Review: the ME Milan Il Duca hotel, Italy (part 2)

In Part One of my review of the ME Milan – Il Duca I had a look at the hotel location and the different room options. This is Part Two where I focus on what you can do when you leave your room!

The first thing you notice when you walk up towards the entrance of ME Milan Il Duca is the lovely outdoor sitting area.  This is a great place to have a drink or read a book especially when it’s sunny . During the day you can order food from the all day dining menu of Il Giardino del Duca and in the evening you can order a la carte from STK and enjoy your food outside.

Next to the reception area is a reading room with sofas, armchairs and lots of photography books.

Radio Bar / breakfast room

On the 10th floor is the Radio Bar. This is where breakfast is being served in the morning, people hang out during the day and a DJ plays tunes in the evening.  This is breakfast spread:

The buffet had a large selection of hot and cold food:

There were fresh pressed juices, fruit and yoghurt.

Food can be enjoyed inside or outside on the terrace.

Radio Bar is divided in two parts. One part holds the breakfast buffet in the morning and is set up with tables throughout the day and evening, whilst the other part has the bar and DJ desk in the evening.  Both parts have open sitting areas with a great view over Milan.

In the evenings the Radio Bar is a popular place not only for hotel guests but also for locals. If you wish to get a table, you should get the concierge to reserve you one in advance. When I went up to the bar at about 8:30pm I couldn’t get a table and wasn’t even let inside the bar area. The concierge booked me a table for 10pm and meanwhile I went to STK for a drink.

STK

STK is a steak restaurant and cocktail bar. I didn’t order food but my first cocktail came with two delicious mini burgers (the cocktail was €15). From 7:30pm-9pm you can get a 3 courses meal for just €35.

Here is a press picture of the interior of STK as my pictures turned out too blurry and dark:

The staff were very pleasant and I enjoyed STK and the Radio Bar. Having those restaurants and bars in the hotel meant I didn’t have to leave the hotel for a good and fun night.

However, as there are DJs at the Radio Bar who play music until about 2am, I wasn’t able to get much sleep on the second (Saturday) night when I decided to stay in my room and not go out. I did mention it at the reception the next day and was assured that the night had been an exception (and I got my STK cocktail knocked off the final bill).  I assume that a room on one of the lower levels would have been quieter and you may want to ask about any Radio Bar late night functions when you check in. Of course if you are in the bar until closing time, you wouldn’t have the noise problem at night at all!

Meeting rooms

If you are looking for a hotel for a business meeting, ME Milan Il Duca also has two meeting rooms with a bigger one for presentations which seats around 50 people:

…. and a smaller one for interviews etc.

Gym

The gym worked well for me – it was a spacious room with all of the important machines.  There were also towels, fruits and water.

Conclusion

This is a lovely hotel in a lovely city. I liked the ME Milan Il Duca for several reasons – the designers passion for detail, the variety of public spaces like the reading room, rooftop bar and patio and the modern design of the rooms.

If you want to spend a weekend in Milan, see the sights and don’t want to stress about going out into the city to have a good time at night, the ME Milan Il Duca is a great choice.  You can jump on the Metro right outside the hotel after breakfast, go into town and should be able to see the main attractions before early evening, then come back to the hotel for dinner at STK and a drink on the rooftop.

If you have Melia Rewards Gold status via American Express Platinum, that should get you 2-4-1 if you pay for breakfast, 30% bonus Melia Rewards points and a guaranteed 4pm check-out unless the hotel is 100% full the following night.  Your Gold card should also come with 3 x 20% discount vouchers valid on future Melia bookings.

The ME Milan Il Duca website is here if you want to find out more.

As I said in Part 1, Melia Hotels International provided HfP with two free nights at ME Milan Il Duca.  We paid all of our other expenses including flights and incidental hotel charges.

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Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE MeliaRewards Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Honors Gold and Radisson Rewards Premium status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can discover the benefits of MeliaRewards Gold status on the Melia website here. It includes three vouchers per year worth 20% off any booking.

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