It's often said that Milan is gray, yet all you have to do is walk into its design outlets to realise that the city is a true master when it comes to playing with colours and style. And there is no shortage of colour or style in The Gray, a design hotel looking out on the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery, close to Milan's Cathedral and its most famous shopping streets. From the moment you step into the hotel the perceptive metamorphosis is striking. From the elaborate facade decorated with Art Deco friezes, columns and high-reliefs, to the magnetic modernity of the interior where a purple pouf, the Wengé wooden floor in the hall and the cool white shades have all been chosen for their wow factor. Similar features are to be found throughout the hotel: from the bar with its illuminated tables, to the restaurant where the cutlery creates artistic lamps, and to the rooms with their contemporary metropolitan style, ebony furniture and Jacuzzi bath tubs with built-in plasma TVs. City tax: ? 5,00 per person, per day. Child under 18 years will not pay the city tax. Child 18 years old will pay ? 4,00 per day. For a maximum of 14 consecutive nights of stay (from the 15th night no charge will be applied).