Armani Milano
From city-center excitement to lakeside bliss, Northern Italy has so much to offer travelers who are looking to go beyond the traditional first-time hotspots! Our dear partners at Armani Hotel Milano and Villa d’Este Lake Como certainly showed us the bounty that the region has to offer which often goes overlooked (and maybe even underestimated) but should quickly be put top-of-mind. Albeit in their own very distinct ways, each of these special hotels provide guests with a true sense of place that quickly became our homes away from home. Warm welcomes, impeccable service, gastronomic delights, and luxurious comfort allowed us to relax and engage in an inspiring four days of discovery with our gracious hosts!
Sleek and sophisticated, yet welcoming and comfortable, our FAM began with a warm greeting of “welcome home!” to the Armani Hotel Milano. Clean lines, chic style, Armani scents in the air — you can’t be anywhere else other than the center of Milan. The hotel is designed much like the city itself, as a world filled with provocative intrigue begging to be discovered. (Even the room doors are without exterior handles!)
The Armani Hotel truly is about lifestyle. Whether lounging in your room or enjoying the public spaces, guests are free and encouraged to be relaxed — luxury and style do not mean buttoned-up here. And, the Armani lifestyle is woven into every aspect of your stay. The furnishings, bath and body products, flowers, chocolates, and so on are all branded Armani. The food and beverage offerings are also a true reflection of the overall experience. We had the opportunity to enjoy meals at the Bamboo Bar, Armani Ristorante, and, of course, Nobu; each experience was a culinary journey that – just like Milan – was filled with exciting moments of intrigue and revelation.
Our time in Milan was perfectly balanced between activity and leisure. In addition to meandering the streets of the surrounding neighborhood to shop and strolling around the center of town to see the iconic sites, we also enjoyed an incredible tour of the Pinacoteca di Brera. Our guide was a passionate scholar and art historian with the most engaging personality. One of the first things she mentioned to us was how people often perceive museums as “dead places,” but she was here to show us how alive they actually are! Her storytelling was powerful and emotional as we traversed the halls and galleries. Perhaps the most exciting, full-circle connection, however, was the limited-time Giorgio Armani exhibit: Milano, Per Amore. To see his life in fashion interwoven throughout centuries of artistic masterpieces highlighted how truly timeless he is. As our guide told us, “you don’t wear Armani to be seen, you wear Armani to be remembered.” There is no better realization of this statement than that exhibit – a perfect affair between Armani and Milan, forever synonymous with one another.
The Armani Spa, located on top of the hotel with floor-to-ceiling windows and spectacular views, offered a calming respite from the hustle and bustle of a day spent in the city and was a great way to unwind and replenish before the evening ahead. On our final evening we had an exclusive aperitivo in the Milano Suite with our own private mixologist and signature cocktails (complete with A-for-Armani ice cubes!). It was the perfect summation of our days spent in Milan and at the Armani Hotel itself, where as one advisor perfectly stated, “…real luxury isn’t just what you see, it’s what you’re invited into.”
