Hotel Spadari al Duomo

You might surmise from the name that the Spadari is just steps away from the Duomo cathedral, and you'd be right. But close proximity to tourist attractions isn't what keeps the Spadari's style-conscious clientele coming back again and again—designers and editors set up shop here during the furniture fair, and it's a perennial favorite of the fashion industry as well.

Perhaps it's the cool blues of the interior, a welcome break from the greys and beiges typical to Milan's interiors (and exteriors, for that matter, though wishing for a cool blue sky might be asking a bit much). Contemporary works by local artists hang on the walls, and the American Bar features a fresco painting by Valentino Vago—this is the furthest thing possible from the typical uninspired hotel-room art, purchased by the square meter from art-college recycle bins.

Rooms are chic and comfortable, with custom-built furniture by Ugo la Pietra, and some rooms come with balconies, rich with greenery, and the junior suites on the seventh floor have views of the Duomo itself. Services are a bit stripped-down, in Italian boutique style; there's no restaurant, just breakfast and some simple dishes in the American Bar. Still, that's nothing to complain about—you can't walk a block without stumbling into a fantastic café, not to mention what is, for many of us, Milan's main attraction: not La Scala or the Duomo, but the Golden Quadrangle of designer shops.