Comments on: Metropole Hotel, Hanoi

By: steve

steve — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 22:44:56 +0000

Metropole is one of Bourdain’s favorite places to stay in Hanoi. Maybe he’s treated better being a celebrity and all but I think his standards is just a tad below yours MM.

By: Susie

Susie — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:44:31 +0000

We spent New Year’s Eve at the Metropole..a magnificent dinner and a fabulous time in the courtyard with the countdown. I rather like the charm of the old bit of the hotel. I find the northern Vietnamese a tad aggresive but that may be down to their history. Charm is not a trait they tend to possess and that translates into their service industries.

By: jakespeed

jakespeed — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 01:57:58 +0000

My guess is that the ‘sub-par’ level of service is cultural in nature. Maybe because of the repercussions of the war, or the snobbish nature of the French?

Talking about these heritage hotels, I read last year that the Manila Post Office was planned to be taken over by the Fullerton group to be converted into a hotel similar to what was done to the Fullerton Hotel in SIngapore. I thought it was a great idea of preserving the structure and at the same time providing jobs and money ( in the form of taxes) to the city. Anyone know any updates on this?

By: pixienixie

pixienixie — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 08:05:21 +0000

When you mentioned the off proportion of flowers to vases, I looked at the picture above it. The flower arrangement in the smaller vase seems out of place. :D

By: Tommy

Tommy — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 06:07:02 +0000

One of my favorite hotels in the world. I didn’t have any problems when I stayed there, but I did notice that the service at hotels in Vietnam was somewhat “sub par” in general; it doesn’t seem like they’ve quite figured out international-level modern service quite yet.

When we visited, rather than orchids they had every flower stand filled with dozens of dark red, freshly cut roses, and a gigantic (but entirely fake) Christmas tree in the center courtyard.

A cigar and scotch in the courtyard bar was quite memorable. I hope you got to that terrific restaurant nearby that mimics a night market in a walled garden… our entire dinner there was something like $20.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 02:59:28 +0000

Marixie, I have thought about this several times before posting. I am usually quite particular when it comes to service, and I think the staff were very courteous and tried to please. But I may get into trouble for saying this, but perhaps the mixture of communist/socialist backgrounds AND the French overlay means a DIFFERENT kind of service? We experienced the same feeling at a rather good hotel we stayed in in Siem Reap as well. The staff at both properties were trained, but young and a bit green. The duty Manager at the Metropole who tried to make amends after the leaking incident made this bizarre statement “It’s hard when we are at the top, as you can fall so quickly…” not something I would say to a guest. And the lady housekeeper said to us, holding her tummy “I am pregnant, that’s why I am short of breath”… yipes! :) But really it just wasn’t say Raffles/Mandarin/Peninsula HK (not Manila) service if you know what I am driving at. The tea not served, leaking aircon, and missed car issues all happened in our last 8 hours in the hotel, so the timing was an issue in our not making more of a stink about it. They wiped a merienda buffet charge off the bill as a way of trying to make up things… And Mrs. MM speaks pretty fluent Parisian-accented French, so that couldn’t have been the issue… :)

By: marixie

marixie — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 02:31:15 +0000

You were incredibly generous Mr MM for rating them a 4/5 despite their pathetic service!!! I was wondering if there were other “foreigners” checked in there at the time you were there and if they received the same lousy service. I also wonder how Sofitel could not have trained their staff on proper customer service: did the staff speak or understand English? Would they have been more gracious, courteous or accommodating if you spoke French or if you were Caucasian? I am incredibly sensitive to these kind of issues, and if I was paying top price and treated poorly in a hotel that purports to be “hoity toyt” I would immediately cut off my financial support to them by skedaddling out of there the very next day my butler did not show up, tea was not served, or aircond was leaking….

By: ami

ami — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 01:03:54 +0000

Not a fan of the open bathroom either. Must have been awkward with a teen daughter in tow. Looking at the pictures of the flower arrangements, I do understand your observation on mismatched proportions.

I haven’t stayed at the Manila Hotel ever. I wonder how they fare nowadays.