Milan in winter – the capital of fashion or icy industrial poor relation of Florence and Rome? Within a minute of arriving in the city and ogling the beautiful window displays of Prada, Armani, Fendi (take your pick), you know the answer. You don’t even have to care for fashion (I can’t say I do, really) to fall in love in with the city.
Then there are the Italian classics: strong coffee, good food, better wine, fine architecture. To those Milan adds something special. At times, strolling through the centre of town (it is pleasingly walkable) is like being on urban safari – only the well-dressed and well-heeled you’re admiring.
It was fitting then, that there was nowhere better to do this than the Hotel Portrait Milano.
Where is it?
The Portrait Milano occupies an artfully resorted 16th century seminary in the fashion district –between Coroso Venezia and the via Sant’Andrea. It is 90 seconds or so to the nearest metro (a smart and punctual service) at San Babila. The grand and fantastical Duomo with its great array of statue-topped pinnacles is a few minutes walk away. What of Milan you can’t reach on foot will only be a short, easy underground journey away (or the tram, should the mood take you).
Style
Where to begin? The Portrait Milano is practically all style, but as good as any place is what you see when you walk in (though a Baroque gateway, no less): a peaceful public square of stone, set with two storeys of paired of columns, topped with an immaculate tiled roof. Inside, the reception is just as calm. Carefully chosen art books rest on low tables, framed against angular art on the walls and geometric patterns on the thick carpet.
The hotel has its own artistic team – and it shows. Perhaps the highlight – though really one of many – is the library, replete with more beautiful, picture heavy books (on Vivienne Westwood, Horror cinema, catwalks through the years, and so on) adorning the shelves and lying on the tables. It’s a great spot not just to absorb yourself in beauty on the page, but to people watch as immaculately dressed Milanos glide past on their way to the elegant dining room.
Upstairs, on the first and second floors, are the bedrooms. The colours are rich and deep: gold, maroon, and cream dominate. Other rooms swap the red for green. The guiding principle is the desire to recreate the high-class, soothing Milanese homes of the Fifties. Elegant wood and rattan wardrobes are fitted with long leather handles (a nod to the craftwork of the northern Italian cities). Each room contains a pink drawing of a Ferragamo shoe, matched to another piece of art elsewhere in the room. The spacious bathrooms are entirely marble and heavily mirrored (an effect that could be disconcerting were it not for the handy dimmer switch).
Away from the rooms the stylish staff are charming, helpful, and as present as you would wish. The hotel is beautiful, but it is the staff who bring it to life.
Food and Drink
Meals are served (unless you opt for room service) in the restaurant, 10_11. Breakfast was a highlight. The buffet had everything a glutton could dream of: pastries (including custard filled puffs, cornetti, and other Milanese specialities), yoghurt, fruit, an entire honeycomb of honey, cold meats, fine bread, juice – and even bottles of fizz on ice. The highlight, though, were the breakfast cakes (yes, you read that right) that were somehow even tastier than they looked: the pistachio and date number was a highlight.
Dinner was an understandably more formal affair. The wine list was long and impressive, with local offerings and much too from further afield. To start we had tripe, which was a lot better than it sounds: delicious, spongy and succulent. It was on the mains, though, that the Portrait struck its only duff note. A cheesy cashew nut sweet potato mash type dish felt somewhat uninspired. The ‘fried cod with crispy potatoes’, really didn’t work either. “Fish and chips!” declared the cheery waitress as she lifted the lid on the dish. Alas, a mistranslation from American English had landed us with a plate of deep fried cod and… crisps. Oh dear. Desert came to the rescue with a gluttonous chocolate cake that had so glossy a top I could practically see my own reflection as I loomed greedily over it.
Facilities
A gigantic 9 metre long horseshoe bar spans the two rooms that make up the restaurant, 10_11. In one half there are low tables and chairs, while in the other a more formal dining room setup sees guests looking out on the garden – a charming space (enhanced by an original 16th particularly beatific century statue of Christ) right in the hectic heart of central Milan.
The aforementioned library is the perfect place to exult in the worlds of fashion, art, and architecture in charming pictorial form. Coming this summer is an entire wellness suite beneath the ground the floor. It promises an expansive gym, a pool in a vaulted room studded with columns, and a host of ‘biohacking’ treatments that combat, if not arrest, the ageing process.
Extracurricular
It is not just a hotel that resides in the refurbished Seminary. In fact it is a public square – though do mind the security guard as you come in. Along the colonnades of the public square, this being Milan, and a Ferragamo project, there are a number of high-end fashion shops. One, So-Le Studio, features the eco-conscious jewellery produced by Maria Sole Ferragamo, the granddaughter of Salvatore Ferragamo, whose family own the hotel. It is a playful space with some fine designs – and prices not exorbitant by Milanese standards. Other highlights include Antonia fashion shops, including another more commercial offering that sells streetwear (but, oh, such good looking streetwear). Later this year, a Monte Carlo-based restaurant BeefBar – the name obviates the need for explanation, though they will apparently have vegan dishes – has opened in another of the corners of the courtyard.
Which room?
We stayed in a studio deluxe garden, but there is not a great variation between the different options (perhaps the biggest difference is the dominant colour: green or red). All are luxurious – as you would hope at these prices – and finished to an impeccable standard. The rooms are spacious, but not cavernous. They are divided into neat sections – it does indeed feel a little like you’re at home, though how many of us can say we have a bed so big we can sleep it without knowing another person is also in there? (This other person, I hasten to add, was my girlfriend – not a stranger who had furtively crept in).
Best for...
If you want to moonlight as part of the fashion elite, look no further. An intoxicating blend of Italian elegance, style and charm, you will feel – and be treated – like a star. The Portrait Milano is the perfect base for exploring Milan’s fashion quarter (it is quite literally on the doorstep of the west side of the hotel), or further afield in the city should you choose.
Details
Rooms start from €935 per night. Portrait Milano is part of the Lungarno collection. It is found on the Via Sant’Andrea, 10, 20121, and Corso Venezia, 11, 20121. For more information or to book, please visit lungarnocollection.com
