Hotel Review: The Park Hyatt Milan

We arrived at the Park Hyatt Milan around noon by car from the Lake Como Area. The Park Hyatt Milan is located right across from the Gallerie Vittorio Emanuele II and the Duomo, which pretty much compose the center of Milan. So the location could not have been any more spectacular, during our rather short stay in Milan.

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Introduction: A Week in Italy
United Club Terminal E – Houston
United Airlines BusinessFirst MAF-IAH-PIT(DIVERSION)-EWR-FRA
Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt Airport
Villa La Perla Di Sonenga Panoramica, Menaggio, Italy
The Park Hyatt Milan
Radisson Blu Rome
Crowne Plaza Milan City Centre
Sheraton Milan-Malpensa
United Airlines BusinessFirst Milan (MXP) – Newark (EWR)

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Getting to the hotel was a bit of an issue because of the narrow nature of a lot of streets in Milan (it was very easy to miss a street). However, not many people arrive in a rather large 8 seat Mercedes Minivan, let alone a rental car altogether. I certainly would not recommend doing so if I were spending time in the city.

Arrival/Check In:

As soon as we arrived, the bellman and valet were over to our car helping us unload baggage and getting our car valet parked. Valet parking was actually reasonable at 50 Euros per day, and we weren’t about to waste more time wandering around the streets of Milan looking for parking to save a few Euros.

We were ushered into the lobby and check in area, which is located to the left of the entry foyer of the hotel. The hotel was rather busy at the time with a fairly long line for check in or questions. However we were able to skip the line altogether due to elite status (I am Hyatt Platinum for having their credit card, and my dad is Hyatt Diamond).

The agent at the Gold Passport desk happened to be the general manager of the hotel. He welcomed us to Milan and quickly moved on to check us in to our rooms. He informed us that one of our rooms had been upgraded to a deluxe room, but it wasn’t quite ready yet. After profusely apologizing for the trouble, he offered us drink vouchers to use at the hotel bar, Mio. We were completely fine with this since the plan was just to park the car, drop luggage, and explore Milan.

The Standard Room

While our parents went to check out the shops and restaurants in the Gallerie, Sasidhar and I went upstairs to take pictures of the room and to also book him a room in the hotel as well. While searching, we noted that some suites had opened up for upgrading a CASH + Points rate (15k points + $300). Since we were running low on points and room rates were exorbitantly high, we went ahead and booked the room. We later applied one of my dad’s suite night certificates to get a farther upgrade.

Upon entering the room there was a very comfortable bed on the left side and a small couch directly across from it. It was a rather small room, but definitely a perfectly functional and decent sized for European standards. For one thing the lighting and ambiance definitely made it feel welcoming.

There was one oddity which you wouldn’t expect to see in a upscale hotel like the Park Hyatt, and that was the positioning of the television. I tried swiveling it toward the bed, but it really wouldn’t budge. And when it did swivel ever so slightly it was at an especially odd angle to watch TV. Luckily there wasn’t anything of interest on TV to watch (Wimbledon was already over), but normally I would have been a little annoyed.

To the right of the entrance was an marvelously sized bathroom with one of the best showers I’ve seen a hotel offer to date. It also featured a deep soaking tub and a single sink. The toiletries provided were unusually branded “Park Hyatt Milan” rather than the traditional Blaise Martin toiletries seen in the Park Hyatt Zurich and Paris. It was still a pleasant smell, but to be honest it was nothing similar to the likes of Bulgari or Blaise Martin.

So overall, a very decent sized room with a large bathroom and fresh look (something I really appreciate after staying in other European hotels). Again, a perfectly functional room considering that most of the time you are here will be spent outside walking around Milan.

The Park Executive Suite

After finishing up our tour of the regular room, we went down to check in to the suite and get the key for the deluxe room. The lady at the front desk said it would be a while for the suite to be ready, so we just headed out for a quick tour of the nearby Duomo and shopping area.

It started raining as we headed out and so we got to see the Duomo in its gloomy beauty.

I ended up having to do some shopping in the mall because United/Lufthansa lost my luggage on the way here. Everything was ridiculously priced, and I barely got one pair of clothes for a little more than $100! We went into Prada where I eventually bought a pair of clothes and that place looked like a museum:

My brother and I took some more pictures as we walked around trying to decide on where we would have lunch. In case you haven’t noticed we absolutely love the glass roof and architecture of the mall area.

We then proceeded to have lunch at La Locanda del Gatto Rosso, which was really good and a little pricey (to be expected). The pizza was light and the pastas and toppings were freshly made in house. There were plenty of vegetarian options on offer, which included: pasta, pizza, stir fried vegetables, and appetizers. The staff was very attentive and receptive to our requests. Overall, I would certainly recommend eating here while in the Duomo area. My one regret was that we never got around to the desserts 😀

Upon coming back we were greeted at the door by the agents at the front desk and presented the keys to our rooms. We each headed up to our own rooms for a quick refresher before exploring more of Milan. My parents ended up getting the suite because they were sharing rooms with my sister and I. We were going to get a 4th room for my sister and I, but the hotel was nice enough to provide a roll away bed free of charge, which was a really gracious gesture.Anyway I was able to quickly snap a few pictures before the suite was taken over completely by our travel artifacts.

Walking into the suite, I was instantly impressed by the decor and spaciousness of the suite. The addition of mirrors almost everywhere made it seem especially glitzy and spacious. The living room featured a large and comfortable couch and some chairs and behind it lay a small bar area, and a table with some chairs.

On the end where I had previously taken a picture was another work desk equipped with a handy outlet for charging electronics, and ample space to spread out your office work.

There was a small powder room by the entrance to the living room which had an abundance of hand towels. Definitely, useful for when you have the entire family over for a hang out.

The bedroom was about the size of the regular room in itself. It had a king sized bed, a work desk, and a small seating area and side table. I don’t really understand the purpose of such a small couch (facing the bed) given the enormous bed, but I guess it could help you get your suitcase organized

Moving on, the bedroom was attached to yet another amazing bathroom featuring double sinks, and an even larger area to get dressed or ready for the opera. And though the shower may look just like the one found in the standard room, it certainly was not! The shower was quite literally a car wash with massaging jet of water s coming out of every nook and cranny. There was also a small closet with some robes across from the vanity area, which isn’t pictured here.

And to top it all off, it featured a 8 speaker surround sound system hooked up to an immense hard drive full of the latest hits and classical music. All of these features including the car wash were all controlled from this touch screen on the wall. Everything from shower temperature to music volume to how many jets you would like to be on at the time were could all be set here.

After the wow factor was over, the critiquing side of me kicked in and I started analysing what it could not do. Ok, I’m lying, I was really amazed until my dad asked me how to play Indian music. And then I realized what was wrong: There was no way to play your own music. A feature which seems very intuitive and fundamental given today’s technology. Everyone wants to play their own music while in the shower, not just from a preselected list. Maybe they could just offer an adapter or something to hook up my smartphone to speakers, it shouldn’t be too hard. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my rather long time in the shower, it was simply awesome. You don’t get to go through the car wash everyday

After relaxing for a bit in the room, Sasidhar, his wife, and my sister went out to get some drinks at Mio. The coupons they offered at check in were apparently good for any drink at the bar. Since I am a devout teetotaler the bar tendered made me a flavorful orange-pineapple mocktail, which ended up being great. The bartender even offered some high quality olives and assorted nuts to go along with the drinks.

On a side note: The size of the drinks was surprisingly big for Europe; even Sasidhar’s Mojito was decently sized.

After finishing off the drinks, we headed out to wander around the Duomo at night and bought some souvenirs at the now less crowded shops.

We got back to the room extremely exhausted and I really can’t remember how I got out of the shower and ended up on the couch. It was simply lights out for me.

Breakfast

As I mentioned, the next morning, I didn’t get up until well past 9 am, which meant that Sasidhar and his wife had already left for the airport (they were heading back early). As a Hyatt Diamond member, we were allowed anything off the menu for breakfast either in the restaurant or in the room.This is above all else is the single best perk of being a Hyatt Diamond member

I ordered 2 bagels with cream cheese, some toast, tea, an order of a waffle, and some freshly squeezed orange juice. All of this arrived at our room within 15 minutes, and the waiter even informed us that as Diamond, it was all complimentary and so there would be no bill. Furthermore, the hotel provided a bread basket with croissants, and muffins free of charge as an apology for the delay the previous day (as if the drinks weren’t enough). All the bread and hot breakfast items were presented in a mini oven found under the table, which made everything especially fresh. We later ordered another waffle and some coffee once my aunt and uncle arrived and the order arrived under 10 minutes, which was impressive.

The bagel with cream cheese was a bit hard if anything, though the orange juice was wonderfully fresh and sweet (it definitely hit the spot). The rest of the meal was as expected. My dad really seemed to enjoy his waffle and had already finished by the time I got my camera out to take pictures. Nothing was out of this world spectacular, but it was all high quality. There was certainly nothing to complain about. The service however was outstandingly quick and courteous.

The Bottom Line:

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

This hotel is all about the location and it truly has one of the most remarkable surroundings of any Park Hyatt, being right across from the Duomo, and Milan Opera House. The quality of rooms found here are only equaled by only a handful of European hotels I have been to and quality of service was outstanding throughout my stay. All the employees were very welcoming, and courteous, which we didn’t always find to be the case at other hotels. Overall, a great stay, and I would definitely come back to stay here if I had some Hyatt points to spend. A truly aspirational property in the Hyatt chain and a memorable stay.