Viu Hotel Milan

Lovely hotel by Milan’s Chinatown. It was my second time staying here, but this time for work. Love the rooftop restaurant and terrace, with a pool and beautiful views across the city. The rooms are good sized, comfortable and elegant. My only complaint with the room is that it was warm. I was able to reduce the temperature to something comfortable but the thermostat wasn’t that responsive beyond a certain point. Good, attentive service throughout the hotel. We had a chef’s table dinner for our group, which was superb.

We stayed at the Hotel Viu for 2 nights 7/12-7/14. At check in I specifically addressed the air conditioning questioning as to our room having a working a/c system and was told that our room thermostat could be seen by front desk staff and all would be in working order. I also would like to point out that although this property falls under the Bonvoy umbrella, status does not equal all typical Marriott perks. Specifically, what would normally be an included breakfast for us would have cost us 40 euro per person per day as it was a benefit that was not included. Upon entering our room on the 6th floor the room did feel cool and the thermostat seemed to be working. It wasn’t until later that evening around 10 PM when we returned that we realized the room was not cool and the thermostat was not keeping up. We called the front desk to make them aware of our situation and were brought a fan. Two hours later around midnight we called again and asked for help as the room was maintaining a 26 degree C temperature. We were offered a maintenance technician who “reset” the thermostat. This action did nothing to cool the room. The next morning we contacted the front desk to ask for a change of room due to the non working AC and were fortunately granted a room on the 5th floor that did have a working AC. We should have asked for an adjustment to our bill due to this issue but did not and none was offered. The rooms are beautiful and clean in general. The rooftop pool was a great respite from the heat and we had excellent service from the food and beverage staff for the most part. The location of this hotel is good. If you choose to stay here when the temperature is above 20 degrees beware you may end up in a room with AC issues.

No AC / Flooded Bathroom / Spotty Wifi / Bad Hospitality- Our first room stayed at 25°C even though the thermostat was set to 18°C. When we reported it around midnight, the front desk staff repeatedly pointed out that the thermostat was set to 18°C instead of believing us that the room itself remained at 25°C. The room phone also didn’t work, so we had to keep going down to the front desk to report/update the issue. A maintenance man was sent who said the motor wasn’t working. Since the hotel was fully booked, the only solution offered that night was a fan. The next morning, the general manager’s explanation was that the AC simply works better in some rooms than others, which was surprising to hear from a 5 star hotel. To the hotel’s credit, they upgraded us to a suite, gave us two complimentary aperitifs, and offered a 25% discount. Unfortunately, the suite had problems too. The shower drain flooded the bathroom with about an inch of standing water due to draining issues. When maintenance came, they told us it had been like that, and the front desk later explained it was due to the bathroom’s design. In our first room, we also had a staff member knock on our door after we had already checked in, looking for a book left behind by the previous guests. This was surprising and raised concerns about the communication between housekeeping and the front desk. Other issues included spotty WiFi in the back of the hotel, noise from guests above us moving luggage, and music from in the public courtyard starting around 8:00 AM. Samuel at the front desk was kind, empathetic, and professional, and we truly appreciated his help. Unfortunately, our interactions with all the other staff members were much less positive. While I appreciate the hotel’s attempts to make things right, the overall experience fell short of the standard expected from a 5 star hotel.

The hotel was very nice. The room was lovely. Every staff member we met was lovely and couldn't do enough to help. They bought me cake and champagne for breakfast on my birthday (after over hearing my kids wishing me happy birthday on a video call!!). Overall an excellent experience. A bit of a walk into Central areas but manageable.