Hotel Viu Milan

Hotel Viu Milan is the newest iteration in a wave of natty getaways by global accommodation group Design Hotels. Located in the city’s lively Porta Volta district, the 124-room hotel is tucked near Corso Como, a stylish neighbourhood where fashionistas dart in and out of cool concept stores (Carla Sozzani’s 10 Corso Como, for one). While some original 16th century walls still add charm to the quarter, the area has been the focus of a rejuvenation project since 2010, when the grand, glass Feltrinelli Porta Volta building by Herzog & de Meuron—the firm’s first public structure in Italy—was completed. The result: an atmosphere of exquisite style, classic and contemporary in harmony.

Conceived by Milan-based architecture studio Arassociati, the Hotel Viu Milan was inspired by “the urban regeneration around Porta Volta”. The building’s exterior of sustainably-sourced wood, metal, and slick bronzed glass is a lesson in underplayed, masculine Milanese design. Arassociati and Nicola Gallizia Studio have created a similarly classic interior with old-world allure, thanks to the inclusion of lush materials and elegantly restrained tonal colour palettes—think emerald green velvet upholstering contemporary furnishings by Italian furniture company Molteni&C. Commissioned local artisans and carpenters have also created exclusive pieces for the hotel in keeping with quintessential Italian design and the Porta Volta identity.

To foster this blend of old and new, the common areas include a bar and two restaurants. Don’t miss Giancarlo Morelli, helmed by the eponymous Michelin-starred chef himself—or Milan’s only rooftop bar with an outdoor swimming pool. Mediterranean olive trees are dotted around the rooftop terrace bar, while a resident bossa nova singer serenades guests as they sip zingy negronis.

For those looking for more wholesome alternatives, the hotel caters to even the most discerning health devotee with a CrossFit training area, spa, and private personal training and yoga sessions available on request.

With its sophisticated aesthetics and cosmopolitan ambience, Hotel Viu Milan might have just found the perfect balance between hedonistic pleasure and realism.

Hotel Viu Milan, Via Aristotile Fioravanti, 6, 20154 Milano, Italy.

Photos by Tiziano Sartorio.

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