VIU Hotel Milan

Best for / Tips to get it right

Why this one

The VIU sits on Via Aristotile Fioravanti, on the edge of Milan's Chinatown. It carries 4.5 out of 5 across 1,477 Google reviews, and across the 41 reviews we read, one thing keeps coming back: the staff. 22 of those 41 mention them, and not in passing. "Very friendly and helpful staff" is the kind of line that shows up over and over, alongside notes about WhatsApp check-in and people being walked through the city on arrival. Beyond the service, the building does the talking. 10 of 41 reviews bring up the rooftop pool and terrace, 8 mention the eighth-floor restaurant, 7 the breakfast spread. That is a lot of people talking about the top of the hotel, which tells you where guests spend their time. Add 12 mentions of location and 5 of cleanliness, and you get a picture of a hotel that is loved for its upper floors and its people.

What guests keep saying

The staff dominate the sample. 22 of 41 reviews mention them, and the words that recur are "friendly", "helpful" and "professional", with several guests describing how reception guided them on what to see and where to eat. One guest calls the service "nothing short of amazing" and another thanks the team for making them feel welcome from the moment they arrived. The rooftop is the second refrain. 10 of 41 reviews bring up the pool and terrace, one of them calling the pool "a highlight". The eighth-floor restaurant gets 8 mentions, and breakfast 7, with one guest describing the breakfast area as "very classy" with a great selection. Location comes up in 12 reviews, usually framed as an advantage rather than an issue, since the tram connects the Chinatown address to the centre in minutes.

• staffpraised 22 / 54%

  “Very friendly and helpful staff!”

• locationpraised 12 / 29%

  “Location with an incredible view.”

• pool and rooftoppraised 10 / 24%

  “The rooftop pool is a highlight.”

• the restaurantpraised 8 / 20%

  “The staff in the restaurant on the eighth floor was amazing.”

• breakfastpraised 7 / 17%

  “The breakfast area is very classy and the selection is great.”

• cleanlinesspraised 5 / 12%

  “The guest rooms are spacious and clean.”

Sponsored pick

Bernina Red Train, Swiss Alps & St Moritz From Milan

★★★★★ 4.8 from 139 EUR Book it

The bit the hotel does not tell you

Guests repeatedly mention that reception runs a WhatsApp line, which several of them used before arrival to sort out requests and get city tips. It is the kind of thing the hotel's own site does not shout about, but it shows up in review after review. If you like having a direct line to the front desk without walking downstairs, ask for it at check-in.

Who we pictured staying here