Review: Galleria Vik Milano, a Hyatt SLH Property

While on our way to the 80th edition of the Monaco Grand Prix, we decided to start our trip in Milan and opted to stay at the Hyatt Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) property, the Galleria Vik Milano.

The Galleria Vik Milano is a proper 5-star hotel with extreme attention to detail and a magical setting, located inside Italy’s oldest shopping complex. That may not sound extraordinary if you’re unfamiliar with Milan, but as you’ll see, it’s got some of the most unique room views in the world. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at my review of the Galleria Vik Milano.

Booking the Galleria Vik Milano

We booked the Galleria Vik Milano, known to locals as Hotel Vik, with 49,000 World of Hyatt points for a 2-night stay. My wife, Marta, transferred these points from her Chase Sapphire Preferred card (US), but in this case, even if you bought World of Hyatt points during a sale, you would still save vs the cash rate.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a credit card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points and is available to individuals in the United States.

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BONUS
60,000 Ultimate Rewards

MINSPEND
$4,000

NET VALUE
$925+

ANNUAL FEE
$95

FOREX FEES
No

EXPIRY
–

We lucked out with Hyatt’s Spring Journey promo and received 3,000 World of Hyatt points back, bringing our nightly rate to 23,000 Hyatt points per night. The cash rate was $1,200 CAD for the two-night stay, meaning this was a 2.6 cent per point redemption.

Galleria Vik Milano – Hotel Overview

The hotel is difficult to find as it blends in well with its surroundings. The entrance is marked with the hotel’s insignia, a small golden plaque reading “Galleria Townhouse,” and a carpet bearing the Galleria Vik Milano name.

It’s worth noting that this hotel is located just 200 meters from the Park Hyatt Milan but has arguably better views. We’re headed back to Milan in January of 2024, and I’ll try and get a review of the Park Hyatt to compare. 

With a closer look, you’ll see the familiar logo of Small Luxury Hotels and know that you’ve arrived at your destination.

The lobby is amazingly painted with artwork stretching over the ceiling and includes a 10ft tall statue titled “The Thinker.”

We checked in with Explorist status, and while my Hyatt status was never acknowledged, we received an upgraded room well above the basic Deluxe Room that was available on points.

The check-in staff also offered us prosecco and told us all about the hotel. They use WhatsApp to communicate, which is quickly becoming my favorite way to interact during a stay. We used WhatsApp during our stay at the St Regis Kanai, as did Josh when he stayed at the W Maldives.

The hotel offers room service with a 10 Euro charge per person, but the prices are reasonable. There was a pizza restaurant on the 6^th level, but being in Milan and so centrally located, we dined outside the hotel for our meals, except for breakfast.

Once we arrived at our room, a handwritten welcome note was on the desk, along with four very fresh macarons and chocolates on the bed.

Another great thing about this hotel is the complimentary mini bar and coffee! It’s the first time I’ve experienced that feature before, and while it was nothing extravagant, I appreciated the gesture. The fridge was restocked after housekeeping came through, including glass bottles of coke, beer, sparkling, and still water.

Room – Grand Deluxe “Gianluca Di Pasquale”

Getting off the elevator, our room was located on the corner of the building and had a beautiful entryway.

The first thing we noticed (apart from our welcome amenities) was how tall the ceilings were. The bed was perfectly situated, with a nightstand on each side and a single lounge chair in the corner of the room.

When leaving the bedroom, there was a hallway that contained large closets on the way to the bathroom.

The bathroom was beautiful. The shower, in particular, was made of concrete material and gave a vintage but industrial look.

Being a 5-star hotel, the bathroom was equipped with hand creams, soaps, and other beauty products of luxury quality.

The rest of the bathroom had a jungle theme and was big enough in size to be suited for two people.

Not to mention, the decor included this curious monkey watching over the bathroom above the door.

When leaving the bathroom and throughout the room, I was consistently reminded of the attention to detail, as even the doorframes had beautiful finishings.

The views from the window were nothing extraordinary and mainly consisted of the street just outside the Galleria. We wanted to experience Galleria views and sent a WhatsApp message to the hotel to see if a room switch would be possible.

To our delight, within a few hours, they replied that a room was available! With that, we moved over to the Deluxe Gallery Room titled “Elena Monzo”.

Room – Deluxe Gallery “Elena Monzo”

At this point, all of the abstract art in the hotel was basically a gallery everywhere you walked. The entrance to our new room had beautiful pieces on either side.

The same high ceilings were found here, even though the room was not a suite.

The room was equipped with a King size bed, as our suite was, with a similar bedroom layout.

The bathroom, well small, was well equipped and suited us fine. A single sink and vanity was available with a unique design.

The toilet was also located directly beside the walk-in shower.

While the bathroom was nice, it was interesting in design as it was contained in this tiny glass box. It definitely only was big enough for one, though!

However, the views from our window out into the Galleria made up for the room’s cramped feelings.

The glass closet in the Deluxe Gallery room was interesting and functional! But we both preferred the closet setup in the suite.

Once again, the amount of artwork in the room is worth mentioning. I can’t stress enough that it felt like an art gallery every moment we were in the hotel. The below works were in our tiny Deluxe Gallery room!

While the Deluxe Gallery room was smaller than the Grand Deluxe Room that we were initially upgraded to, the views made up for that and more. I’ll take this morning coffee view every single time.

Restaurants

We only ate breakfast at the hotel, as there were so many amazing places to eat in the surrounding areas. As part of Hyatt’s agreement with SLH, all members are given complimentary breakfast regardless of status.

The setting for breakfast was incredible. Even if you don’t end up in a room with Galleria views, you’ll still experience them every morning.

The breakfast included made-to-order eggs, a buffet spread, and coffee. There’s ample seating for all guests but arriving at or before 8 am is best if you want Galleria views.

I ordered made-to-order eggs on our second morning at the hotel. The eggs benedict was not traditional Western style, but still delicious.

The focus is on their more European buffet, containing a variety of fruits, pastries, meats, and cheeses.

Not to mention, the coffee was absolutely delicious!

Conclusion

With the best views of any hotel in Milan, I consider the Galleria Vik Milano a must-try if visiting Northern Italy. It provides excellent value for points and could not have a better location to tour the city. Once again, Hyatt’s partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World pays off in spades.