The Rosa Grand portrays itself as an upscale business or short-break hotel in a great location. The photos on the website depict a modern, trendy, upscale hotel with a decent list of amenities. The reality is a somewhat run-down, no-frills hotel with management issues and some extortionate pricing on the amenities although the location is hard to beat.
Upon arrival, we had difficulty finding the hotel because it has no outside markings whatsoever. No address, no signage, nothing. The doorman is the only indicator that there is something located on this rather mundane looking building on this little, back road piazza.
The place was pretty unimpressive at first glance but I was willing to give it a fair shake. Check-in was smooth until the desk clerk informed me that their private parking facility, which was one of the reasons I selected this hotel, was under renovation and they had contracted with a nameless outside garage which would cost an additional 50 euro per day and I would not be able to take my car there or drop it off. The garage would send someone for the car. I was unhappy about the additional 100 euro for my two-night stay and more unhappy about the prospect of handing the keys to my BMW over to some fly-by-night valet service with a poorly photocopied liability disclaimer. I asked if there were any other options... I was told by the clerk that parking was virtually non-existent in the area and that this was my only option. Since I booked through hotels.com, the two room reservation was prepaid and I was pretty much stuck. I convinced myself that this was the reason I had insurance, removed everything essential from the vehicle and let them take it.
Off to the rooms... another somewhat daunting task. The room assigned to my wife and I was very near the elevator, the other assigned to her parents was literally about 80 meters from the elevator down a warren of narrow, dimly lit corridors with peeling drywall and worn carpeting with four intersections which joined at varying angles. My elderly in-laws, refused to switch rooms because they had already begun to unpack but in during the two days we were there they got lost twice in the building and it took them about 10 minutes to get down to the breakfast room in the mornings. I even got lost myself once and decided to take the stairs to the lobby which set off an alarm even though the stairwell was open with no doors.
The rooms themselves were a mixed bag. New fixtures, nice woodwork and furnishings were betrayed by dated, chipped, ceramic bathroom tile, missing grout and heavily worn carpeting. Internet access was available in the room but was unreasonably priced at 10 euro per hour or 22 per day and there was no public internet access available.
The other amenities were also a joke. The "fitness center" was a hot, little room in a remote section of the building with a couple of machines and some free weights with a little toilet room attached. I explored the lower areas off of the lobby where several large meeting rooms were located. The peeling paint, disheveled furnishings and dark halls said a lot but I found a business center with computers which had Starhotels login screens, printers, and a scanner. I returned to the lobby and asked if there was public internet access there and how to login. I was told that the downstairs areas no longer belong to the hotel and the business center was not available.
On to breakfast... The breakfast was really okay with the usual fare of meats, cheeses, cereals, breads and even bacon and eggs but the staff was not very friendly, the coffee wasn't very good (this is always important to me!) and the large, austere, cube of a room with what appeared to be plastic lawn chairs as furnishing lacked ambiance to say the least.
The only positive I have about this hotel was the location. It's right behind the Duomo and within minutes of world class shopping and dining.
The price seemed like a fair value when I booked . The place looked first-rate and I was very pleased that I was able to get such great accommodations during high-season on relatively short notice but having stayed there, not only will I never patronize this or any other other Starhotel location, I will happily warn anyone who will listen to avoid them as well. I feel that this hotel is grossly misrepresented on their website and I am astonished that the reviews here and other websites don't reflect this fact. It's not at all nice, luxurious, business-oriented or even adequate by my standards. I've paid less for vastly superior hotels and amenities in both Paris and London this year. Milan can be fun, but not if you stay here.
Note: Many of the reviews here on TA mention the renovation currently in progress at this property and some even say that it is complete. The current "renovation" may be a huge step up from the past, I don't know but I do know what I saw, not only is the "renovation" far from complete, it's haphazard with many signs of water damage and recently patched walls. The parking garage bait-and-switch is inexcusable. The furnishings and decor of the common areas generally appear dated, worn and badly in need another "renovation".