The magical, varied charms of Sapa
The theatrical Hotel de la Coupole – MGallery Collection is a perfect spot from which to launch your holiday in this mountainous region in north-west Vietnam
IT’S OUR FIRST DAY IN Sapa and it’s already clear we have a phone problem.
But it’s not what you think.
The mobile connection is just fine. The trouble is, after every couple of steps we take in Hotel de la Coupole – MGallery Collection, we stop to snap pictures with our devices.
Mist-covered mountains in the near distance. Grand dining rooms reminiscent of palaces. The most luscious swimming pool ever. And yes, even boudoir-like ladies’ toilets.
The only five-star international hotel in Sapa – a small mountain town in Lao Cai, Vietnam, some 320 km north-west of Hanoi – is a feast for the senses. So sumptuously dressed it is that you need to stop in every room, along every corridor, just to take in all the details.
And to think its design was inspired by a humble hat that the “Willy Wonka” of hotel design, Bill Bensley, picked up at a flea market in Paris. The old Vietnamese hill tribe straw hat covered in polka-dot cotton fired the American’s imagination to conceive a hotel that blends French haute couture with local cultural motifs.
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And indeed, Sapa, with its cooler mountain climate and relaxed vibes, lured French colonists looking to escape Hanoi’s summer heat back in the 1920s. It’s fitting, then, that the hotel design recalls French Indochina while paying homage to Sapa’s ethnic communities.
The power of storytelling
Everything they say about Bensley’s maximalist, vintage and eccentric style is true. And his lavish designs work because his storytelling skills are superb.
Dubbed “Versailles in the clouds” by Vietnamese media, Hotel de la Coupole (meaning “dome hotel”) is perched majestically on the mist-shrouded Hoang Lien Son mountain range. Its Belle Epoque architecture belies the fact that it is a new-build owned by Vietnam’s Sun Group.
The building sports 50 shades of mustard and is filled with all kinds of couture-related knick-knacks that Bensley – a self-confessed shopaholic – collected for the hotel over seven years.
The interiors bear his signature vibrant colours and strong aesthetics. A mishmash of flea market finds, antiques, vintage objects and indigenous motifs, together with oversized bobbins holding colourful threads and dressmakers’ mannequins, spell disaster in less capable hands.
In Bensley’s, they are turned into curios that are part of a flamboyant and happy whole.
Keep the ooh-la-las coming
Public spaces in the hotel, such as its grand lobby, restaurants and swimming pool, are characterised by dramatically high ceilings, with an exuberant use of colour, texture and patterns. Pom-poms from hill tribe costumes are reintepreted as decorative elements, while framed sewing patterns and fashion design sketches populate the walls.
The richly furnished 249 rooms and suites are awash in bright yellows, emeralds and reds to represent the different colours of Sapa – golden harvests, green padi fields and crimson sunsets.
Chic, a French restaurant, even features a raised runway in the middle of a stately dining room, where you can tuck into breakfast literally in the clouds. Here, executive chef Oliver Mette serves up some truly excellent French fare infused with local ingredients.
What we found magical, though, was enjoying our evening tipples at the opulently decorated Absinthe bar, where live music in resplendent premises under a domed ceiling transports you to a glitzier era.
The most theatrical space, however, is the Art Nouveau-inspired, marbly Le Grand Bassin (or “the big pool”), with its floor-to-ceiling windows, pink chandeliers and oversized bronze statues posing dramatically against green columns. It even has spiral staircases to take you to a mezzanine.
Now, why do we need a mezzanine overlooking a swimming pool? Because it makes for more grandeur and great spectacle, as if the pool itself is a glamorous stage. It’s all extremely quirky and over-the-top, but so very fun.
Also, the fact that pool staff are ready to wrap you in a warm towel the moment you’re done swimming somehow gives it a touch of Hollywood-esque drama.
Even the hotel’s kids’ club is a fabulous, circus-themed playroom like no other.
Of steps, clouds and priceless views
As absorbing as the hotel may be, exploring Sapa’s mostly unspoilt beauty is a must. Hotel de la Coupole’s central location makes it extremely easy to get to many sites of interest, including Fansipan, the highest mountain on the Indochinese Peninsula at 3,147.3 m.
The hotel is directly connected to the Sapa funicular station, with the rail system bringing you to the world’s longest, non-stop three-rope cable car. The ride is absolutely not to be missed, offering spectacular views of the misty Hoang Lien Son mountain range, surrounding valleys, rice terraces and verdant forests.
Be warned, though, that even with the help of another tram along the way, you’ll still have to climb some seriously steep steps before you get to the summit. We congratulated ourselves for surviving a heart-thumping climb, until we saw a heavily pregnant woman nonchalantly walking around the peak.
Still, we kept our eyes on the prize. On a clear day, your valiant efforts will bring you the rich reward of looking down at still more awesome scenery. There really is nothing quite like the majestic sight of clouds swirling across the mountains, dancing over the valleys and small villages below.
Take a walk
Another experience we highly recommend is a trekking tour that will take you on a beautiful route overlooking terraced fields in the Muong Hoa valley. Our guide, Chu, brought us through the Y Linh Ho, Lao Chai and Ta Van villages that are home to the Black Hmong indigenous community, many of whom were busy tending to their crops during our visit.
The confident 28-year-old Chu is herself a Black Hmong – so-named and differentiated from other Hmong groups thanks to the dark colour on their traditional costumes. Married at 15 and a mother at 18, she enthusiastically explains how traditional hemp clothing like hers is woven, after which molten beeswax is used to create patterns on the fabric before being dyed a deep indigo blue.
Along the way, we encounter scenes of typical village life – children spreading rice to dry on the ground, buffaloes cooling off in murky pools of water, and a dog languidly watching over her four active little puppies. There are also opportunities to stop by some simple tea houses offering picture-perfect landscapes, snacks and a firm favourite – fresh coconut water.
Our trek, which included a spot of shopping for some very affordable, locally made lanterns, cushion covers, fabrics and home accessories, took about four hours.
Given Sapa’s altitude of about 1,600 m, you should be prepared for wet weather and muddy patches. But you can choose how strenuous you want your excursion to be. Ours was the soft option – there were some steep inclines but also a van to take us back to the hotel.
Share a feast and head to town
If you want an overview of the main indigenous tribes who live in Sapa, stop by Sun World Fansipan Legend’s May Village, which is near the entrance to the cable car ride up Fansipan.
The tourism complex showcases houses brought from different villages to preserve and promote ethnic minorities’ highland culture. It gives you a quick but comprehensive introduction to tribal communities such as the Xa Pho, Hmong, Ha Nhi, Giay, Black Thai and Red Dao.
We even attended a Red Dao “wedding” ritual at night and partook in a “celebratory dinner” after. It may have all been pretence, but it was still an instructive experience, where we also got to feast on hearty local food (plenty of pork featured) and have a taste of the strong, locally made liquor our hosts clearly enjoyed.
Of course, you could say this is a “Disney” version of Sapa’s tribal life, but a less tasteful encounter we had another night helped put things in perspective. More on that later.
With Hotel de la Coupole right in the middle of town, it’s easy to explore the area on foot. The many shops, restaurants and bars which line its alleys open till late, providing a vibrant nightlife.
Nightfall is also when some tribal families trot out their very adorable children – several as young as three – in full traditional costume, to dance for bystanders’ money. They compete for attention, gyrating to loud electronic music as their mothers watch close by.
So yeah, give us “Disney” any time.
Back at the hotel, we concluded our stay with a treatment at its very elegant Nuages Spa. Try soaking in the Red Dao herbal bath – a Vietnamese healing tradition comprising a herbal mixture boiled for three to four hours then mixed with warm water till it turns a red wine colour.
It’s supposed to rejuvenate your skin, relax your body and relieve muscle and joint pain. It probably worked, because we fell asleep almost immediately during the massage that followed.
Our jaunt to this enchanting mountain town over, it was time to head back to Hanoi to catch our flight home. Even then, we kept our phones busy, this time in a vain attempt to capture the idyllic scenery whizzing past on our five-hour car ride.
The writer was a guest of Hotel de la Coupole – MGallery Collection, part of the Accor hospitality group
At the time of publication, Typhoon Yagi had passed through northern Vietnam. Please check local guidance before travelling.
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