Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

“Superb historical hotel with service of a bygone era.”

I stayed at the Metropole hotel for 8 days the first week of June. I loved this hotel. It has an old world style and the vibe was posh, serene and French. All the staff greeted in French. I arrived in the early afternoon by Grab from the airport. The bellhops removed my luggage from the car an… more

I stayed at the Metropole hotel for 8 days the first week of June. I loved this hotel. It has an old world style and the vibe was posh, serene and French. All the staff greeted in French. I arrived in the early afternoon by Grab from the airport. The bellhops removed my luggage from the car and then delivered it to my room without being asked. I was shown to the desk where I was told I was being upgraded from a Premier room to a Grand Premier room with a Butler and Lounge access (due to using Sapphire Reserve Edit benefits). I was escorted to the 7th floor to complete the check in process privately. On the way the various restaurants, business center, pool, etc. were pointed out. As I was completing check in, I was offered champagne and my Edit benefits were thoroughly explained to me. All were honored without being asked. My room was on the 7th floor just down the hall from the lounge. The Grand Premium Room had a clawfoot tub, separate large walk in shower, two sinks, bathroom scale and a separate toilet room. The bathroom sink and tub area was partially open to the bedroom, with curtains that could be drawn. The toilet was secluded in a separate room and the shower was blocked from the bedroom by a wall. Towels were large and high quality. Soaps, lotions etc. were also high quality. Real orchids adorned the bathroom. There was a little alcove/room off the bedroom which had a recessed counter area with kettle, Nespresso, fridge etc. During the tour of my room when I arrived they assured me the water was drinkable from the tap, although they provided 4 large bottles of water each day and you could request more. I did not drink the tap water but did eat the fresh vegetables without issue. There was a welcome gift of fruit and chocolates in my room upon arrival. An additional something (madeleines, macaroons etc.) was provided at turndown. The lounge offered breakfast in the morning, afternoon tea from 3-4:30 p.m. and then appetizers and cocktails from 5-7. The afternoon tea offered everything you would get if you went to the restaurant for afternoon tea. They had table service for the tea/drinks and then a buffet for the food items. Everything from fruit, scones, tea sandwiches, pastries and cakes. The food was very high quality. In the evening, again table service for drinks, and a buffet with hot items like small bites of high quality steak, smoked salmon, cheese, crackers, fruit, cakes mini quiches etc. I made several requests to the butler. Most were carried out well. I requested a second luggage rack, additional towels each day, particular tea/coffee, and additional water. Except for the additional towels one day my preferences were noted and the items requested were supplied each day. Because free breakfast was included in my Edit benefits, I ate the full buffet in the Le Club Bar each morning. Breakfast opened at 6 p.m. and was never crowded no matter what time I ate. Most days they remembered my room number and our coffee/tea requests when we came in. There is an egg station, fruit, western and Asian offerings. Because of the French roots of the hotel, there were French pastries/bread. All food was very high quality. The pool was never crowded. You were greeted and then seated upon arrival by an attendant, who set up your chaise and brought you ice water and sometimes a small snack. Children were welcome, but it was a serene environment. I chose the hotel partially because it was walkable to old town etc. This became irrelevant because Grabs were about 1 dollar anywhere and walking was too hot and hazardous. Although overall service was very good, there were a few misses. The first day I was greeted by name but this tapered off and only happened a few other times in 8 days. The butler was textable and very responsive. I did request additional towels one day that were not provided. I also requested a reservation in one of the hotel restaurants and when we arrived we were informed there was no such reservation. He showed me the list of reservations and said, “See you are not on the list.” I pulled up the text where the butler confirmed the reservation had been made and the host nodded, looked around the mostly empty restaurant (it was 75% empty) and asked us to wait a minute. He then came back and showed us to a table. I thought this was bad form. Obviously, someone at the hotel, either on the restaurant staff or the butler had made an error. They made me feel like it was my error, and there was easily room for us. Even when they saw they had no record of the reservation he should have just shown us to a table since the restaurant was mostly empty, and I would have never known a mistake was made. The service the rest of the night was great and the food was very good. I would not hesitate to stay here again. I did the complimentary history tour which was also great and eye opening for an American. No other hotel in our trip to Vietnam compared to the Metropole.

less