I am thinking about going to Hanoi for a 3 day short stay before going to Bangkok. The hotel choices are Sofitel Plaza, Melia Hanoi or if I want to spend the extra $ the Sofitel Metropole. Which one is the better, accomodation wise and location for getting around town and seeing and doing things. Any sightseeing suggestions would be great as well.

I liked the DeSyloia, a small boutique hotel. Are the hotels you listed your only choices?

We stayed at the Melia last year. No complaints, rate included a nice breakfast. It was clean if in need of a bit of renovation. Overall I would say it was good value for the money. Location wasn't bad either.
Sue

Their were a few others in the rate category of the Sofitel Metropole, but in the lower rate class the Sofitel Plaza and the Melia were the only choices.

I thought the Metropole was great - beautiful rooms and polished service. I would request a room in the old wing. Even if you don't stay there, dinner at Spices Garden is highly recommended.

If you only had 3 days in Hanoi what are the MUST do's?

For me,

1. the Temple of Literature and nearby stops at the Museum of Fina Arts, CraftLink (a fair trade crafts store) and Koto (a restaurant that trains street kids for food service jobs)

2. The Ethnographic Museum

3. Wandering the Old Quarter and the area around the lake.

4. Visiting Pagodas off the tourist track

I agree with Kathie. I would also recommend the water puppet theatre, it is like $2.50 and only an hour. Also you should see Ho Chi Minh lying in state in his mausoleum - if only for the reverence that he receives from the Vietnamese visitors! I couldn't help but think what if it was Ronald Reagan or Richard Nixon I was looking at under glass...

The Metropole is in a much better location than the Sofitel Plaza. You could walk from the Metropole to the lake, the water puppet theatre, and the old quarter.

As I'm about to book our rooms at the Metropole as well, figured it'd be a good time to ask: what is the difference between the Classic & the Classic Deluxe Rooms in the Historic (Metropole) Wing? I know one is slighty more expensive, but not sure why. Unfortunately, their website doesn't really explain the difference.

Also have heard a lot of others here suggest how it's wise to hand-pick your room upon arrival. Are the rooms (even in the same category) that different?

ttt

Our stay at the Metropole in December included both the Classic rooms and the new wing. I moved out of our Classic room because it was so small. My daughter had a suite in the Classic and also moved into their largest suite since the first was as small as our room plus a tiny, tiny "sitting room" (it had a tiny sofa and a tv). Our room in the new wing was a pleasure...a real 4* hotel room as one would expect and it cost much less. We were there at a very crowded time so maybe some Classic rooms would be bearable. But, the hotel give great service, the breakfast in amazing, everything very nice. And the location excellent. i was sick (tummy) and they were extremely helpful including bringing saltines to my room in the morning.

It seems to me I read about a good deal of the visitors to Vietnam have tummy issues from the food. I don't see these comments as often for other countries such as Thailand. Is the food in Vietnam that upsetting to western systems.

I just returned from Vietnam and I did have some stomach issues when I was there. I thought maybe I was reacting negatively to my anti-malarials.

One thing with the food is that it is difficult to eat only cooked stuff all the time - so many dishes come with raw scallions or raw bean sprouts thrown on the top.

Elainee, thanks for your feedback! It's so interesting...I feel that a lot peeps on here push for the old wing over the new wing, but given your comments--now I'm thoroughly confused

Personally, I'm more of a Four Seasons guy than a Ritz Carlton guy...meaning I'm not really all that into the frilly, lacy, museum-like historical rooms. I prefer modern luxury. Not to knock history--I love learning it, just not sleeping in it.

Based on that, maybe the new wing rooms are a better option for me?

One thing I would like to mention about Metropole - they have a great restaurant, Spices Garden, which is Vietnamese food, one side of menu is "traditional" and the other is "Nouvelle" so you have two takes on a Vietnames dish. Upon checking out from the hotel, I learned that there are two breakfasts each morning - a more continental-style buffet in one restaurant, plus a second buffet in Spices Garden if you want more typical Vietnamese dishes. I was bummed that I didn't know this, I ate at the same continental buffet both days. I am one of those travellers who must eat traditional local food wherever I am - must eat Indian in India, Thai in Thailand, etc. Plus Spices Garden has outdoor seating, so you can have your breakfast in the cool morning weather, sounds so nice! I am still bummed that I missed out on the experience. I didn't get to eat as much Vietnamese food on my trip as I wanted.

My bad tummy was from Hong Kong. I got sick on the short flight from HK to Hanoi, so I cannot blame Vietnam. After that, for 2 more weeks, I was just fine. We found the food in Vietnam good, fresh, but not very varied. On the other hand, we were not very adventurous in our choice of eating places. We seldom, almost never, eat street food anymore. The food at the Metropole was great.
As for the rooms, we also felt that the Classic rooms must be lovely since they were highly touted and cost more. They looked like a Bombey Furniture showroom and were far, far too small for me. Between the bed and the desk you practically had to walk sideways. The bed was hard, hard, hard. That was true almost everywhere in Vietnam. And I thought I liked hard beds...NO! The Hyatt in HCMC had the only soft (good) bed in Vietnam. Different customs, but Vietnamese also sit in teeny chairs on the sidewalks. Fortunately I did not need to do that. Back to the Metropole, the new wing rooms were not exciting, but were just fine. The hotel is definately an excellent place to stay. I, too, am a Four Season person, fussy is not for me, especially on long trips when i just need to have a place to relax and be comfortable. The Oriental in Bangkok I found too fussy, I like the Shang better.

Oh my Gosh, I have not been able to post from my MAC for well over a week. I guess it takes sitting in a hospital (not for myself) to post.

Filmwel, If you do not like the Ritz Carlson you will not like the green heavy drapes in the classic wings. i do not know the difference between deluxe or standand. It may be a better bathroom. I was very happy with our room. I do have to say that the lobby and pool area makes the hotel a quiet oasis from the chaos of Hanoi.

Just be a prepared for a major culture shock from Laos. After getting into the laid back rythem of LP Hanoi is a very different world.

I did enjoy it after a day or so.

If you have any questions you can email me at S,[email protected]. I cannot post on my home or work computer.

O.K. I have a question do you like the four Seasons or Ritz in NWY?

Sally

Sally, I assume you meant the Ritz or Four Seasons in NYC?

If so, I'm not a huge fan of that Four Seasons in particular...but in comparison to the Ritz on Central Park, whose rooms remind me of a little girl's dollhouse, I would have to say the Four Seasons any day of the week.

I think it's just more of a comfort factor--one seems museum-like and the other, more cozy.

That said, perhaps, the new wing at the Metropole is the way to go--although I wish they had more of a room choice between Standard & Suite. Am I correct in gathering that the new wing rooms are actually larger than the standard historical wing rooms?