Park Hyatt MilanShockingly, Mrs d2t had never been to Italy, so we knew a visit had to be made soon. As a lover of fashion, Milan seemed the obvious option for a first-time visit, particularly as it is the only city in Italy with a Hyatt property. After the early flight from Berlin (departing 06:30 with Air Berlin), we took the Malpensa Express train from the airport to Milano Cadorna, followed by Metro line 1 to Duomo (3 stops at €1.50 pp). From here, the hotel was just 2 minutes walk through the beautiful Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II shopping centre.
We were greeted at the door, shown to reception and did the formalities necessary for check-in. Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready as the hotel had been fully booked the night before, but this has to be expected if you arrive at a hotel at 9 am. After requesting breakfast, we were shown to the Cupola lounge, where we enjoyed tea and coffee, fresh fruit and continental cuts. Pleasingly, we were not charged on check-out for this extra breakfast. After eating our fill, we popped down to the spa for a shower and headed out to explore the impressive environs of the hotel, taking in the awe-inspiring Duomo (cathedral) and noting the location of Teatro alla Scala (only 2 minutes from the hotel) as we had tickets to a concert later in our stay. Spa and Prestige SuitesDuring a brief tour of the hotel, we viewed a number of suites. First up was the Prestige Suite, spacious for Milan at 75 square metres with a large living room and separate bedroom, as well as a guest cloakroom. In many Hyatts, this would be a Park Suite or Executive Suite; however space is at a premium in Milan so although the rooms are a good size, the basic suites are only a couple of square metres larger.
Perhaps our favourite suite was the spa suite, which at 95 square metres is very capacious with 2 large bathrooms. One bathroom connects to the bedroom, which offers a junior-suite style lounge area. A separate large living room is perfect for entertaining and the second bathroom completes the suite with a whirlpool bath, steam shower, chromotherapy (different colour lights), treadmill and massage bed - perfect if with a partner or for in-room spa treatments. The senior suites all include a complimentary mini-bar, a VIP fruit basket, kimono-style dressing gowns and a bottle of Italian sparkling wine or champagne, served with sweet and savoury snacks. A number of suites have a private terrace (the Park Hyatt is the only hotel in Milan to boast rooms with private terrace) - the perfect place to enjoy a glass of chilled Prosecco on a hot summer day. DiningBreakfast was included in the restaurant or through room service for diamond members (we ate room service once and in Cupola on the other days). Anything from the menu could be ordered and everything we ate was tasty: fruit was ripe, eggs were perfectly cooked. One highlight was the lobster and caviar omelette - there aren't many hotels offering that for breakfast! Service in the restaurant was fine but not fantastic.
On one night, we decided to partake of 'champagne moments', which is advertised as champagne served with a range of special dishes (e.g. caviar, smoked salmon, oysters) whilst live harp music provides entertainment. We asked concierge and were told champagne was from €22 a glass and included tapas. We felt that it was a little unclear that the tapas provided were (in our case) crudités and tomato consume, not the special dishes advertised (these were available at up to €300 each) and there was no live music the night we were there. However, it was a pleasant way to spend an hour. We also ordered a late lunch/early dinner before going to La Scala from the 'create your own' section of the menu: chicken or tuna with rice and vegetables was well cooked and not bad value for €30. When we return to the hotel, we plan to try Vun, the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant either for lunch (at €55 ahead) or, if we wish to celebrate, the tasting menu at €115pp. |
Park Deluxe ExecutiveOn returning to the hotel, we were pleased to learn that we had been assigned a Park Deluxe Executive room, a 2 level upgrade. As diamond members, this should be the standard upgrade but when a hotel is busy, this is never guaranteed.
At 45 square metres, our corner room was spacious with a sitting room, Juliet balconies (with windows inside and out for very effective sound insulation) and a huge bathroom with bath and large shower, as well as a dressing room area and twin washbasins. The scent of the toiletries provided by the hotel was made specifically for the hotel by Laura Tonatto, a celebrated Italian perfumer, who stayed in the hotel and created its signature fragrance: a subtle mix of musk, vanilla, amber and orange blossom. The conditioner and body lotion in particular are excellent and a real joy to use. Our diamond amenity was awaiting us and consisted of a generous fruit bowl and a 500 ml bottle of red wine - it was a lovely touch to include tasting notes. At night, turn down service delivered bottles of still water and small favour boxes with a couple of small sweet biscuits. Presidential and Diplomatic SuitesAll pictures on the left are of the Presidential Suite, which has a couple of connecting rooms for family or staff. The large terrace would be the perfect space for a cocktail reception and the spacious living room the ideal place for family, friends or colleagues to relax. A small kitchen enables catering in the suite's dining/meeting room. The bedroom and bathroom were slightly underwhelming for one of the top suites in one of the best hotels in Milan. However, the suite as a whole was a sophisticated space for business and leisure.
We also viewed the Diplomatic Suite, which has a much more masculine aesthetic. Unfortunately, we were unable to take photos due to engineering works. However, the suite would be perfect for business meetings, with the entertaining area completely separate to the bedroom area. The best feature of this suite was outside, where a hot-tub sits on the terrace with views of the Duomo. During summer, it is likely to be too hot to use, but a wonderful treat in winter. LeisureIn the basement of the hotel, there is a small wellness area. The main feature is a shared jacuzzi lined with gold tiles. This is a work of art, but it's such a pity there is a some maintenance required. It works perfectly well but one of the stone panels making the enclosure is out of alignment causing a slight leak. At present it is covered in ugly masking tape. Gorka Bergareche the GM is pushing hard to get this issue resolved but it is unfortunately likely to be a difficult task.
The changing rooms offer plentiful toiletries and towels, experience showers and a steam room. For couples wanting to steam together, they would need to book the private spa, but note that this only includes a steam room/shower and twin massage beds - there is not a large relaxation bed or private jacuzzi. The gym offers a range of Technogym cardio equipment, Kinesis machine and a few weights. However, this is unfortunately yet another hotel without a rowing machine. The spa was a nice space but could have been so much more. The private spa suite was somewhat underwhelming, although there could have been space for a wonderful room with beautiful relaxation area, whirlpool bath and steam shower. At €100 for a 50 min massage, prices were as expected. |
Overall Impression
We really enjoyed our stay in the Park Hyatt Milan and found it useful to sit with Gorka Bergareche (the GM) as it gave a little insight into some of the problems faced by the hotel. Breakfast was superb and our room was of a good size. The diamond welcome amenity was very generous (especially when on our last night we received a second amenity of a half bottle of wonderful prosecco and fresh strawberries). However, we were expecting a little more from a hotel with the Park Hyatt name and charging such high rates (we used points but our room would have cost around €800/night had we paid). In general, the hotel is overdue some renovation work; in our room there were dark scuff marks on the walls behind the TV and coffee maker, every corner was missing paint or plaster on the wall and the furniture was stained and faded. There were similar maintenance issues in the public areas and some of the other rooms we viewed. In addition, we had problems with maintenance teams and housekeeping: at night there was significant noise from maintenance staff who were using the 'out of order' disabled toilet as a store room and on one morning housekeeping knocked and entered our room twice, despite the 'do not disturb' light being on and card being outside the door. One oddity with the room was the lack of a lit shaving/make-up mirror; another was the toilet roll holder, which was only a few inches above the floor (i.e. much lower than normal).
Service was mostly reasonable. However, in a hotel of this standard, we would expect to be greeted by name after the first couple of days and we would expect a more personal, polished service. To be fair, things improved drastically after we met with Gorka, but it shouldn't be necessary for staff to see you talking to the GM in order to get top service. Gorka has only been in the hotel a year and seems to be doing a good job, and there are challenges in working with Italian bureaucracy. However, as Hyatt are co-owners of the hotel, there really is no excuse for the poor maintenance in rooms.
We will definitely return to the hotel - the city is beautiful and the hotel has a lot going for it. However, we could not currently recommend paying the going rates as the quality of service and maintenance are not up to Park Hyatt standard. We understand that renovations are ongoing, so hope that on our next stay, these small issues will be fixed.
Service was mostly reasonable. However, in a hotel of this standard, we would expect to be greeted by name after the first couple of days and we would expect a more personal, polished service. To be fair, things improved drastically after we met with Gorka, but it shouldn't be necessary for staff to see you talking to the GM in order to get top service. Gorka has only been in the hotel a year and seems to be doing a good job, and there are challenges in working with Italian bureaucracy. However, as Hyatt are co-owners of the hotel, there really is no excuse for the poor maintenance in rooms.
We will definitely return to the hotel - the city is beautiful and the hotel has a lot going for it. However, we could not currently recommend paying the going rates as the quality of service and maintenance are not up to Park Hyatt standard. We understand that renovations are ongoing, so hope that on our next stay, these small issues will be fixed.