Lovely hotel, but noisy

Hi, I stayed at the Metropole in December 2004, and found it to be a very well run hotel and very pleasant. Excellent morning buffet! Just wanted to add that it has two wings: old and new. I stayed in both and while the old wing is definitely more charming, with antique furniture etc, it was really noisy as it faces the front of the hotel. Hanoi people love to honk their horns and it really drove me nuts. I shifted over to the new wing, which is very much like a standard room... but it was quiet so I could sleep!

Fabulous hotel

Stayed in the old wing for 2 nights in mid June. Hotel was beautiful, laid out like a resort. Great pool.

Excellent breakfast in Spices Garden restaurant. Also fabulous degustation dinner menu in same restaurant - one of the most memorable meals I've had. We should have taken all our meals at the hotel's restaurants, as we found the street food terrible and the cafes in the area very touristy and their food very ordinary.

Provided an oasis from the heat, dust, pollution and noise of a small, dirty city.

Fantastic experience

Stayed on 2 separate occasions in June for a total of 4 nights. Cannot fault the room, service, pool, concierge of reception desk. Incredibly comfortable beds.

Got upgraded to a HUGE Studio for free. Fantastic room, especially the king size bed.

I recommend this hotel to anyone who wants an oasis in the middle of the hectic pace of Hanoi city.

Great location and afternoon tea

A very relaxing place, and certainly a great location for seeing Hanoi.

My room was a little disappointing - not very large and with a fairly miserable view over some drab rooftops. But everything was nice and clean and in good working order, and in any case I was not there to spend all the time in my room.

It was lovely being able to step out of the hotel and walk to all the sights. The weather was extremely hot when I was there, so it was even lovelier to come back to the hotel into the cool! Afternoon tea in the restaurant was an absolute delight, and the pool was very relaxing and very well attended to with towels, drinks, etc.

The front desk had a folder of tours, provided by outside companies. They had quite a range and I took two that were both good value (one to the Perfume Pagoda, which I would highly recommend though it was hard work in the heat; the other to a ceramic "village" which just turned out to be a small factory - vaguely interesting but I wouldn't recommend it).

Bit overrated!

We chose to stay at the Metropole because of the amazing reviews we read everywhere, but having stayed there i'm not so certain.

Service with very few exceptions was average. The hotel staff were not as polite or courteous as I've seen in other Asian countries- Thailand, Indosesia. This was especially true of our experience over the 2 days in two of the restaurants. Also the vietnamese food we had at the local restaurants outside were superb compared to the hotels specality restaurant. But the hotel concierger were helpful in helping us plan day trips from there.

We stayed at the old wing, and that was very nice. The rooms had been renovated, so we were not as hot as we anticipated. We also checked the rooms in the new wing- and glad we did not choose them. No character at all- just concrete.

Although we did not visit the Hilton, it seemed very appealing from the outside.

Stay in the Old part

There were five of us traveling and we stayed collectively for four nights, divided between the old and new wings. Stay in the original wing if you like colonial charm-stay in the new part if you like continental neutrality. We had the opportunity to stay in both. The breakfast is fabulous and it offers local cuisine as well as European and American fares. Great place to have laundry done. No bar scene, did not dine there but there are several restaurants. Fitness center and spa are average-but friendly and accomodating. Don't mail postcards from hotel, they will not arrive.

Old World Charm

We were given a room in the original wing built in 1901 but it was a little too "authentic" for my husband and on the main street (noisy). We were told that European guests usually choose the old wing and Asian guests like the new wing, I'm Australian so not sure where I fit in! We were transferred the next day, without any problems, to the new wing and found it gorgeous. Built in keeping with the period of the original hotel, but beautifully new and with modern facilities. Superbly comfortable bed, spacious room. The Metropole is very central and comfortable walking distance to Hoen Kiem Lake, Fanny's Icecream Parlour!!!!! A government department store, Main post office, Water Puppets, plenty of restaurants and even (if you are energetic) the Old Streets. The buffet breakfast was excellent but there was no regular buffet dinner except for a few nights they had a special "Cheese Buffet". No kidding, the whole buffet was cheese, from Fondue to Cheesecake. The hotel service and amenities were faultless and the hotel has a no tipping policy which was surprising ..."Your satisfaction is our thank you". The rooms and public areas lovely and spotlessly clean and I can definitely recommend the Sofitel Metropole. Hanoi is amazing. Can't wait to go back.

Best in Hanoi

We stayed at the Metropole for six nights in January, 2005. This is a comfortable and well-run hotel in an excellent location.

Service standards are generally very high. Front desk, housekeeping, business center and health club are excellent. The Beaulieu restaurant is excellent for breakfast and good for dinner.

There are two problems with this hotel. First, street side rooms are very noisy-- motorcyle noise is constant from 6 am until midnight. We moved to a garden side room which was much better. Second, rooms on the Metropole side of the hotel need rennovation. The hotel has started this process but did not know when it will be completed. The Opera side of the hotel has much newer rooms but does not have the historic charm of the Metropole side.

This is a first class hotel and is the best place to stay in Hanoi. Recommended.

An Oasis

You'll need this oasis in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. Clean...lovely rooms... high thread count on the sheets...creme caramel on the breakfast buffet...a bit of a language barrier with the staff...stay away from the French restaurant....the cafe with the garden is your best bet

Best Hotel in Hanoi

We stayed at this hotel last November (2003). Our room has a beautiful balcony overlooking the historic diplomat building. The rooms are tastefully decorated. The staff was very polite and efficient. The hotel breakfast buffet was excellent. It is truely a 5-star hotel.

We are looking forward to stay at this hotel again, during our Christmas 2004 vacation with our children.