With swirling rattan ceiling fans, whispered ‘bonjours’ from uniformed staff and crème caramel-coloured marbles throughout, this stately Belle Epoque former railway hotel – in Hanoi’s French quarter – offers romanticised French Indochina with modern amenities. It’s a celebrity favourite.
Location
The Sofitel Legend Metropole is a short distance from the Opera House in the 19th-century French centre. It’s five minutes’ walk from Hoan Kiem Lake and 10 minutes from the bars, restaurants and bustle of old, Vietnamese Hanoi.
Style and Character
Romantic French Indochina meets modern Asia: business men sipping coffee en plein aire under Parisian wrought iron and glass awnings; wafting ceiling fans in a bar with a wall of back-illuminated whiskies and spirits; demure staff are in elegant traditional white silk ao dai (the traditional Vietnamese tunic garment).
This is a hotel fit for presidents and film stars. Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard spent their honeymoon here. Mitterand, Chirac and Catherine Deneuve are former guests.
Service and Facilities
Staff exude Jeeves-like efficiency – food arrives in your room in a whisk, turn-down service is almost invisible, and concierge is able to attend to even the most arcane requests. The staff will serve signature cocktails next to the sapphire-blue swimming pool to ‘madame’ or ‘monsieur’.
The tours are myriad (from cookery classes to photo walks of the old quarter), and there are even special ergonomic pillows for when you want to read or watch the telly in bed.
- Bar
- Fitness centre
- Laundry
- Pool
- Restaurant
- Room service
- Spa
- Wi-Fi
Rooms
The Metropole has two wings – the original early 20th-century building and a modern annexe added almost a century later, which complements seamlessly. Rooms overlooking the pool in the modern building are better-appointed and quieter. Décor throughout is French Indochine: polished hardwood floors offset by cream walls and splashes of rich, primary colour from Vietnamese silk cushions, tailored carpets and oil paintings of Hanoi and scenes of northern Vietnam.
Plenty of light streams through the tall windows and from the numerous spotlights, table and wall lamps. Bathrooms in honey-coloured marble have large Lozenge mirrors, free-standing tubs and powerful multi-head showers.
Food and Drink
Of the various restaurants, which include a Vietnamese and an Italian, the best is Le Beaulieu – a brasserie with a mix of French and Indochinese dishes run by Olivier Genique formerly of the Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower.
Noel Coward is said to have enjoyed the coq au vin here. Skip the meat (it disappoints if you’re used to Europe) and opt for the Indian Ocean seafood – wrigglingly-fresh oysters, black tropical cod fish, grilled lobster.
The hotel serves an extensive buffet breakfast in the main lounge, with tropical fruits and French pastries (including some of the best croissants in Vietnam). It can be very busy between 7.30am and 8.30am. Le Club is serene at any hour and offers an à la carte menu, with waiter service which includes a full cooked breakfast alongside baskets of pastries and plates of fruit.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
For any further information, kindly contact us at +84.936.600.886 or +84.946.762.224 for free guide.
