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Milan · Hotel shortlist

Cheap hotels in the old town, Milan

Sofia Marchetti

Sofia Marchetti Italy

Updated 1 September 2026 · 11 Milan hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Milan, out of the 11 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.5 down to 4.2.

Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $108.

Ostello Bello

Highest rated of the five

Ostello Bello

★★★★★4.5 from 4,031 reviews

Ostello Bello comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.5 from 4,031 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 3 star property, found under downtown and around $108 a night on the dates we checked.

11 hotels in Milan qualified for this list and five made it. Corte Milano is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out
  • Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze

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All five, ranked

  1. Ostello Bello1

    Ostello Bello

    ★★★★★4.5 from 4,031 reviews

    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  2. Corte Milano2

    Corte Milano

    ★★★★★4.6 from 221 reviews

    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Pet friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  3. Hotel Nasco3

    Hotel Nasco

    ★★★★★4.2 from 1,332 reviews

    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  4. Combo4

    Combo

    ★★★★★4.3 from 2,163 reviews

    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  5. Babila Hostel & Bistrot5

    Babila Hostel & Bistrot

    ★★★★★4.3 from 1,257 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly

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How this list was put together

11 Milan hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Sofia Marchetti

Sofia Marchetti Italy

Refuses to fly anywhere reachable by rail. Four sleeper-train crossings of Europe, a collection of old transit maps, and building sketches drawn from carriage windows.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.