Back to the Motherland: Sofitel Metropole Hanoi and Park Hyatt Saigon

• Introduction
• Sheraton Saigon and Hilton Hanoi Opera
• Overnight Trip to Ha Long Bay
• Hiking Through Sapa
• Sofitel Metropole Hanoi and Park Hyatt Saigon
• Thai Airways F to Hong Kong
• Exploring Hong Kong

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After returning from Sapa, we had one day left in Hanoi and then headed back to Saigon for one day before leaving Vietnam.  We had an ah-ha moment in Hanoi as we realized that we were idiots for heading back to Saigon before then going to Hong Kong, since Hanoi was actually much closer.  No wonder I never got good grades in geography class.

We had stayed at the Hilton for the first night in Hanoi before leaving on our Ha Long Bay and Sapa excursions, but on the way back I really wanted to try the Sofitel Metropole hotel as it was rated as one of the top hotels in the world.  Overall, we thought that the hotel and in particular the service was really top-notch.  The hotel and the rooms have a lot of old-world charm and there is really a special feeling while staying here.  In addition, we both visited the spa for massages and really enjoyed the facilities there.  The spa treatments are expensive by SE Asian standards, but we still found them to be very very good value in terms of what we're used to paying back at home.  I highly recommend trying this hotel for anyone that's visiting Hanoi.

welcome gift

After a short 1-night stay in Hanoi, we headed back to Saigon, arriving in the afternoon really just to layover until our flight the next morning.  I had a Hyatt free night certificate laying around and decided to redeem it for the Park Hyatt Saigon, which is another highly rated hotel.  It's actually just down the block from the Sheraton that we had stayed at for the first two nights of our trip.  Given the quick visit we didn't really get a chance to explore the hotel in much detail, but thought that it was great overall.  In Park Hyatt-fashion it's certainly much more chic than the Sofitel Metropole and perhaps didn't have as much character, but we certainly enjoyed our stay there, and it was in a great central location from which we were able to grab a last meal in Vietnam.

park hyatt welcome gift

fanny ice cream one last time