Milan & the Lake District - Italy - page 388

deep couches—though management can be a bit brusque. The rooms are contem-
porary chic, with starkly modern minimalist furnishings, but do reflect the build-
ing's centuries-old heritage with their tall windows and high ceilings. Some are
quirkily shaped, and a few singles are cramped. Doubles go for € 150.
Cheap Hotels Far East of the Duomo
€€

Though tiny Hotel America (Corso XXII Marzo, 32, in the block east of
Piazza Emilia; % 02-7381865; www.milanohotelamerica.com; Metro: Porta
Vittoria, though it's more convenient by tram/bus: 12, 27, 45, 60, 66, 73, or 92)
is a bit off the beaten track, in a middle-class neighborhood a 10-minute tram ride
east of Piazza del Duomo, the young owner and his family work overtime to make
this pensione one of the best lower-priced lodgings in Milan. The € 52-to- € 62
rooms ( 68 if you want a private bathroom) occupy the fourth floor of an apart-

ment house, with streamlined, wood-veneer modern furnishings and, in many, a
thematic stars-and-stripes decor—which is taking the theme a bit too literally.
Guests are welcome to join the resident innkeepers in the living room and watch
TV. The Rolling Stone music club, a venerable fixture on the Milan nightlife
scene, is on the ground floor of the building, a good reason to ask for a room fac-
ing the quieter giardino courtyard (room 10 even has a balcony).

€

5

€€ - €€€€ (Via Dandolo, 2, off Corso di

Porta Vittoria; % 02-55192133; www.hotelpavone.com; tram: 12, 23, 27, 60, or
73) is around the corner from the Palace of Justice, about a 15-minute walk east
of the Duomo in a neighborhood more geared to business than to the tourist
trade. Rooms run € 90 to € 19 and tend to be a bit sparse, with gray tile floors
and no-nonsense Scandinavian-style furniture, but they were spruced up in 2003
with new linens and decor. Most are unusually large and cloaked in a silence
unusual for big-city Milan (rooms 12, 14, 16, or 18, all of which overlook a gar-
den, are the quietest of the bunch). Many rooms are outfitted as triples and are
large enough to accommodate an extra bed, making this a fine choice for families.
Cheap Hotels near Stazione Centrale
& Corso Buenos Aires
€€ The Bianchi family is genuinely welcoming to the many English speakers
who find their way to their Hotel Kennedy (Viale Tunisia, 6; % 02-29400934;
www.kennedyhotel.it; Metro: Porta Venezia), a block from the southern end of
Corso Buenos Aires. Their homey establishment on the sixth floor of an office-
and-apartment building (there's an elevator) is sparkling clean and offers basic
accommodations in large, tile-floored rooms that cost

The family-run Hotel Pavone

80 for a double
without private bathroom, € 65 to € 120 for one with bathroom. Room 13 has a
terrace, while room 15 has a small balcony that even glimpses the spires of the
Duomo in the distance. Amenities include a bar in the reception area, where cof-
fee and soft drinks are available, as is a light breakfast of brioche and coffee that
doesn't cost much more than it would in a cafe.

€

52 to

€

€€

Occupying an old house on a quiet residential street off the north end of
Corso Buenos Aires, the Hotel Paganini

5

(Via Paganini, 6; % 02-2047443;