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Which to choose · Hanoi

The Metropole or the JW Marriott, Hanoi?

The Metropole, opened in 1901, is Hanoi's French colonial grand hotel, in the French Quarter steps from the Opera House; the JW Marriott, opened in 2013, is Carlos Zapata's dragon-shaped building over a lake in Tu Liem, the new district west of the centre, beside the National Convention Center. One is for the old city and its history; the other for larger rooms and the convention centre.

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Opened 1901 · 330 rooms

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Opened 2013 · 394 rooms

In short

Choose the Metropole for old Hanoi: the 1901 building, the French Quarter on foot and Le Beaulieu. Choose the JW Marriott only if your trip is to the National Convention Center or you want the larger rooms over a lake; it is in Tu Liem, west of the centre, with a shuttle into town.

  • A first visit to Hanoi

    Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

    The Opera House and the French Quarter on foot, and the Heritage Wing restored in 2023.

  • A conference

    JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

    Beside the Vietnam National Convention Center.

  • Light sleepers

    Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

    Ask for the soundproofed rooms in the Opera Wing, away from the street.

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Choose Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi for

  • The 1901 Heritage Wing, restored in 2023, with suites named for Graham Greene, Charlie Chaplin and Somerset Maugham, who all stayed
  • Le Beaulieu, French in the room it has used since 1901, with more than 600 wines
  • The Opera House and the French Quarter on foot, and the wartime bomb shelter under the grounds, reopened in 2012

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Choose JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi for

  • Rooms of 48 sq m, with city or lake views, some with a balcony over the lake
  • Beside the Vietnam National Convention Center and the Hanoi Museum
  • A heated indoor pool and a L'Occitane spa on the eighth floor, and a children's café

Side by side

Where
Hoan Kiem
Nam Tu Liem
Opened
1901
2013
Last renovated
2023
0
Rooms
330, 28 of them suites
394, 56 of them suites
Room sizes
32–48 sq m
48 sq m
Restaurants and bars
6
6
Pool
Yes
Yes
Hot spring
–
–
Awards
–
–
Design
David Grace Designs International (Heritage Wing, 2023)
Carlos Zapata Studio; Peter Silling & Associates; DWP
Airport
Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) is 28 to 40 minutes by car
Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) is 28.8 km away
Brand
Sofitel Legend
JW Marriott
Booked through us
Our own perks
Marriott Luminous

The rooms

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Which to book. Book the Heritage Wing for the 1901 building, its original wooden staircase and the Indochine-era rooms; light sleepers should ask for the soundproofed rooms in the Opera Wing, as traffic noise reaches the street side. Of the three suites named after former guests, the Somerset Maugham has its own private garden, and the Graham Greene and Charlie Chaplin have balconies over Con Coc park.

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Which to book. Ask for a lake-view room, or a Balcony Room, whose private balcony looks over the lake and the city skyline; the 56 refreshed suites come with Executive Lounge access, in-suite check-in and early check-in or late check-out when available.

The first room

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Luxury Room

Luxury Room

32 sq m · Heritage Wing, 1920s French and Indochine décor, renovated 2023; 54 rooms

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Deluxe Room

Deluxe Room

48 sq m · city or lake view · floor-to-ceiling windows, marble bathroom

The largest suite

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Grand Prestige Suite

Grand Prestige Suite

176 sq m · hotel garden and courtyard view · the largest suite, Opera Wing; living room, dining area, library, pantry and a private spa room

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Presidential Suite

Presidential Suite

320 sq m · butler service, return airport transfers

Dining

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

  • Le Beaulieu · modern French fine dining

  • Spice Garden · modern Vietnamese restaurant

  • angelina · cocktail bar and restaurant

  • Le Club Bar · French brasserie and bar · afternoon tea

  • La Terrasse · pavement café

  • Bamboo Bar · poolside bar · by the pool

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

  • French Grill · modern French restaurant

  • Man Ho Chinese Restaurant · Cantonese restaurant

  • Kumihimo · modern Japanese restaurant and bar

  • JW Café · buffet and à la carte restaurant

  • The Lounge · lounge · lakeside · afternoon tea

  • Kids Café by JW · children's café · 8th floor

The spa and the pool

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Le Spa du Metropole, a 400 sq m spa over the garden courtyard and pool with eight spa suites (two for couples) and a steam bath, plus a heated outdoor pool and a fitness centre in the inner garden.

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Wellbeing on 8, on the eighth floor, has a Spa L'Occitane en Provence, a heated indoor pool, a jacuzzi, a steam bath and a fitness centre.

Where they are

The two stand 7.9 km apart, as the crow flies.

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

In the French Quarter, near the Opera House

  • Hanoi Railway Station

    10 min by taxi, 25 minutes on foot

  • Noi Bai Airport

    28 min by car, 28–40 minutes

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

On Do Duc Duc Road in Tu Liem, Hanoi's new district, beside the Vietnam National Convention Center and the Hanoi Museum; a free one-way shuttle runs to the city centre.

The building

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Built in 1901 by the French investors Gustave-Emile Dumoutier and André Ducamp on the former Boulevard Henri-Rivière, with a façade of more than 80 metres that made it the largest hotel complex in Indochina. The contemporary, neo-classical Opera Wing stands beside the original building. A wartime bomb shelter under the grounds, used during air raids in the 1960s and 1970s, was rediscovered in 2011 and reopened in May 2012; the Heritage Wing lobby and rooms were redone by David Grace Designs International of Singapore in a 21-month project completed in December 2023.

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Carlos Zapata Studio designed the 74,384 sq m building as a stylised dragon drawn from Vietnamese mythology and the line of the coast, with a cantilevered structure engineered by Leslie E. Robertson Associates; interiors are by Peter Silling & Associates and DWP. Bitexco Group developed and owns it, and it was built between November 2009 and September 2013.

Booked through us

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Our own perks

  • A room upgrade on arrival where one is free

  • Breakfast for two each day

  • A hotel credit to spend on dining or the spa

  • Early check-in or late checkout when the hotel can give it

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi

Marriott Luminous

  • A room upgrade on arrival when one is available

  • Daily breakfast for two

  • Early check-in and late checkout when available

Some hotels add a US$100 credit; most do not.

Become a client

Still deciding? Tell us your dates and what matters most, and we will say which we would choose, and book it at the hotel’s own rate with the perks above.

Questions

No: it is in Tu Liem, Hanoi's new district, and runs a free one-way shuttle to the city centre. The Metropole is in Hoan Kiem, in the French Quarter.

The Heritage Wing for the 1901 building and its Indochine-era rooms, redone in 2023. The neo-classical Opera Wing has soundproofed rooms, which suit light sleepers, as traffic noise reaches the street side.

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