The Gran Duca di York is a moderately priced hotel with 33 rooms, and is located in the city centre just a few blocks from the Piazza del Duomo. The historic building, constructed by the Catholic Church in the 1890s, once housed dozens of priests from the Duomo, including the cardinal of Milan, who later became Pope Pius XI.

Our double room ($135/night) was very clean, comfortable, and fairly spacious by European standards. We had a private bath with shower and a bidet. Some rooms have a terrace. Our room had a television, but no CNN International, as is common with some hotels. The Italian version of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" can be quite amusing when one is deliriously tired with jet lag, however. We noticed a lot of street noise (read scooter traffic), although it quieted down to acceptable levels late at night. Our only complaint is that the walls seemed paper thin.

Everyone we encountered at the front desk was friendly, helpful, and spoke serviceable English. The typical European breakfast of coffee, juice and light pastries is included in the room rate and is served at a coffee bar just off of the lobby.

The Gran Duca di York is located next to the Piazza Tomasso Edison where there are a couple of banks and, consequently, ATMs (or "Bancomats" as they're called in Italy) that actually work. For some reason we had alot of difficulty finding ATMs in Milan that were in service and able to dispense cash. We don't know if our luck finding ATMs in Milan was an abberation or not.

It seems as though many of the hotels in Milan are located in the Buenos Aires-Stazione Centrale area, and we saw precious few hotels in the immediate vicinity of the Piazza del Duomo. So if it's important to you to be in this central location, the Gran Duca di York would be a good choice.

The hotel is served by the Cordusio and Duomo metro stops. Their fax number is (+39) 02-8690344.

As a final note, we are under the impression that since Milan is primarily a business destination, accommodations are relatively expensive here. It's also advisable to make reservations well in advance, especially in March and October when major international fashion shows are held.

We found this hotel by using the DK Travel Guide and we were really pleased when we saw this charming hotel and it's terraces decorated with white Christmas lights. Gran duca di York is a three star hotel and we paid $125 per night for one room for three singles and a small dog. For two the price is around $75-90. This was a clean, nice hotel with a large room, a good size bathroom and a fabulous location. There were toilettries, a television (Cable with CNNi) and a hairdryer provided. The price was a little more than we wanted to pay, but we chose this hotel because they allowed us to bring our small dog (see photo). Breakfast was included in the price and is served from 7:30 until 10am. It was the typical Italian breakfast of juice, coffee and bread/croissant. The food was not much to brag about but the service was entertaining to say the least. The waiter acted just like Roberto Bernini after winning the academy award. He should have been a comedian instead of a waiter. There is a small bar and the bartender was nice enough to bring wine to our room. We enjoyed the small terrace that our room provided, however there were some rooms complete with large terraces and seating overlooking the nearby church. On our next trip I plan to request one of these rooms.