01
LE CLUB
If you get bombed at this bar,
never fear — there’s an air raid
shelter just below. Joan Baez
sought refuge here during the
Christmas Bombings in 1972, and
recorded a portion of her album,
“Where Are You Now, My Son”,
in the subterranean warren at the
Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi.
Excavated in 2012 and opened to
hotel guests as a memorial, the
shelter opens every day at Happy
Hour. Otherwise, Le Club is the
social hub of one of South Asia’s
grand dames, built in 1901 and so
completely refurbished in 2011
that the leading magazines hailed
the hotel as one of the world’s
most stunning debuts. Le Club
itself emerged from a complete
makeover in August 2016, looking
a lot more like a speakeasy from
the Roaring Twenties.
ILHA 77