Hanoi's Metropole Hotel Named to Conde Nast Hot List

But thanks to a four-year, $20 million restoration, a 109-year-old hotel — the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi — has won a spot on the magazine's 14th annual look at the world’s hottest new properties.

"The re-do merits thunderous applause," wrote editors of one of the world’s most renowned travel magazines.

Le Spa du Metropole, which debuted at the hotel last year and celebrated its grand opening this month, also won a spot on the magazine’s 2010 Hot Spa list. In a separate listing, Le Spa ranks as the only inclusion from Vietnam this year.

Said Conde Nast Traveler: The "spa feels like an elegant friend's residence, with grand staircases leading to candlelit havens for Eastern-themed massages and facials with Clarins and Ytsara products."

The hotel's refurbishment culminated last year in a rebranding initiative that introduced the hotel as Sofitel's first Legend property. The French hotel group established the Legend brand to distinguish its legendary addresses around the world. The Hotel Metropole Hanoi was the first property to win distinction as one of Sofitel's Legend hotels.

The four-year makeover delivered a host of compelling new reasons to view the Grand Dame of Vietnamese Hospitality as a debutante.

The hotel opened a new restaurant and lounge, Angelina, that immediately set a new standard for contemporary chic in this 1,000-year-old city.

Le Spa's seven treatment rooms evoke old World elegance, and its Hammam offers a singular experience in Vietnam.

All of the hotel's public areas took on a new sheen. The retail outlets were completely revisited, and a new gourmet shop and boutique were integrated into the mix.

Awards are nothing new to the Hotel Metropole Hanoi. Indeed, the hotel has made the grade on Conde Nast's Gold List in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The hotel has always enjoyed a reputation as a classic. Now it's garnering acclaim as a great new opportunity for travelers who revel in contemporary appeal.

"As one of Asia's classic hotels, we're obliged to honor the past and our guests' expectations of a stay in the Hotel Metropole Hanoi," said Kai Speth, general manager of the hotel. "But we also have a responsibility to provide accommodation that is as fresh and stimulating as it is venerable. Nobody wants to check into a museum."