Sofitel Metropole Hanoi Hotel, Hanoi

It is a vrey pleasant and traditional hotel, and the rooms are charming and more individual than other typical business hotels. I like the shops they have, although expensive. It is a cozy atmosphere, but the food and drink tends to be on the expensive side. I think internet should be free and rather rise the hotel cost, as it is annoying to pay extra for internet nowadays. The walk to the opera wing is a bit long.

We were welcomed by very friendly staff speaking excellent English and were upgraded and offered free breakfast just as Agoda had promised. A beautiful room in the historic wing (we didn't see the rooms in the opera wing) with fittings of the highest quality and in impeccable taste. Very quiet and with the most comfortable bed - you are swathed in softness with a down underlay, down quilt and down pillows. The shampoo/conditioner etc were much better than we had in any other hotels and even the water bottles were elegant with the Metropole's own label. Delicious petits fours at bed time and a lovely bowl of fruit on the first day. The pool area was lovely and when we got out of the water there were glasses of iced water and skewers of fresh fruit waiting on the sun lounges for us. Staff were always helpful and friendly and would call taxis for you and direct the driver to where you wanted to go. We left for four nights to go to Halong Bay and Sapa and the hotel stored our luggage for us, letting us re-arrange it before we caught the train to Sapa and then allowed us to check in for free at 5.30am on our return. We decided to celebrate our last night in Vietnam with a French meal at the Hotel's restaurant and unfortunately this was a major disappointment. The prices were high and we had high expectations but the food was uninspired and my tuna steak was so dry that I couldn't finish it. My creme brulee was half frozen and sitting on a bed of tasteless mango with a bland parfait which I couldn't eat. This was also the only time that the staff were not helpful and when I suggested that the reason I hadn't eaten my dessert or finished my main course was because it really wasn't nice at all I only received a blank stare. To give the hotel reception staff credit though, they were very concerned the next morning when they asked for my feedback and I told them about the meal.

This hotel was FANTASTIC! The staff was SO helpful! The rooms were BEAUTIFUL! They turn your bed down at night and provide you with fresh baked goods on your pillow! The only thing we didnt like was the food at teh asian restaurant. It was WAY over priced for the quality of food you get. The wine list is extensive but also very expensive! The chocolate buffet is FABULOUS and worth the 15$! The breakfast is also very good, but make sure you get a room with the breakfast included. The pool is small but the service around the pool is very good. We would stay here again if we got teh chance. I would suggest going out on the town to eat. There are plenty of good options around the hotel.