Few hotels in south-east Asia carry the weight of their own history quite like the Metropole. Opened in 1901, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has hosted Graham Greene, Charlie Chaplin and Somerset Maugham, survived wartime (there’s still a bomb shelter beneath the building), and operated what is believed to be Vietnam’s oldest continuously running restaurant. Now, the hotel is marking its 125th year with a programme of celebrations that runs through to the end of 2026.
What the Celebrations Look Like
The headline is the pho. Spice Garden, the hotel’s elevated Vietnamese restaurant, is simmering a broth for 125 hours, based on a recipe from the 1920s. It arrives with Wagyu beef, gold leaf short rib and a tableside pour that turns a bowl of soup into something theatrical. At Le Beaulieu, the hotel’s French fine-dining restaurant, a three-course heritage menu features century-old recipes including lobster bisque and crêpe Suzette prepared gueridon-style at your table.
The bars are in on it too. Bamboo Bar has launched a cocktail collection inspired by the 1920s journey across Indochina imagined for the hotel’s co-founder André Ducamp, while Le Club Bar pours signature drinks named after former guests Greene and Chaplin. At angelina, the cocktail lounge and restaurant, three new drinks mark specific years in the hotel’s timeline: 1901 for its opening, 1968 for the wartime bunker era, and 2026 for what comes next.
Le Spa du Metropole has introduced Sensations Orientales, a 90-minute ritual blending acupressure with French skincare techniques, warm amber and myrrh notes, and a take-home gift. The treatment runs through to December.
A series of exhibitions has also launched in both the Heritage Wing and the Opera Wing, featuring rare photographs from colonial Indochina through to the present day, with additional shows planned throughout the year.
Book Before 30 September: The Live the Legend Package
For couples who can move quickly, the hotel’s Live the Legend stay package bundles daily breakfast for two, an elevated Vietnamese lunch at Spice Garden, the guided Path of History tour (including the wartime bunker), guaranteed early check-in from 11am, late checkout until 2pm, and a complimentary room upgrade subject to availability. Minimum two-night stay. The package is available for bookings and stays completed by 30 September 2026 – so if Vietnam is already on the list, this is the push to lock it in.
Visit sofitel-legend-metropole-hanoi.com
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