- Ailbhe MacMahon checks into Hotel de la Coupole in Sapa, a town that sits 1,600m (5,200ft) above sea level
- The hotel incorporates a passageway to a cable car that ascends to the top of Vietnam's highest mountain
- READ MORE: The top 100 most BORING tourist attractions in the world revealed
'Versailles in the clouds.'
That’s the nickname local Vietnamese media gives to Hotel de la Coupole, where I’ve just arrived.
It’s owing to the hotel’s flamboyant French-influenced design and its location in lofty Sapa, a town that sits 1,600m (5,200ft) above sea level in the shadow of Vietnam's highest mountain - and that's often draped in dense mist.
Though less than a decade old, the mustard 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 tasselled chandeliers hanging overhead.
The flamboyant Hotel de la Couple, known as 'Versailles in the Clouds'. Ailbhe MacMahon checks in
Ailbhe writes of the hotel: 'Though less than a decade old, the mustard 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 tasselled chandeliers hanging overhead
Its ‘Absinthe’ cocktail bar is bedecked with feathers, dressmakers’ mannequins and vintage luggage trunks, while a catwalk lined with 2D fashion models runs through the centre of the hotel’s French restaurant (named ‘Chic’).
Though it’s more turn-of-the-century than 18th-century in style, I think the five-star hotel would get Marie Antoinette’s gilded seal of approval. That said, it's not in keeping with her notoriously expensive taste - rooms start from just VND2.8million (£89/$112) a night.
Part of Accor’s ‘MGallery’ boutique hotel collection, this fortress of nostalgic glamour is the handiwork of award-winning U.S. interior designer Bill Bensley.
For inspiration, he turned to the history of Sapa, once a quiet hamlet populated by local hill tribe people. In the early 1900s, the French, who colonised Vietnam for more than six decades, turned the mountain-ringed town into a holiday destination for wealthy colonists, opening a sanatorium for military officers and constructing private villas.
The hotel’s design is perhaps a rose-tinted look at the impact of French colonial rule. Bensley says he 'based the story of the hotel on how the local hill tribes influenced the haute couture of Paris 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 Ailbhe's Superior Room
He went on to decorate the hotel with flea market finds from Paris and beyond.
I get my first chance to admire the treasure trove of curios when a doorman takes my bags, shows me to an emerald armchair and offers me a cup of cocoa - the signature welcome drink.
Old-time music from jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden hums through the hallways as a bellboy guides me to my seventh-floor Superior Room. It feels like I’m on a film set for a Roaring Twenties drama. Gatsby would throw a spectacular party here.
Opening the door to my room reveals retro French fashion prints, heavy yellow curtains and a balcony that overlooks Sapa town and the cloud-laced Hoàng Liên Son mountains.
Down the hallway are the chandelier-lit Nuages Spa and ‘Athleticum’ gym.
The ‘Absinthe’ cocktail bar is bedecked with feathers, dressmakers’ mannequins and vintage luggage trunks
The French, who colonised Vietnam for more than six decades, turned mountain-ringed Sapa into a holiday destination for wealthy colonists, explains Ailbhe. Above - the expansive Chic restaurant balcony
The ‘Athleticum’ gym and its floor-to-ceiling windows, offering more dramatic views
Antique-embellished elevators take me to the top floor, where there’s a regal ‘ballroom’ for events.
Even the pink children’s playroom is theatrical, designed to look like a circus tent.
The exuberant decor has led to the hotel going viral on TikTok. One clip, by a Vietnamese influencer, has earned 1.7millon views. Another, by a U.S-based TikToker, has just shy of a million.
I see guests posing for photos everywhere from the pool to ‘Chic’ restaurant’s buffet breakfast. I don’t blame them - the building makes for a fabulous backdrop.
Part of Accor’s ‘MGallery’ boutique hotel collection, this 'fortress of nostalgic glamour' is the handiwork of award-winning U.S interior designer Bill Bensley, explains Ailbhe. Above - the glamorous lobby
'Between the drama of the landscape and the hotel itself, a stay here feels like stepping into a fantasy world,' declares Ailbhe
A bridge connects two wings of this 'beautifully over-the-top palace'
A banquette with a bird's eye view in the Absinthe bar. The exuberant decor has led to the hotel going viral on TikTok
The breakfast spread isn’t just photogenic, however - it’s also rich in Vietnamese delicacies. Tables hold a Pho soup station, sweet Sapa chestnut cakes and traditional bánh mì sandwiches [a baguette-style bite].
And the service is slick. 'A pot of Americano, right?’ the hostess asks, remembering my coffee order from the previous day.
The 249-room hotel occupies just part of the building. Another wing houses a funicular station, accessible to guests via a special passageway through the hotel’s garden.
This funicular ferries tourists to the start point of the world's longest non-stop three-rope cable car, which travels 20,610ft (6,282m) to the summit of Vietnam’s tallest mountain - 10,325ft (3,147m) Fansipan.
Staff also arrange trekking tours for guests to explore this stretch of northern Vietnam.
My tour guide May, who belongs to 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 pass rice paddies, dozing puppies, a lively wedding and a bamboo forest. May points out the plants used to dye clothing or treat ailments as we walk. It’s the cherry on top of my visit to Sapa.
Later, from my balcony, I watch as mist begins to cloak the town.
Between the drama of the landscape and the hotel itself, a stay here feels like stepping into a fantasy world.
It’s not quite Versailles, but it's a beautifully over-the-top palace in its own right.
