An honest review of QC Termemilano

I recently visited QC Termemilano, a luxe day spa in Milan that went super viral on Instagram and TikTok for its thunderstorm room. As a spa girlie, I have some thoughts!

• What is it: QC Termemilano, a day spa in the QC Terme brand
• Where is it: Milan, Italy
• How much is it: Entrance varies based on time, date, and duration, check the website for current prices

As a girlie who loves a good day spa, I’ve been obsessed with QC Termemilano ever since I saw an Instagram Reel about the thunderstorm room. When we ended up adding Milan to our summer Europe trip, I pounced on the opportunity to check it out and dragged along my fiance (admitelly, he is *not* a spa guy) to see what all the hubbub was about.

Here’s the play by play of our experience. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see if I ultimately recommend QC Termemilano or not!

• Reservations: Definitely reserve your tickets in advance! We checked availability about two weeks prior to our visit and noticed that spots were quickly selling out. We ended up booking two tickets for a weekday morning in early June from 8:30am to 1:30pm and paid €68 per person for entrance to the spa, which includes a robe, towels, and slippers. Treatments like massages and lunch were an additional cost.

• Check in: We arrived promptly at 8:30am (this is when they open) and were greeted by the front desk, who helped us check in and print out our wristbands with our locker numbers on them. Our wristbands were then taped on like a concert wristband, which I appreciated as I’ve had wristbands slip off before. The lobby area was quite nice and had a small gift shop where you purchase spa products like lotions, aromatherapy, and apparel.

• Locker rooms: The locker rooms were fine and clean, but nothing special nor luxurious. For the QC Terme brand and the price we paid to be here, I would have expected the locker rooms to be a bit nicer with more amenities and higher-end finishes.

• Wellness path: The wellness path includes 28 areas spanning wet (pools, saunas, steam rooms) and dry (relaxation areas like salt rooms and loungers). The variety of areas and activities is exceptional and absolutely exceeds what you would find in a typical day spa. 

This is where you’ll find the Cinema Room, which is the famous thunderstorm immersive room you’ve probably seen on social media and is likely why you are reading this blog post! Inside is likely smaller than you’re expecting – there are four designated seats and while you can fit probably up to 15 people in the room, it would definitely be crowded. I can confirm: the Cinema Room is absolutely epic.

In addition to the Cinema Room, you’ll find a plethora of other rooms to explore in the downstairs section of the spa. There are several saunas (including a rose scented sauna which was divine), steam rooms, several different pools where you can either lounge and relax, or lay underneath water of various pressures for more of a massage experience; a designated foot bath; and a walking path consisting of both hot and cold water that comes up to your knees.

Upstairs and enroute to the garden, you’ll find a salt room, a “dreams” room with six zero gravity beds (my favorite!!) and the Monte Tabor Relax Room, which was unfortunately closed for renovations during our visit.

In the garden area you’ll find more pools, a cold plunge, an old Porta Romana tram that has been converted into a sauna, as well as lovely gardens amongst old Spanish walls that transport you to another era.

We spent five hours (our entire allotted time) at the spa, and here are our final thoughts:

Pros:

• The wellness path itself is incredible. There are so many rooms offering different and unique spa experiences. It well-exceeds what you would expect to find at a typical day spa. For this reason, QC Termemilano’s reputation in the spa world is well deserved.

Cons:

Unfortunately I think QC Termemilano is a victim of its own success and here’s what I mean by that: 

• The spa is Instagram famous and people flock from all over the world to come here (myself included). However, the day spa felt more like the “must have shot for the ‘gram” as opposed to a place to come for a relaxing digital detox.
• Furthermore, the staff were very lax on enforcing etiquette that is critical to the day spa experience, especially with a luxe brand like QC Terme and an experience where folks are paying €68 per person to be there. People were talking loudly on the wellness path, it seemed like everyone was scrolling on their cell phones (even in a dark room meant for meditation and relaxation) and perhaps worst of all, many folks were taking pictures and videos in a place where privacy should be prioritized. We found this behavior to be super annoying at best and mildly infuriating at worst.

The Verdict:

So, do I recommend a visit to QC Termemilano? Yes, I do. It’s Instagram famous for a reason and a truly incredible day spa. 

With that said, here are five tips to have the best experience possible:

• Book your tickets in advance so you have plenty of options to choose from
• Plan your visit to be a weekday morning and arrive promptly at 8:30 to enjoy as much of the spa as possible before the crowds start rolling in
• As soon as you get downstairs into the wellness path, go immediately to the Cinema Room to enjoy the experience with as few people as possible. Make sure to press the “start” button to begin the thunderstorm.
• Have the right expectations: this is less of a relaxing day spa and more of the hottest place to film content for Instagram. Try not to let it infuriate you.
• After your visit concludes, walk over to Dongio for an incredible lunch. This restaurant is recognized as a Bib Gourmand by MICHELIN Guide and specializes in southern Italian food. Make sure you try the spicy pork sausage bruschetta!

So tell me – did you also see QC Termemilano on Instagram and instantly become obsessed with it? Let me know in the comments!

xo 

Heather