Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Old luxury cars are commonly displayed by the hotel.

The hotel was opened in August 1901 by André Ducamp and Gustave-Émile Dumoutier.[1] Following Vietnamese independence in the 1950s, the Metropole was renamed the Thong Nhat Hotel (Reunification Hotel) by the Communist government. In the 1960s, a bomb shelter was constructed to protect guests during American air raids.[2] Jane Fonda stayed there during her trip to Hanoi in June 1972. In 2011, the forgotten war bunker was rediscovered during renovations to the hotel's Bamboo Bar. Since 2012, tours of the bunker have been available to guests staying at the hotel.[3]

Joan Baez visited Hanoi with an American delegation in December 1972, but stayed in the near Hoa Binh Hotel (Peace Hotel) and found herself caught in the Christmas bombings. She recorded her song Where Are You Now, My Son? in her hotel room during an air raid, with the sounds audible in the recording.[2]

In 1987, the French Pullman Hotels chain entered into a joint venture with the Vietnamese government to restore the hotel to international standards. The hotel was completely rebuilt, regaining the name Metropole and reopening on March 8, 1992, as the Pullman Hotel Metropole. The hotel later moved from the Pullman to the Sofitel chain, and was placed in their exclusive Legend division as the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. The new 135-room Opera Wing was added from 1994-1996, along with the Metropole Center office tower. The offices were converted to additional hotel rooms in 2008.[4] As of 2017, the hotel was owned as an equal joint venture between the Hanoi government and the Warburg Pincus private equity firm.[5]

Sofitel Metropole was chosen as the Best hotel in Vietnam, and was one of only two Vietnamese hotels entering 'Best hotels throughout the World' by Condé Nast Traveler magazine (2007).[6]

The hotel was also used as a venue for the second meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un on 27 and 28 February 2019.[7]

The Metropole was the first venue in Indo-China to show motion pictures.[1] Somerset Maugham stayed at the hotel on his journey through Asia, while writing his book The Gentleman in the Parlour. Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard spent their honeymoon at the Metropole in 1936 after getting married in Shanghai. Graham Greene stayed at the hotel in 1951 while writing The Quiet American.

The 2019 Hanoi Summit meeting at the hotel between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un

• Writers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene[8][9]

• Politicians:
  • François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, François Hollande, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin, Fidel Castro, John Kerry, John McCain, Michael D. Higgins, Ban Ki-Moon, Erna Solberg, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands during state visits[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un (not staying guests, the hotel was the meeting place for the 2019 Hanoi Summit)[17]
• Actors:
  • Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard on their honeymoon[18][19][20]
  • Robert De Niro, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Caine[21][22]
• Singers Joan Baez and Jane Fonda[23][24]

• The restaurant Le Beaulieu serves French cuisine.
• The restaurant Angelina serves Italian cuisine.
• The restaurant Spices Garden serves Vietnamese cuisine.
• The café La Terrasse, by the sidewalk, serves pastries, tea, coffee and food throughout the day.
• The Bar Bamboo, next to the swimming pool, serves cocktails and spirits.
• The bar Le Club serves drinks and food throughout the day. It also offers chocolate buffet, tea services and live jazz music 6 nights a week.

• William Warren, Jill Gocher (2007). Asia's legendary hotels: the romance of travel. Singapore: Periplus Editions. ISBN 978-0-7946-0174-4.

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  Hotel Metropole in colonial Hanoi
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  Poolside of Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
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  Entrance on Ngo Quyen street
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  Entrance on Ly Thai To street
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  Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi from Ngo Quyen street (La Terrasse Cafe corner)

• Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi 107 room hotel in a colonial structure near Hanoi Opera House[25]

Media related to Hotel Metropole Hanoi at Wikimedia Commons

• Sofitel official website
• Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Sofitel Legend official website