I had a stay ten days ago and this was my worst stay in a Hilton family hotel in the last 5 years.

Location

As mentioned in other posts the hotel is about 300 meters from the former HGI Malpensa Airport, at the city limits and practically in the middle of nowhere. Without a car it is very difficult to get around since if you want to get around on foot, the sidewalk is extremely narrow and you have to walk next to a high-traffic road. The center of Somma Lombardo, where a few stores, bars or restaurants can be found, can be reached in just over 20 minutes on foot. Some opportunities for hikers, with some trails near the hotel just over the bridge over the railway. Malpensa Airport (MXP) is about 8-10 km from the hotel, depending on which terminal you want to use.



Booking

When I booked, 7 types of rooms were offered on the Hilton.com website, divided into only three price ranges: the standard rooms, in turn divided into Queen, King, Twin and the Accessible rooms (Queen or King), all about 21 sq. m and all offered at the lowest price, then there were the balcony rooms, divided between King and Twin, also 21 sq. m / 226 sq. ft, and finally the King Deluxe, 38 sq. m /409 sq. ft.

The price difference between the cheaper rooms and the most expensive King Deluxe was a little over 20 euros, and this left me a little puzzled. If as stated on the website the Deluxe is 38 sq. m. that means it is almost twice the size of the standard room, and would be almost comparable to a junior suite. Strange that the price difference was so small.

I don't know if further price segmentation could be done after the soft opening phase, differentiating the cheaper rooms and placing the king at a slightly higher price, as is already being done by many hotels.



Exterior appearance

As in the following picture. The hotel buildings have been completely renovated, but the same cannot be said for the areas facing them. There are several potholes in the parking lots, expecially the spaces closer to the reception, some even deep ones that could damage cars if careless.





Check-in

The day before my arrival I called the hotel to make sure that everything was in order when I arrived, the hotel having been open for about two weeks I did not want to have any bad surprises, which however unfortunately there were then. And indeed there was already the first surprise: I was informed that the hotel does not currently accept American Express cards. I then changed my profile and entered a MasterCard.

I also asked if they do upgrades, not having noticed anything in the app, and I am told that they have not yet implemented the software, however I am asked what room I want and I ask for a Deluxe, which is immediately confirmed, and soon after appears in the app. I also check in online and only 3 available rooms appear (442, 460 and 462), but since there is no room map but only their list and I randomly chose 462.

Digital Key not available, so I check in again when I arrive, where I find very friendly and helpful staff, who apologize for the lack of experience being the hotel is newly opened.

No voucher is offered for drinks.



Room

The room is on the fourth floor. Out of two available elevators only one works.

The room, which is supposed to be a Deluxe, looks perfectly identical to the other 21 sq. m. rooms, and it is definitely not 38 sq. m. as is advertised, which would mean an almost double room size. In spite of everything, the furnishings are new and nicely designed.




However, there are many things that do not work properly, which is not tolerable in a brand new hotel. There is a lack of mineral water bottles in the room, there is a lack of hairdryer, the safe does not work (the internal batteries are missing), there are very few electrical outlets in the room (next to the king bed there is only one and only on one side, on the other side no outlet) but the most serious thing by far is that the thermostat does not work and you cannot adjust the temperature, but neither can you turn it off. The indicated temperature was 24.5 °C and there was no way to lower it. I reported this to the front desk as soon as I arrived, then again before I left for dinner, but when I returned nothing changed. Sleeping in that temperature was almost impossible, and even the open window did not help, despite the rainy day and 6°C outside temperature. The very kind receptionist, very sorry, tells me that even changing rooms would not improve the situation, as all the rooms have the same problem and already several guests have complained about the temperature being too high.

My room, as well as most of the other rooms, faced the street and there was quite a bit of noise. To make matters worse, aircraft noise is also quite pronounced, and the soundproofing does not seem adequate: in fact, the hotel is located in the middle of the takeoff paths of MXP's two runways, and even at night there are quite a few takeoffs. The situation in the back rooms, which instead face the railroad, with numerous trains passing by at all hours, does not seem any better.

As mentioned there was a lack of a hairdryer in the room. I call to have it brought but when it arrives and try to use it I notice that it has a German plug (Schuko) that is incompatible with the Italian sockets installed in the room, and no adapter is provided. After 5 minutes of searching I notice that the only compatible outlet, and barely accessible to get to it, is the one behind the TV, where the water kettle is connected to it. Unfortunately, there is no mirror accessible from that location, so to dry one's hair one has to adapt with difficulty (which is not appreciated by women). However, I am quite disappointed that in a brand new hotel, which in the near future is expected to accommodate many air crews of all nationalities, the electrical outlets have not been installed with better ergonomic criteria and in greater numbers. I also report that unplugging the phone charger from the outlet pulled the entire block off the wall, again something not acceptable in a new hotel.







Fitness

Very poor and in a small room (see photo). It is located in the basement and has no windows. I don't think more than 3 guests can stay there at the same time.





Breakfast

Breakfast was in the restaurant, almost deserted at 8.30, with only a couple of guests. Very basic selection, which I would describe as more like a Hampton Inn, if not even worse. Only hot dishes were scrambled eggs, bacon and small sausages, these badly cooked and not comparable to the usual ones at all international hotels. No made-to-order options. The waffle station was out of order, or to be more precise not yet put into operation. As a Diamond I had the free breakfast, but if I had had to pay for it I don't think I would have wanted to spend the extra 12 euros per person for breakfast, given the limited choice available.








Restaurant

When I left for dinner there were only two guests in the restaurant and the atmosphere seemed very sad. The menu was displayed in the elevator, which I found to be overpriced for the level of the hotel: in Michelin-starred restaurants in the area you can spend less and with infinitely better ambiance, food and service.




(Quite funny to see that a slice of croaker fish is translated, from the italian, as a slice of shrimp)



Parking

Large outdoor parking surrounding the hotel plus covered parking, which would appear to be free but I did not use.

Airport Shuttle

Not provided at the moment, which greatly penalizes a hotel that wants to call itself an "Airport Hotel." It will probably be offered in the future, but there is no word on this.

Inconveniences and issues

Both during my stay and when I checked out, I reported all the problems I had, from the serious ones, such as the thermostat not allowing to lower the very high temperature in the room or at least turn off the heating, to the less serious ones, such as the safe not working, the lack of a hairdryer, the sockets coming off the wall, or the fact that more than 15 days after opening, the hotel does not accept payments with American Express credit cards. I also asked to speak with the front desk supervisor, the duty manager or possibly the GM, but apparently none of these figures were present at the hotel, according to what I was told by the one receptionist, and this is also unacceptable.

Unfortunately no service recovery action was ever put in place.

After my insistence I managed to get a manager's email address, but my email was never answered.



Conclusion

Very bad stay, as I have already said I definitely consider it my worst stay in Hilton facilities in the last 5 years. I paid 70 euros for the room, free breakfast included, and I feel like I spent even too much. I was curious to try this hotel and stayed there on some trips to the lake area. I understand that the hotel is new and just opened, but after 15 days certain shortcomings are not acceptable. In a brand-new hotel, you cannot find thermostats that do not allow you to adjust the temperature of the room, and which cannot even be turned off, or even the blocking of the electrical outlets that comes off the wall by removing a plug.

Comparison with the old HGI, which bore the same name and is located a short distance away (although now operating as Dolce by Windham), is merciless: the old hotel was much better in all respects (location, common areas, rooms, upgrades, bar, restaurant, staff, parking, airport shuttle availability) and gave the impression of being a higher category hotel. Even the prices were lower than those currently offered, that are currently in the 70-90 euros range.

Perhaps, in my opinion, for the quality and services offered, it would have been more appropriate to propose this new hotel under the Hampton Inn brand, but I imagine that for a facility that aims to host air crews the Hampton brand might be judged not appropriate.

I also have to reconsider when I said in some previous posts that the hotel (which I had not yet visited having just opened) could be a good base for excursions to the lake area because of its bargain prices, which are certainly better than lakeside hotels. If the quality and services I am offered are what I have experienced I would rather spend more and be better off, regardless of Honors status, and I would gladly give up the handful of Honors points I would get.