PILLOW TALK: SOFITEL LEGEND METROPOLE HANOI, VIETNAM
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Built in 1901, the five-star Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is an iconic, timeless hotel in the city’s French Quarter. Deep green shutters accent a sprawling whitewashed building; colonial ceiling fans and staff dressed as traditional bell boys remind guests of a bygone era - where the cars were classic and the phones rotary (still in use throughout the hotel).
The property has 364 rooms, a conference and business centre, an outdoor pool, a spa and several dining options. So far, so standard, until – that is - we learnt about the underground bunker used during the war (tours happen daily at 6pm) and the large roll call of famous guests, including Charlie Chaplin and Graham Greene. The Club Bar showed the first motion picture in Vietnam; the original shoeshine service still operates in the lobby.
Lush gardens and an abundance of hanging plants give the entire hotel a tropical feel. We loved our afternoon watching children play in the outdoor heated pool while lying on a lounger sipping Hanoi beer.
Where do we sleep?
Rooms come in nine categories – from Luxury to Grand Prestige Suite. Writers looking for inspiration should book The Graham Greene Suite, with its hand-selected pieces and spacious lounge with dining table. Our Premium room had original dark wood floors, a comfy-as-they-come queen bed, French windows overlooking the street, and white shutter-style doors into a large bathroom with shower over bathtub and Balmain products.
We loved the large vases boldly placed on the shelf beside the bed (ask for these to be taken away if you have small children), as well as the mini bar which contained several snacks for the jet-lag-middle-of-the-night munchies.
Wine & dine us
We lunched at Le Beaulieu, a French fine dining spot where our lobster bisque was flambéed before our very eyes and our tuna dish was almost too pretty to eat. Only children over 10-years-of-age can eat here, so we lucked out.
Our dinner at Angelia - an Italian restaurant with cosy corners and fires - was noteworthy, with its pasta-free menu showcasing the country’s culinary offerings. Book a babysitter (available from 6am-11pm each day for a very reasonable £9 an hour), head down for dinner early and take a seat at the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. The wall of spirits is so vast mixologists need to run up and down ladders to grab items from the top; watching them scale this with ease before shaking two cocktails at a time was more entertaining than anything we’ve seen recently on the telly.
Food and drink options overlooking the pool and gardens include Le Club – where we had the best tuna niçoise salad to date – the open-ended Bamboo Bar, with its rotating ceiling fans and cocktail menu (add the sorbet to your lemon-based Charlie Chaplin cocktail – inspired by his 1936 visit – to continue effective parenting); and Le Terrasse for alfresco breakfasts.
Shall we spa?
Children accompanied by a parent are not just welcome in Le Spa but able to select a treatment from the same menu as adults and enjoy a shorter version - with lighter pressure in the case of massages. They are also able to use the steam room and sauna for a maximum of 10 minutes – something rarely allowed in the UK, and a real treat.
Verdict:
Having stayed in similarly iconic hotels in London – where children are welcome but (in reality) considered something of a nuisance – our stay at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi was like a breath of fresh air. The reasonably-priced babysitting service runs all day; kids can enjoy a treatment and sauna/steam in Le Spa, and all the restaurants will make anything on the menu as a smaller portion.
On a personal note, the French shutters, old phones, palm leaf ceiling fans, lush gardens, gorgeous staff and central location had me at ‘hello’.
10/10
www.sofitel-legend-metropole-hotel.com