We review Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, where Vietnamese history acts as the backdrop for a very modern stay

Asia has many renowned heritage hotels, from the iconic Raffles Singapore  to the lesser-known Eastern & Oriental in Penang. In Vietnam, though, hotels don’t get more historic than the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. A landmark of Vietnam’s capital with a history that spans over 100 years, this property has borne witness to glitz and glamour as well as war and political dealings. We recently checked in to discover how this stalwart of Hanoi’s hospitality scene is honouring its history while catering to a new era of travellers.

While this stay was complimentary, all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Review of Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Hotel snapshot

Hotel: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Address: 15 Ngo Quyen Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Neighbourhood: French Quarter, near the Hanoi Opera House
Rooms: 358 rooms and suites
Brand: Sofitel Legend, part of Accor
Opened: 1901, with multiple updates
Style: French-colonial heritage, neoclassical elegance and refined Indochine details
Family-friendly: Yes, with family accommodation options and baby cots available on request
Wellness: Le Spa du Metropole, with massages, holistic treatments and steam facilities; fitness centre, and a heated outdoor swimming pool in a garden courtyard
Best for: Luxury city breaks, couples, honeymoons, history lovers, foodies and special occasions
Prices from: $300USD per night, depending on room and season.

Discovering an icon

Stepping through the doors of the Metropole feels like going back in time, albeit with a veneer of modernity. From the main entrance, guests immediately encounter the hotel’s original wooden grand staircase, marble flooring, and the four-floor atrium topped by a glass dome. We’re quickly swept to the current reception area, a modern space of black lacquer, wood-panelled walls, and plush carpets.

Staff are welcoming and quick to offer towels to weary travellers arriving to check in. Glasses of Champagne are offered when our Accor memberships are discovered, setting the tone for the rest of the stay—apparently, the Metropole likes to mimic the free-flow offerings of its early days.

Historic happenings

If the walls of the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi could talk, they would weave enchanting tales of historic moments, celebrity darlings, heart-wrenching war, and more. The property came to life in 1901 as the Grand Metropole Hotel, a French Colonial-style edifice masterminded by French businessmen Gustave-Émile Dumoutier and André Ducamp. It quickly became a go-to for well-heeled travellers and the local elite, and was the setting for many notable moments. In fact, in 1916, this became the first place in Indochina to screen motion pictures.

Decades later, in the 1940s and 1960s, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh hosted a series of crucial political conferences at the hotel. In between, the Metropole was a government guest house called Thong Nhat Hotel. Then, during the war in the 1960s, the property sheltered journalists, diplomats, and even celebrities like Jane Fonda and Joan Baez.

Over its century of hospitality, the Metropole has even hosted embassies and diplomatic corps, and some of the world’s most notable celebrities, politicians, and artists. Stay here, and you’ll be laying your head in the same place as the likes of Bill Clinton, Fidel Castro, Robert De Niro, and Catherine Deneuve. More recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted strolling the lobby.

In the 1990s, the property finally became the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, beginning a new era of refined hospitality. The Opera Wing was added to offer more contemporary accommodation, while the historic Heritage Wing was recently revamped over two years and reopened to guests in December 2023.

It’s hard to grasp the nuances of just how much this hotel has seen, so it’s well worth doing the in-house Path of History tour. Over an hour, a resident historian brings the hotel’s past and people to life, pointing out artefacts, storyboards, and indelible images. The highlight is a visit to the hotel’s air raid shelter. Rediscovered in 2011, the Bunker sits under the hotel’s Bamboo Bar, and it’s chilling to imagine that one night in the 1960s, Joan Baez sang within these walls to soothe worried guests as an air raid fell over Hanoi.

Heritage digs

The Metropole now houses 358 rooms and suites across its contemporary Opera Wing and the historic Heritage Wing. Top digs here are the suites named for former guests—Graham Greene, Charlie Chaplin, and Somerset Maugham, to be specific—all of which are dutifully atmospheric.

But we checked into a newly renovated Grand Luxury Room in the Heritage Wing, a space which nods to the hotel’s history and location while offering all the necessary mod-cons. It’s a smart space decked out with twin Sofitel MyBeds dressed in crisp white linens, a lacquered minibar cabinet, a spacious desk, and even a cosy seating area.

Art Deco touches recall the 1920s and colonial-era Indochina, while carefully chosen design elements add history and local flair. There are restored natural wood floors and hard-tufted carpets, period furnishings made of wood, and Vietnamese-inspired patterns everywhere. The white silk dressing gowns featuring a blue floral motif are a particular favourite, especially since they mimic the white-and-blue China plate that sits above the closet, though a close second are the traditional Vietnamese painted lacquer boxes scattered around the room. Perhaps the best part, though, is the marble bathroom that transports guests through time with a white claw-foot, roll-top bath, and an Art Deco-esque triptych mirror.

Heritage Wing guests have club lounge access at the Le Club Bar which was once the Metropole Hall, which screened the aforementioned first movie in Indochina in 1916. Grab a table in the conservatory-style L’Orangerie to enjoy generous buffet breakfasts, resplendent afternoon teas—yes, there’s more Champagne—and happy hours. By evening, a live band plays jazz standards; it’s all thoroughly refined and yet one more way the hotel captures the era of its origins.

Food for thought

Food is front and centre at the Metropole, and there are plenty of places across the hotel to indulge. The jewel in the crown, though, is Le Beaulieu. Said to be the first French restaurant in Indochina, it has been in operation since 1901—of course, its décor and cuisine is decidedly contemporary. The dining room is swathed in shades of white, gold, blue, and grey—and glittering chandeliers, naturally—and dishes up French fine-dining menus that are decadent and innovative. It’s at breakfast, though, that the restaurant really impresses. Five-star hotels the world over offer exquisite breakfasts and even free-flow Champagne, but few—if any—do it with tableside trolley service where guests can build their own meal of salads, cheese and charcuterie, viennoiserie, and hot dishes made a la minute. What a way to start the day.

Locals and visitors alike flock to the hotel to visit Bamboo Bar and Angelina. The first is an atmospheric alfresco space with a thatched roof, wooden floor, and poolside location, mixing up heady cocktails and delicious light meals—the Sandwich Banh Mi, featuring caramelised pork and paté, will spoil you for any other variation of this local favourite. The second is a slick bar specialising in craft mixology and hints of Scotland with highland-inspired décor, a great whisky collection, and a lounge space that mimics the smoking room of an old-world gentleman’s club.

Of course, the Metropole counters all its decadent offerings with plenty of wellness. There’s a pool fringed by trees and loungers at the heart of the hotel where guests gather in good weather. And, set in its own building overlooking the pool, Le Spa du Metropole offers a range of treatments, as well as the well-equipped SoFIT gym.

Getting there and around

Noi Bai International Airport is approximately 27km from Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, with the drive typically taking around 45 minutes, although traffic can extend the journey. For the most seamless arrival, arrange the hotel’s private limousine transfer in advance or take a licensed taxi. Public buses also connect the airport with central Hanoi, but you will need to factor in the onward journey to the hotel with luggage.

The hotel is exceptionally well placed for exploring on foot. The Hanoi Opera House is around five minutes away, Hoan Kiem Lake is roughly five minutes away, and the Old Quarter is around 15 minutes on foot. The Vietnam National Museum of History is also nearby, while St Joseph’s Cathedral and the Temple of Literature are further walks or short taxi rides. For sights outside the centre, such as the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex or Bunk’Art-style historical attractions at Bunk’Art 1, use a taxi or ride-hailing service such as Grab. For day trips to Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh, the concierge can help arrange transport and tours. A hire car is not necessary for a typical city stay.

Final thoughts

There are historic hotels, and then there’s the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. As a guest, it’s sometimes unfathomable to think that this hotel has witnessed over a century of historic events and distinguished guests and lived to tell the tale. Careful preservation and restoration, and astute additions that keep up with the times ensure this will always be one of Hanoi’s favourite properties.

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