.
Hands down, a must experience.
