True stories at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

I was looking for many things when I went to Hanoi.

I wanted to try the resto where President Barack Obama ate six-dollar noodles with Anthony Bourdain as his food guide.

I was curious what Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie saw in Hanoi when they drove around the city at night on a motorbike, followed (naturally) by paparazzi.

I was seeking to retrace the steps of Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, and get a glimpse of his poems written in prison.

I remembered what British novelist Graham Greene wrote about Hanoi: “Whatever you’re looking for, you will find here.” He must have found it all — including some peace and inspiration — when he was a war correspondent in Vietnam covering the First Indochina War. He may have written parts of his novel, The Quiet American, within the walls of Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi.

Truthfully, my travel gang and I — on a break from work — wanted to eat, pray, laugh and shop. And fussy as they are about where to rest their tired bodies after shopping, they wanted the best hotel in Hanoi. We got more than just the best. Just like Graham Greene, we stayed in a hotel with a story. Lots of stories.

Somerset Maugham wrote The Gentleman in the Parlor while staying at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. If you think writers are boring, then what about celebrities like Robert De Niro, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Caine and Jane Fonda, or world leaders Fidel Castro, Jacques Chirac, Vladimir Putin and Bill Clinton who are all part of the Metropole history? Even our own Miss International beauty Gemma Cruz-Araneta is mentioned by the hotel as one of its celebrity guests.

The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi — Vietnam’s Grand Dame — was opened in 1901 by Gustave-Emile Dumoutier and Andre Ducamp with room rates between $7 to $125 per month, including board.

The hotel has been praised for its “colonial style that richly blends French and Vietnamese styles” by Destinasian.com, which named it as the finest hotel in Hanoi. Its “spacious and richly appointed” rooms and suites were cited by Conde Nast Traveler, which recently put the hotel on its Gold List of the world’s best places to stay.

“You can’t get around the fact that the hotel’s Old World appeal is a major part of the attraction,” says Franck Lafourcade, the hotel’s general manager. “But when guests ask me to talk about the heyday of this hotel, I’m not talking about the 1920s when Somerset Maugham was a guest, or the 1930s when Charlie Chaplin honeymooned here with Paulette Goddard. I’m talking about today.”

Neither is he talking about how Metropole’s bomb shelter protected guests — including famous visitors like Joan Baez and Jane Fonda — from air raids during the American War (1964-1973). Metropole says that after the war, the bunker was closed and sealed until a chance rediscovery by Metropole’s engineering department during the renovation of the Bamboo Bar in 2011. “It was reopened in May 2012 to honor the extraordinary efforts of employees during shared hardships of wartime. Today, this space serves as a memorial to their courage and perseverance.” Daily tours of the Metropole’s historic paths are offered to guests staying at the hotel.

   Its restaurants offer memories as well as good food. Like the hotel, Le Beaulieu is more than 100 years old. This was the favorite place for fine French food among war correspondents, politicians, diplomats and entrepreneurs. Spices Garden offers the ultimate in Vietnamese gastronomy. Angelina, the Italian restaurant and lounge, is one of Hanoi’s hotspots. La Terrasse brings the Parisian sidewalk cafe to Hanoi. Le Club Bar lays out its famous chocolate buffet together with cool jazz. Bamboo Bar is for poolside loungers. 

After sightseeing and shopping around Hanoi, Le Spa du Metropole is the relaxing place to be for massage, steam bath and sauna. There is also yoga at the rooftop garden balcony, Le Balcon. Never a dull moment at this hotel that offers Vietnamese cooking classes, too.

The hotel is divided into two wings. The historic Metropole Wing was inspired by classic French architecture with a touch of local Vietnamese style. The Opera Wing is a blend of the historic and modern elements of the hotel. All rooms have state-of-the-art technology.

Since the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is located in the Old Quarter, it is a short walking distance to many historical and cultural landmarks, as well as the shopping areas.

Yes, we were able to eat in Hanoi’s best restaurants (including the famous one with plastic stools offering the best banh mi); pray at St. Joseph’s Church as well as visit the One Pillar Pagoda, the temple of Literature, the Quan Thanh Temple and the Tran Quoc Pagoda; laugh as we sailed along beautiful Halong Bay and strolled around Hoan Kiem lake; visit Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and his house on stilts; revisit the past at the Museum of Ethnology; and shop around, from the cheapest sidewalk stalls to the Vietnamese couture House of Thuy.

Graham Greene was right.

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Sofitel Legend Metropole is located at 15 Ngro Quyen Street in Hanoi, Vietnam. Email H1555@sofitel.com, and visit www.sofitel-legend.com.

Cebu Pacific flies from Manila to Hanoi every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; Hanoi to Manila every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Visit cebupacificaior.com or call the reservation hotline +632-702-0888 for bookings.

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