Where Hanoi sleeps: the Metropole, the lake and the Old Quarter

About Where Hanoi sleeps: the Metropole, the lake and the Old Quarter

By the ULTIMATE Hanoi Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Hanoi is a city of short distances, and the right street decides your stay. The French Quarter, south and east of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, is the grand-hotel district: the Sofitel Legend Metropole on Ngô Quyền, Capella Hanoi on Lê Phụng Hiểu behind the Opera House, the Hotel de l’Opera on Tràng Tiền and the new Fairmont Hanoi on Trần Nguyên Hãn. The Old Quarter, north of the lake, is a warren of small hotels on old trading streets. And by West Lake, the InterContinental stands on the water and Pan Pacific looks over Trúc Bạch.

The French Quarter

The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is at 15 Ngô Quyền, with a Historic Heritage Wing facing the street and Le Beaulieu, Bamboo Bar, Angelina and Le Spa du Metropole inside. Capella Hanoi, at 11 Lê Phụng Hiểu, has 47 rooms and suites, each styled, in the hotel’s words, as a tribute to the artists and composers of opera, and the Auriga Spa. The Fairmont Hanoi is at 10 Trần Nguyên Hãn; the Hotel de l’Opera at 29 Tràng Tiền; the Hôtel du Parc at 84 Trần Nhân Tông faces Thống Nhất Park.

The lake and the Old Quarter

The Apricot Hotel, at 136 Hàng Trống, fills its corridors with Vietnamese art and looks onto Hoàn Kiếm Lake. In the Old Quarter, the Peridot Grand stands at 33 Đường Thành, the Hotel de Lagom at 30B Lý Nam Đế and La Passion Premium Cầu Gỗ at 7 Cầu Gỗ, a short walk from the lake.

The Metropole’s Bamboo Bar and Le Club are open to non-residents: the easiest way into the city’s most famous hotel.

West Lake and Ba Đình

The InterContinental Hanoi Westlake stands at 1A Nghi Tàm, its pavilions built out over the water. Pan Pacific Hanoi is at 1 Thanh Niên, between West Lake and Trúc Bạch, and Lotte Hotel Hanoi occupies the upper floors of the Lotte Center at 54 Liễu Giai, with the Top of Hanoi bar near its summit.

Our advice: for a first visit, stay in the French Quarter or by the lake and walk; save West Lake for a second stay, or a quieter one.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Where Hanoi sleeps: the Metropole, the lake and the Old Quarter before you go.