Hotels & accommodation

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Accor · Sofitel Legend grand colonial hotel opened in 1901 on Ngo Quyen Street, beside the Hanoi Opera House

The Metropole opened in 1901 as the Grand Métropole Palace and has been Hanoi's landmark grand hotel ever since. It stands on Ngo Quyen Street in the French Quarter, beside the Hanoi Opera House and a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake, the Old Quarter and the Tràng Tiền shopping streets — the historic centre most first-time arrivals use as their base.

The hotel has 364 rooms and suites divided between two wings. The Historical Wing keeps the 1901 building's colonial character — high ceilings, wooden floors and shuttered windows — while the Opera Wing is the later, more contemporary half. Rooms in both wings face either the city streets or the internal courtyard and pool garden, an unusually green and quiet core for downtown Hanoi.

Dining is led by Le Beaulieu, the French restaurant that has operated on the site since 1901, alongside the Vietnamese Spices Garden restaurant, the angelina cocktail bar and lounge, and the Bamboo Bar beside the pool. The hotel's wartime bomb shelter, rediscovered during renovations in 2011, is shown on its Path of History tours, and Graham Greene, Charlie Chaplin and Joan Baez are among the names in its guest history.

Behind the facades sit the courtyard gardens, an outdoor pool, Le Spa du Metropole and a fitness centre. As a scouting base it sits between the Old Quarter to the north and the embassy and expat districts to the south and west, with Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh and Tay Ho (West Lake) all a short drive away — a practical first address for reading the capital before choosing a neighbourhood.

• Opened in 1901 as the Grand Métropole Palace; a French colonial landmark on Ngo Quyen Street beside the Hanoi Opera House
• 364 rooms and suites across the Historical Wing (1901) and the Opera Wing
• Le Beaulieu French restaurant has operated on the site since 1901; Spices Garden serves Vietnamese cuisine
• Outdoor pool in the courtyard gardens, Le Spa du Metropole and a fitness centre
• Wartime bomb shelter rediscovered in 2011 and shown on the hotel's Path of History tour

Visit the property — Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi sofitel-legend-metropole-hanoi.com

This featured showcase is an editorial selection by our editors. We have not stayed at this property and it is not a paid placement; no rating is implied. Paid placements never influence the Vietnam liveability score, safety rating or warnings.