(Well hello Italy, you're looking mighty fine)

I was very lucky to join Melia’s first fam trip to Italy last week and what a weekend it was...

It all started very early on the Friday morning flying with BA from Gatwick to Genoa, after we landed we headed straight to the gorgeous 5* Melia Genova for a quick coffee & pastry.

After we had refuelled we had a lovely stroll through the streets of Genoa taking in the history & culture from a local guide.

On our return to the hotel we had a chance to explore and see a couple of the 99 bedrooms the hotel has along with the two meeting rooms & spa. We had lunch in their restaurant before boarding the coach for our drive to Milan.

On arrival in Milan we went straight to the Melia Milano, our hotel for the night. Luigi from Studio ITER DMC Italy met us and was our guide for Milan.

The Melia Milano has 291 bedrooms and 18 meeting rooms with the largest holding up to 520 delegates (theatre style). We had a lovely dinner in one of their private dining rooms and tried an array of delicious Italian dishes (accomplished with some tasty wine!!).

On Saturday we explored Milan (the largest city in northern Italy & fashion capital of the world), it started with a trip to Unico Milano, located on the 20th floor of the WJC Tower at Portello and the highest Michelin star restaurant in Europe and offers amazing views of Milan’s skyline.

We then headed to Obicà at Duomo, a rooftop bar/restaurant with an up-close view of Duomo’s spires and were treated to some yummy Mozzarella and Prosecco … I can confirm this was the best mozzarella I have ever eaten!

After a leisurely stroll through the streets of Milan & a quick peek at the high end boutiques in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II we arrived for lunch at Latre - art, glamour & fine food all combined together in a contemporary venue.

Once we'd finished lunch - we had some free time in Milan before our arrival at our second hotel in Milan, the ME Milan il Duca - This contemporary hotel has a cosmopolitan atmosphere and is cutting edge in style, it has 132 bedrooms & two small meeting rooms. STK Milan is the hotel’s very popular restaurant which has its very own DJ to provide an energetic atmosphere. We popped up to the hotel’s Radio Rooftop Bar for a couple cocktails after dinner, this also is very popular with guests & local residents.

On Sunday we jumped on a train to Rome, this was a 3.5 hour journey which gave us the opportunity to take in the beautiful Italian countryside and also travelling through Florence, this was where Luigi sadly left us.

On arrival we met Lorella (Luigi’s colleague who was going to show us Rome) and we were transferred to our next hotel, the Gran Melia Rome. The hotel is located on the exclusive Villa Agrippina close to the Vatican and has an exclusive urban feel. We had a little time to check in and freshen up before heading out on Vespa’s for a tour of the city!

We were chauffeur driven (thank goodness!!) and visited some of the top tourist spots like the Spanish steps, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain. This is one of the best experiences I have ever had and I highly recommend it to everyone. We had a relaxed dinner at the hotel in their restaurant followed by a relatively early night.

Monday started with a show-round to see some of the Gran Melia's 116 bedrooms, three meeting rooms and the beautiful spa, the hotel is perfect for board meetings and smaller events.

We then made our way into the city to start an iPad challenge, we got ourselves into small groups and had to use the iPad to navigate the city and unlock questions to gain points. This was an amazing way to see Rome and the attractions by foot – obviously, my group won (we were all a little competitive!!).

Before heading to the airport we stopped at Casa Bleve for a spot of lunch & well deserved rest (and maybe a little glass of wine!)

Then sadly it was time to leave, it was an absolutely amazing four days with Melia experiencing the hotels and cities and it is safe to say that even having just over 24 hours in Rome it has quickly become my favourite city.

Where will my next adventure take me?

Stef

PS - if you're looking to hold your next meeting in Rome, or anywhere else in the world - give us a call today on 01323 644644!