The Sofitel Legend Metropole
Hanoi

The Sofitel Legend Metropole is one of Ampersand's Top 10 Lux City Hotels.

Built in 1901, the Metropole in the heart of the Old City, is one of Hanoi's treasures; where invading, liberating or civil armies created their HQs and raised their flags, where the first film was shown in Indochina, where Charlie Chaplin spent his honeymoon, where Jane Fonda and Joan Baez took cover in a bomb shelter and where heads of state and embassy officials resided for many years.

The award-winning colonial and neo-classical luxury hotel, now owned by Sofitel, underwent major renovation in 1992, the Opera Wing, which is a triumph, was added in 1994. The hotel has 364 rooms in total in the two separate wings, the Opera Wing and the Metropole Wing, and although the rooms in the new Opera Wing are very stylish and more comfortable than the old Metropole Wing, they don't have the same sense of history. Wi-fi is available in the hotel at a charge.  

The Metropole has a variety of wonderful restaurants to choose from: Le Beaulie Restaurant serves authentic French cuisine, Spice Garden Restaurant serves up regional Vietnamese delights and Angelina is a thematic restaurant, serving the very best from the Mediterranean. For those who would like to try their hand at a spot of recreating Vietnamese cuisine in their own home, The Sofitel Legend Metropole also offers excellent cooking classes. There are also three bars and seven function rooms. The hotel also comes equipped with a fitness centre (with a jacuzzi and sauna), a heavenly spa for post-sightseeing relaxation (Le Spa du Metropole) and two outdoor swimming pools, one heated and one non-heated.

There is also club access for guests on the 7th floor, where traditional afternoon tea, evening cocktails and breakfast are served separately from the rest of the hotel.

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
Susan Heller