Milan is a destination that you can travel to with a clear conscience, even in difficult times, staying in a hotel that has a lot to do with travel. What more could you want?
Is traveling still opportune in these times, especially in Europe where, not far from us, the misery has become so immense? A bad conscience gnaws against the lure to travel in the warm weather. Traveling gives impressions, and enables experiences, ideally leading us to a better understanding of our world. A good measure of hospitality while traveling is also very nice.
Perhaps today it is more a question of traveling sensibly and moderately. And one can assuage their conscience by seeing travel as a way of supporting an industry that has not had an easy time of it in the past two years, as many a hotelier or restaurant owner will tell you.
Fashion Capital of the World
In this respect, Milan is worth a trip and is easily reached via train from Zurich in just over three hours. The capital of Lombardy is not only one of the world's fashion capitals, but also has a lot to offer in terms of culture, gastronomy, architecture, and sports, depending on your tastes, and without anyone missing out.
A new hotel in Milan also has a deep travel pedigree. The Radisson Collection Hotel Palazzo Touring Club Milan is located on Corso Italia, and within walking distance of a metro station and the city's landmark, Milan Cathedral. The La Scala opera house is also nearby and it's where the fashion stores of the Quadrilatero della Moda begin.
Opening up in Lockdown
The Palazzo Touring Club Milan was built in 1914-1915 by Achille Binda and opened as a hotel last fall, at the worst possible moment. At that time, Italy was in total lockdown, recalls General Manager Laurent Heras Guerquin in an interview with finews.ch. In this regard, the hotel has only really come to live in the past few months.
The Radisson Collection hotels, manageable in size, are characterized by a five-star designation, domiciled at historic and central addresses, and have a first-class gastronomic offering. «We can only really prove all this now,» emphasizes Guerquin.
Hotel Bookstore
The Milan Palazzo has «only» 89 rooms and suites furnished in modern design. In contrast, the hotel's interior including the lobby, corridors, and bar exudes an atmosphere as if hotel guests had been coming and going for a century, although that is not the case. The building was once the headquarters of the Italian Touring Club, an association founded in 1894 that provided development aid to Italy's tourism industry.
The dignified bookstore in the hotel harks back to an earlier era and existed in the past as a travel agency. Tempi passati in the digital age. In an homage to its travel agency past, it has a huge and impressive selection of unique travel books. The fact that you can go straight to the adjacent bar with some book or another and drink an espresso there definitely creates a feeling of well-being.
Although Milan has a large number of first-class restaurants to offer, quite a few guests also choose the hotel's own gourmet Bertarelli restaurant which bills itself as «New Wave Culinary». It was named after Luigi Vittorio Bertarelli the founder of the Italian Touring Club, and not to be confused with Geneva's billionaire Bertarelli family.
From 23 to 85 Hotels by 2025
During the interview, Guerquin explains that the Radisson hotel chain, now under Chinese control, has recently been expanding its «Radisson Collection» concept, with much more planned. The portfolio presently stands at 23 hotels to be expanded to 85 by 2025. Another property was added in Italy's fashionable ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, and another one in Venice opened in October 2021 for which Guerquin is also responsible.
The Radisson Collection seeks to differentiate itself in cultural terms as well. In addition to hosting all sorts of events at its various hotels, the Chinese artist Fei Wang, better known under his stage name Mr. Slowboy (video below), contributes to this. Inspired by the Japanese comic figure Ivy Boy, the former art director of Beijing's OgilvyOne advertising agency now works in London as a fashion illustrator, artist, and cartoonist.
People as Inspiration
For the opening of several Radisson Collection hotels, including Milan, he spends a few days in the city. During this time, he is inspired by the diverse impressions and people and creates comic-like color drawings. On one hand, they reflect the spirit of the city and its people, and on the other hand-illustrated scenes in the hotel.
Mr. Slowboy's artistic style is reminiscent of cartoons from the 1950s or early 1960s, giving the impression of animated films that have been paused.
New Experience Along the Canals
Milan is a diverse city in every respect, offering a wealth of impressions and worlds of experience. As a special tip, Guerquin recommends the Navigli district with canals dating back to the Middle Ages. Here, waterfront restaurants and studios in hidden courtyards captivate both locals and visitors. In the evening, this part of town turns into a nightlife district with bars and music clubs.
