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Sofitel Metropole Hanoi
VietnamAsia
Sofitel Metropole Hanoi
15 Ngo Quyen Street
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel : +84-4-8266919
VIEW WEBSITE
342 rooms & 21 suites
The Experience
Built in 1901, the Sofitel Metropole is the finest hotel in Hanoi. Located in the city’s leafy downtown area, where women in conical hats hawk fruit from shoulder baskets, the hotel conveys the spirit of the bygone French-colonial era. The building’s ornate white exterior is punctuated by dark green teak window shutters, while the sleek lobby has shiny marble flooring and smartly-unformed attendants at the ready. Once called the Metropole, it was French Indochina’s preeminent hotel. But it became dilapidated during the Vietnam War, and the French Accor group renovated and relaunched it in 1992.
The Rooms
The Metropole wing, with 109 rooms, retains the hotel’s original colonial style, with flourishes such as ceiling fans, Oriental rugs and heavy, flowing drapes. The 254 renovated rooms in the Opera wing, which opened in 1996, are more spacious and have a stark style, with minimalist black tables and vases set against white walls. Standard amenities include large beds with thick, soft duvets, broadband internet access and LCD TVs with DVD players. A newly completed Club section caters to business travelers.
The Service
The hotel staff are friendly and outgoing. They’re happy to help arrange tours within the city. If you’re looking to channel your inner Somerset Maugham or Graham Greene, you might opt for a guided jaunt around Hanoi in the hotel’s black vintage Citroen Traction car.
The Highlights
The hotel's French restaurant, Le Beaulieu, has a popular Sunday brunch, while the Spices Garden is the in-house Vietnamese restaurant where you can find standards like spring rolls and pho (noodle soup with beef or chicken). A new Italian restaurant is set to open in late 2008. Le Club Bar is perfect for martinis or high tea, and Bamboo Bar is next to the pool and has rattan chairs and overhead fans. There’s an outdoor swimming pool and fitness center, and guests can opt to take Vietnamese cooking classes that include trips to purchase goods at a local market. Hanoi landmarks like Hoan Kiem Lake and the Opera House are within striking distance.
