Introduction:  Cruising Cambodia and Vietnam
Review:  JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach
Review:  Business Class SilverKris Lounge Singapore Airport
Review:  Singapore Air Business Class – Singapore to Hanoi
Review:  Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel Hanoi
Review:  Paradise Elegance Cruise
Review:  Vietnam Airlines Economy – Hanoi to Siem Reap
Review:  Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort
Review: AmaWaterways Riches of the Mekong Cruise
Review:  Sofitel Saigon Plaza
Review:  Le Saigonnais Lounge (International) Ho Chi Minh Airport
Review:  Changi Airport Crowne Plaza

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We arrived in Hanoi and made our way to the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi to begin our pre-cruise portion of the land package.

The hotel actually has 2 different lobbies/entrances. There is an entrance to the Historic Wing (original part of the hotel).

Our ride dropped us off at the Opera wing entrance – since that is the part of the hotel that we would be staying in.

Outside the each entrance were vintage Citroen cars.

Because we were part of the land package, we were directed to the AmaWaterways desk in the hotel to check in. The cruise manager was not at the desk when we arrived, so they served us a refreshing drink and some cold towels while we waited.

Once the cruise manager returned, we were given our room keys and the bell staff brought up our luggage to the room with us. They showed us some features of the room before leaving.

We were booked into a Premium Room, which is located in the Opera Wing of the hotel with the following features:

• 32 m² or 344 ft² neo-classical open plan design with French windows
• Finished timber flooring
• Plush Sofitel MyBed offering queen or twin bedding
• Complimentary Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV, designer bathroom

The bathroom was on the right as you entered the room. There were mirrored doors at the entrance to the bathroom.

There was also a closet on the right upon entering the room. There were drawers and a safe on one side, and room for hanging clothes on the other side.

The room itself was quite spacious with a desk and table near the window.

All accommodations also include a pillow menu to choose from, although we weren’t there long enough to bother choosing pillows. The pillows they had on the bed were just fine.

The hotel had a good selection of restaurants and bars:

• Le Beaulieu – contemporary French haute cuisine with exceptional wines. Open for breakfast 6:00am to 10:30am, for lunch 11:30am to 2:30pm, and for dinner 6:30pm to 10:30pm. It is also open for Sunday brunch noon to 3:30pm.
• Spice Garden – Vietnamese cuisine. Open for breakfast 6:00am to 10:30am, for lunch 11:30am to 2:00pm, and for dinner 6:00pm to 10:00pm.
• La Terrasse – al fresco brassiere. Open for drinks 7am-11:30pm and open for food from 11:30am to 10:00pm (6:00pm to 10:00pm on weekends)
• angelina – cocktail bar/whiskey lounge/restaurant. Open for lunch 11:00am to 2:30pm, and for dinner 6:00pm to 10:30pm. There is a late night menu from 10:30pm to midnight, and a Happy Hour from 4:30pm to 7:00pm.
• Le Club Bar – colonial bar, brassiere style western and Asian menu. Open 6:00am to 11:00pm (food available until 10:30pm). High Tea is from 3:00pm to 4:30pm. There is also live jazz music Tuesday to Saturday from 8:00pm onwards.
• Bamboo Bar – poolside bar with thatched roof and wooden floors. Open 6:00am to midnight (food available until 10:30pm). Breakfast 6:00am to 10:30am.

There is also room service that is available 24 hours a day, and the L’Epicerie du Metropole shop where you can get chocolates and pastries.

Our package included the breakfast buffet in Le Club Bar. The buffet had an amazing selection along with an omelette/egg station and a pho station.

The hotel also has it’s own spa – Le Spa due Metropole – which offers typical spa services along with manicures and pedicures. The spa is open 10:00am to 10:00pm. There is also a SoFIT fitness centre that is open 5:00am to 10:00pm.

Next to the spa was an outdoor pool.

Next to the pool was the Bamboo Bar.

The hotel also offered a free historic tour of the hotel – including a bunker that was found on the property (from the Vietnam War). To get a spot on the tour, we just had to book it with the hotel concierge. The tour started out in the Historic wing of the hotel, where we were given a history of the hotel and some of the famous people that have stayed there.

We were then taken down in a bunker on the property (that was next to the pool). It was quite an interesting tour and I learned a lot of the significance of the hotel over time.

Our stay at the hotel was very nice and the service was excellent. It was a calm little oasis in the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. It had a nice old time charm to the hotel and I wish that we could’ve spent more time there. Would definitely go back.