‘Versailles in the clouds.’
That’s the nickname the local Vietnamese media gives to Coupole Hotelwhere I just arrived.
It’s thanks to the hotel’s extravagant French-influenced design and its location in elevated Sapa, a city that sits 1,600 m (5,200 ft) above sea level in the shadow of Vietnam’s highest mountain, and often It is shrouded in dense fog.
Although less than a decade old, the mustard-colored building it occupies is a grand pastiche of Belle Époque architecture.
The hotel’s pool, ‘Le Grand Bassin’, is flanked by emerald columns and statues of swimmers, with tasseled chandeliers hanging overhead.
The extravagant Hotel de la Couple, known as ‘Versailles in the Clouds’. Ailbhe MacMahon registers
Ailbhe writes of the hotel: “Although less than a decade old, the mustard-colored building it occupies is a grand pastiche of Belle Époque architecture.”
The hotel’s pool, ‘Le Grand Bassin’, is flanked by emerald columns and statues of swimmers, with tasseled chandeliers hanging overhead.
Its ‘Absinthe’ cocktail bar is adorned with feathers, dressmakers’ mannequins and vintage luggage trunks, while a catwalk filled with 2D models runs through the center of the hotel’s French restaurant (called ‘Chic’).
Although more turn-of-the-century than 18th-century in style, I think the five-star hotel would get Marie Antoinette’s gold seal of approval. That said, it’s at odds with their notoriously expensive taste: rooms start from just VND2.8 million (£89/$112) per night.
Part of Accor’s ‘MGallery’ collection of boutique hotels, this fortress of nostalgic glamor is the work of award-winning American interior designer Bill Bensley.
For inspiration, he turned to the history of Sapa, which was once a sleepy village populated by local hill tribes. In the early 20th century, the French, who colonized Vietnam for more than six decades, turned the mountain-ringed city into a vacation destination for wealthy settlers, opening a sanatorium for military officers and building private villas.
The hotel’s design is perhaps a rosy look at the impact of French colonial rule. Bensley says he “based the hotel’s history on how local hill tribes influenced Parisian couture in the early 20th century” after discovering a vintage vietnamese bamboo hat in the French capital.
Ailbhe’s superior room features retro French prints and heavy yellow curtains.
The elegant black and white bathroom in the Ailbhe Superior Room
She then decorated the hotel with finds from flea markets in Paris and beyond.
I get my first chance to admire the treasure trove of curiosities when a porter takes my bags, shows me an emerald armchair and offers me a cup of chocolate, the signature welcome drink.
Jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden’s early music hums through the hallways as a bellhop guides me to my seventh-floor Superior room. I feel like I’m on the set of a drama from the roaring twenties. Gatsby would have a spectacular party here.
Opening the door to my room, I see retro French fashion prints, heavy yellow curtains, and a balcony overlooking Sapa City and the cloud-capped Hoàng Liên Son Mountains.
At the end of the hall are the chandelier-lit Nuages Spa and the ‘Athleticum’ gym.
The ‘Absinthe’ cocktail bar is adorned with feathers, dressmakers’ mannequins and antique luggage trunks.
The French, who colonized Vietnam for more than six decades, turned the Sapa mountain area into a holiday destination for wealthy settlers, Ailbhe explains. Above: the large balcony of the Chic restaurant
The ‘Athleticum’ gym and its windows, which offer more spectacular views
Antique-adorned elevators take me to the top floor, where there is a majestic “ballroom” for events.
Even the pink children’s playroom is theatrical and designed to look like a circus tent.
The lush decor has made the hotel go viral on TikTok. A clip, for a Vietnamese influencer, has obtained 1.7 million views. Another, for a US-based TikTokerIt has just under a million.
I see guests posing for photos everywhere, from the pool to the breakfast buffet at ‘Chic’ restaurant. I don’t blame them: the building makes a fabulous backdrop.
Part of Accor’s ‘MGallery’ collection of boutique hotels, this ‘fortress of nostalgic glamour’ is the work of award-winning American interior designer Bill Bensley, explains Ailbhe. Above: the glamorous lobby
“Between the drama of the landscape and the hotel itself, a stay here is like entering a fantasy world,” says Ailbhe.
A bridge connects two wings of this “wonderfully over-the-top palace”
A bird’s eye view bench at the Absinthe bar. The lush decoration has made the hotel go viral on TikTok
However, breakfast is not only photogenic: it is also rich in Vietnamese delicacies. On the tables are a Pho soup station, sweet Sapa chestnut cakes, and traditional bánh mì (a baguette-style bite) sandwiches.
And the service is ingenious. ‘A cup of Americano, right?’ the hostess asks, remembering my coffee order from the day before.
The 249-room hotel occupies only part of the building. Another wing houses a funicular station, which guests can access via a special corridor that runs through the hotel garden.
This funicular transports tourists to the starting point of The longest non-stop three-rope cable car in the world.which runs 20,610 feet (6,282 m) to the top of Vietnam’s highest mountain: 10,325-foot (3,147 m) Fansipan.
The staff also organizes hiking tours for guests to explore this area of northern Vietnam.
My tour guide May, who is from the Red Dao tribe, meets me in the lobby for a hike through the nearby villages of Ma Tra and Ta Phin (from VND400,600/£13/$16 per person).
We passed rice paddies, snoozing puppies, a lively wedding, and a bamboo forest. May points out plants used to dye clothes or treat ailments as we walk. It is the icing on the cake of my visit to Sapa.
Later, from my balcony, I watch as the fog begins to cover the city.
Between the drama of the landscape and the hotel itself, a stay here is like entering a fantasy world.
It’s not exactly Versailles, but it is a wonderfully over-the-top palace in its own right.
