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Walking toward the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi for the first time, you get the sense that this place has been quietly outclassing everything around it for over a century. It has. The first Sofitel Legend property in the world, it has hosted actors, writers, presidents and more heads of state than most governments. Walking through its doors in 2026 felt less like checking in and more like stepping into the 1900s, and a place that happens to serve an excellent Old Fashioned.
From the moment I crossed the street toward the Metropole, past the 1956 Citroen Traction 15 Familiale parked out front and up the carpeted entrance where an immaculately dressed doorman greeted me like I was a high-level diplomat. Eye contact and genuine…