After a year of phenomenal accolades in 2010, the Sofitel Legend Metropole scored its most prestigious award yet, moving into the ranks of the world’s most rarified hotels. In its August issue, the world’s highest circulating travel magazine, Travel + Leisure, called out the Metropole as one of the top three city hotels in Asia, bested only by the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok and the Ritz-Carlton in Beijing. Last year, the Metropole ranked #14 on the same list, determined by Travel + Leisure readers.
“Until recently, all of the acclaim went to the big hotels in Tokyo and Hong Kong, to the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, the Peninsulas – but this seems to be changing,” said Kai Speth, general manager of the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. “Vietnam is at last a world-class player when it comes to hotels.”
No other hotel from Vietnam made T+L’s list of top 100 hotels in the world, officially known as the World’s Best Awards 2011. The Park Hyatt in Saigon did make the magazine’s list of Top 25 Hotels in Asia, coming in at #10.
T+L readers surveyed the hotels at TLWorldsBest.com, citing individual properties on their rooms and facilities, location, service, restaurants, food and value. An independent monitoring firm, ROI Research, screened the votes to ensure that travel industry professionals could not lobby for their own properties. Of the top 25 City Hotels in Asia, only the Metropole was cited for its commitment to value.
Created by Sofitel Luxury Hotels, Sofitel Legend is a label, a seal, a private club of centennial establishments, in buildings that are often listed, on sites with a mythical heritage that are landmark attractions in their city or country. Each Sofitel is a unique gem, the promise of a voyage steeped in history and luxury, to a place where legend and reality merge into one.
The hallmark of the Legend label, service is at the heart of this experience. Precise and elegant gestures, considerate and devoted attention, discreet and efficient care – everything is done to anticipate the needs of each guest and ease his or her daily life.
The Metropole Hanoi is the first hotel in this collection. As soon as their refurbishment is completed, other hotels will become part of Sofitel Legend: the Grand Amsterdam (The Netherlands), the Old Cataract Assouan (Egypt), the Santa Clara (Colombia), the Winter Palace Luxor (Egypt), the Palais Jamaï (Morocco), the Cecil Alexandria (Egypt)…and more.www.sofitel-legend.com
