Seven Stars Galleria

Forgive, if you will, the seven-star rating. In these days of rampant star inflation, it takes an outrageous claim like this to get the point across: simply that the Seven Stars Galleria aims to exceed the standards set by Milan’s already-luxurious five-star hotels (just as the Burj Al-Arab aims to be the most luxurious hotel in Dubai, which of course places it in an entirely different league of over-the-topness).

The location is a little bit bizarre, in the way a lot of great ideas first seem bizarre. The Galleria in question is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is at once a cherished historical landmark and simply a cross-shaped shopping mall, packed with luxury brands and high-end restaurants. Anywhere else it might be a tacky place for a hotel, but a stone’s throw from the Duomo cathedral, within one of the holy places of the Milanese fashion trade, it may in fact be the most sensible place for a hotel like this.

Either way, once inside, the Seven Stars Galleria’s luxury bona fides are unquestionable — actually even before, as you’ll be met at the airport or the train station by a chauffeur-driven Bentley. Rooms are the absolute height of modern luxury, this in a town that knows its luxury goods — even your loaner laptop is leather-bound. Here butler service means butler service, not glorified room service. Your own Milanese Jeeves occupies a position somewhere between concierge, personal assistant, and life coach, and we can all but guarantee that you can’t conceive a request that will stump him.

So no pool, no private island, no rooftop helipad; it’s the opposite of the Burj in more than a few ways. As seven-star hotels go, though, we know which one we’d prefer — and we’re at a loss to think of what it could possibly add, should it decide to strive for eight.

• 24 Rooms
• Style: Contemporary Classic
• Atmosphere: Lively

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