Moxy Hotels, a brand new boutique hotel concept for the budget savvy traveller, recently launched its first site in Milan. Located conveniently outside Milan Malpensa Airport, Moxy Milan aims to combine stylish design and approachable service at an affordable price. Feeling dubious at the thought of an airport location, but intrigued at the sound of the Blank Canvas #atthemoxy competition, we packed up our passports, brushed up our best tourist-Italian (scusi, ciao, grazie) and caught the next flight to Milano…
As soon as we arrived at Terminal 2, we spotted Moxy Milan- it really is a five minute walk away from the airport. This makes for a pretty easy transition from plane to airport to hotel, minus perhaps the hair-raising crossing of a Milanese motorway en route (take on Italian drivers at your peril). Check in was quick and easy, and we headed straight up to our rooms for a much needed power-nap.
The 162 rooms at Moxy Milan are basic but comfortable; stripped of all the unnecessary extras you might normally find in a hotel, but wouldn’t need for a one night stay (which, being an airport hotel, would probably be the most amount of time you’d spend at Moxy). There are USB plugs, but no phones, free Wi-Fi, but no wardrobes, so just enough space to plug in your laptop, park up your suitcase and hang up your outfit for the next day. WARNING: In place of the phone is an SOS button which you can press to call up reception, don’t make the same mistake as us and press this repeatedly thinking it’s a faulty light switch; it isn’t.
The lobby and lounge areas at Moxy Milan are by far the best bits about the hotel. Airy and comfortable, the lounge area is dotted with plug points, and the multiple routers mean you can work from fast, buffer-free internet, rather than sharing your connection with all the other guests. The food and drink offering at Moxy Milan is more grab-and-go than gourmet, all laid out in a self-service area, but it’s just what you’d need if you’d touched down ravenous, or wanted to grab something quick before catching your flight out of Milan.
Although the hotel is a little out of the way to be the ideal weekend break bolthole, there are regular trains which go directly into the centre of Milan, taking about 30 minutes. If you’re only in Milan for a few days, head straight to Luini, just around the corner from the Duomo cathedral and home to the famous panzerotti; soft, sweet dough stuffed with tomato and mozzarella, folded up and fried.
During our stay we also attended the launch party of Moxy Milan, which saw the finale of the Blank Canvas #atthemoxy competition. In the run up to the event, artists all around Europe were asked to submit artwork with a bold design which they felt matched the Moxy attitude. During the launch an hour long graffiti challenge was held, with the three finalists battling it out to create the most inspired artwork. The winner was Nune D’Amico Kerobyan, who will now become the Moxy Milan Artist in Residency.
Moxy Milan is comfortable and affordable, with a bit more personality than your average airport hotel. If you’re looking for somewhere to stop off pre-flight, or if you’re city hopping around Europe and need a place to rest your head, Moxy Milan is ideal.
moxyhotels.com
@moxyhotels #atthemoxy
Rates at the new Moxy Milan start at €79 Euros.
