Hanoi already knows where to put a visitor who wants the Opera House. The new booking is on the other shore.

Shilla Monogram Hanoi Westlake takes its first guests on Friday, 23 October 2026, at 6 Hoang Minh Thao, Xuan Dinh ward, inside Starlake. Starlake is the Daewoo new town west of West Lake, about 186 hectares between Pham Van Dong and Vo Chi Cong, on the way out toward Noi Bai. The hotel puts the airport at about 25 minutes. Treat that as a clear-road figure, and still prefer it to a Friday crawl back from Hoan Kiem.

This is the fourth Shilla Monogram, and the second in Vietnam. Da Nang, the beach hotel, opened on 26 June 2020 with 309 rooms on Lac Long Quan, about half an hour from that airport and an easy day from Hoi An. Gangneung opened on 31 July 2025 with 315 hotel rooms on Haean-ro in Songjeong, near the beach, and a separate residence further along the same road. Xi'an opened on 2 February 2026 with 264 rooms on Junye Road, in the high-tech zone. Hanoi is the capital booking. Hotel Shilla, a Samsung affiliate since 1973, operates the four. The flagship remains The Shilla Seoul, on Dongho-ro since 1979. Monogram is the lifestyle brand. Book this one for Starlake and the airport, and keep the French Quarter for a different day. Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, at 15 Ngo Quyen by the Opera House, opened in 1901.

Thirty-five is the pool

If you remember one number, make it 35, and then remember that you cannot sleep there. The hotel's own floor guide puts the outdoor pool, the Monogram Lounge, and Bar M on that floor. The opening release calls the pool an infinity pool over West Lake and the skyline. Rooms sit on floors 23 through 34. A lake-view request is a room. The swim is a lift ride after that.

I'll be blunt about the size. There are 319 rooms. 258 of them are Deluxe at 42 square metres, with twin, queen, or king beds, and a city or lake view. That is a proper upscale room, and a small one if the trip needs a suite. The larger rooms are scarce: 33 Deluxe Corner rooms at 56 square metres, 13 junior suites at 64, 13 corner suites at 75, and two Signature Suites at 142 square metres. Ask for a Signature Suite by name. There are only two.

Read the view line before you pay. Deluxe rooms, Deluxe Corners, corner suites, and the Signature Suites can be city or lake. The junior suites are listed as city view only. If the lake is why you are on this side of it, skip the junior suite and make them confirm "lake" on the reservation.

The rest of the stack is easy to plan. Spa on 4. Indoor pool and the gym on 5. Front desk, Pastry M, and Dining M on 2. The grand banquet hall is on 1, 700 square metres under a six-metre ceiling, set up for as many as 700 at a cocktail. That hall is the reason to book the hotel for a wedding or a meeting.

Where to eat, and how to hold the night

Pastry M, on 2 with the front desk, is the pastry and bingsu stop. Use it between meetings. Dining M, on the same floor, is the all-day room: international dishes, a buffet, live stations, and the breakfast in the opening package. JINJI, on the third floor, is the Korean restaurant. The opening release describes it as barbecue. Dinner only, 17:30 to 22:00, 64 seats, six private rooms. A lunch plan has to be Dining M or Hasungo. HASUNGO, also on 3, does Chinese food at lunch from 11:30 to 14:00 and dinner from 17:30 to 22:00, with 110 seats and four private rooms. Bar M is the 35th-floor drink, which is the one worth leaving the room for.

The opening offer is called Hanoi First Monogram Moment: breakfast for two at Dining M, welcome drinks at Bar M, check-in at noon, and check-out at 2 p.m. The release does not print a price, or say whether the noon arrival applies only if you start on the 23rd. Hold it on the hotel site, or call +84 24 7301 0100, and read the rate they actually confirm. There is no standing rack rate in the announcement worth repeating here.

Friday the 23rd is the first night. If you are already in the city, a stay that begins that day is the one that uses the package as written. The hotel's release places it close to the diplomatic area, which suits embassy calls and a flight home. A week built around the Old Quarter will feel the cross-town ride by the second dinner. Pick the shore before you pick the brand.

Once you are in the city, the kitchens worth crossing town for are still the ones in The New Banquet: Vietnam. Gia is still the reason to leave Starlake. Until then, the hotel keeps you on the airport side of the lake. For the wider Vietnam hotel map, Vietnam's Hotel Pipeline Sells Residences First is the longer brief. First guests on the 23rd. Go up to 35 for the evening, and take a Deluxe only if 42 square metres is actually enough.