There are perhaps only a handful of hotels in the world that can legitimately call themselves “historic” – establishments that have lived through seismic change (in some cases, quite literally), political upheaval, and cultural revolutions, and yet despite the tumult, still stand as paragons of hospitality and human connection. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in Vietnam is one such hotel, boasting an incredible heritage that goes back to 1899 when a French entrepreneur named Gustave-Émile Dumoutier petitioned Hanoi’s local government (then a colonial enclave of France) to develop a hotel for the ages on the corner of Hanoi’s Henri-Rivière boulevard. Together with his business partner, André Ducamp, Dumoutier opened what was then called the Grand Metropole Hotel in 1901. It was the grandest building in all of the city, and soon lured the era’s celebrities and prominent figures, some of whom now have suites named after them. Charlie Chaplin spent his honeymoon at the hotel with actress Paulette Goddard in 1936; W Somerset Maugham wrote part of The Gentleman in the hotel’s parlour; Graham Greene, author of The Quiet American, stayed there; and the Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh held a historic meeting in the Metropole’s former conference room.
During the 1950s, the hotel was renamed “Thong Nhat Hotel”, which translates as “Reunification Hotel”, but it wasn’t long before it would be in the firing line as the Vietnam War broke out and Hanoi became a target for US bombers. The hotel’s executive team had a bomb shelter built into what is now the Bamboo Bar, and it’s said that it was there that Joan Baez composed Where Are You Now, My Son? during an air raid in 1972. Over the next few decades, the hotel became a shadow of its former self, falling into disrepair until 1987, when the Vietnamese government teamed up with Pullman Hotels in a bid to bring it back to former glories. AccorHotels subsequently acquired the hotel, injecting a good deal of capital into further renovations, not least the Opera Wing.
Today, we know this exquisite example of French colonial architecture as the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, where staff dressed in traditional white silk áo dài glide light-footed across the caramel marble floors amid the subtle hum of rattan ceiling fans. Cream walls framed with rich hardwood panelling are adorned with oil paintings of Hanoi, while common areas feature vignettes of plump sofas decorated with Vietnamese silk cushions. The Metropole has two wings – the original 20th-century building and a discerning modern annexe added nearly a century later. We’d recommend the rooms overlooking the pool.
Dining at the Metropole offers plenty of options, with the flagship restaurant being Le Beaulieu, where it is said Noël Coward once enjoyed the coq au vin. The menu is contemporary French haute cuisine that focuses on seasonality, while oenophiles will not get bored exploring the extensive wine list. The aforementioned Bamboo Bar is a relaxed poolside bar and the perfect place to sip a Graham Greene martini after a day’s exploration of Hanoi, but for something more refined, head to Angelina, the hotel’s cocktail bar and whisky lounge.
If R&R is your scene, then you’ll be pleased to discover the spa at the very centre of the hotel. It boasts two thematic spa suites for couples, six individually designed spa suites, one manicure and pedicure booth, a humid zone with steam bath, and an eclectic menu of treatments using products by Sothys, and Anne Semonin.
Ryan Thompson is a UK-based menswear and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in, among others, the Financial Times, Mr Porter, The Rake and Ape to Gentleman
