The best Palace hotels in Paris are the ultimate luxury beyond 5 stars. Whether you want to celebrate a special occasion or reward yourself with a few days and nights of bliss in the City of Lights, the Parisian Palace hotels give you the crème de la crème. Each palace hotel offers a unique ambiance and experience, ranging from traditional 18th-century French royal grandeur to luxuriously modern serenity, with spectacular city views, impeccable service, and every amenity you can imagine. No luxury excursion to Paris would be complete without a stay at one of these exceptional palace hotels.
What is the Distinction Palace?
The famous “distinction palace” was created by the French Minister of Tourism in November 2010. It’s designed to award official recognition to the most prestigious 5-star hotels and increase their visibility on the international scene to enhance France’s image worldwide.
The establishments holding this distinction must respect unique standards of French excellence and know-how. It serves to distinguish five-star hotels whose outstanding geographical location, distinctive historical, aesthetic, and/or patrimonial value, together with bespoke service, place them among the jewels in the crown of French hotelkeeping.
This relatively new and very coveted rating has been awarded to only a handful of hotels in Paris, in fact, in all of France. To date, only thirty-one establishments have been awarded the status of Palace hotels in France.
The Most Prestigious Exception: The Ritz Vendôme
As you may notice, the prestigious, The Ritz Vendôme is not on the list of luxury hotels in Paris with the “palace” status. It has been known internationally as a grand luxurious hotel for decades, and its management considers that all its past, current, and future clients are already aware of the imposing history of this most luxurious place. In fact, the hotel has not applied for the “Palace” distinction.
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12 Luxury Hotels in Paris with the Palace Status
1. Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris
Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris is a luxury hotel on Avenue George V in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Named for King George V of the United Kingdom, the hotel opened in 1928. Designed by French architects Lefranc and Wybo with a sunlit inner courtyard, the Hotel feels like a royal residence where you’d want to stay awhile —one where a subterranean wine cellar, built 14 meters below ground in former stone quarries, holds some 50,000 carefully curated bottles. Each guest room and suite combines fine French design traditions with meticulous modern enhancements.
No surprise, then, that some of the 20th century’s boldface names chose George V as their home away from home in Paris. The Beatles wrote “I Feel Fine” in their suite at the George V, where a piano was installed just for them; their photographer, Harry Benson, captured them twisting and shouting during a pillow fight for some of the most famous images of the Fab Four ever made. Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton chose George V’s eighth-floor Penthouse Suite —with wraparound overlooks of the cityscape— for their honeymoon.
2. Hôtel de Crillon
The Hôtel de Crillon is a historic luxury hotel in Paris that opened in 1909 in a building dating to 1758. Located at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, the Crillon, along with the Hôtel de la Marine, is one of two identical stone palaces on the Place de la Concorde. It has been listed since 1900 as a “monument historique” by the French Ministry of Culture.
The building has stood through the reigns of two French kings, the French Revolution, the rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire, and the birth of the League of Nations. In 1758, King Louis XV commissioned the greatest architect of his day, Ange-Jacques Gabriel, to build twin structures overlooking Place de la Concorde. Long owned by the illustrious family of the Counts of Crillon, this private mansion was transformed into a luxury palace hotel in 1909 under the impulse of architect Walter-André Destailleur.
3. Hôtel Plaza Athénée
The Hotel Plaza Athénée is a historic luxury hotel in Paris, located at 25 Avenue Montaigne in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, near the Champs-Élysées and the Palais de Tokyo. Designed by esteemed architects Charles Lefebvre, Hôtel Plaza Athénée officially opened its doors on April 20, 1913. Created in the distinctive Parisian Haussmann style of architecture, the classic cut-stone façade is decorated with wonderfully ornate wrought-iron balconies.
During the 1960s, many film producers, directors, and actors began to flock to the hotel, with many of them proudly declaring Hôtel Plaza Athénée their second home. Over the years, the location has been chosen as the setting for many famous films.
4. La Réserve Paris
La Réserve Paris Hotel And Spa is a luxury hotel in Paris, located at 42 Avenue Gabriel in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Initially constructed for the Duc de Morny, half-brother to Napoleon III, the building dates from 1854, but the typically opulent Jacques Garcia interiors actually date from the hotel’s opening in 2015. Owned by the Duc of Morny’s family until 1888, the building was completely occupied by large apartments. Subsequently acquired by an insurance company, it became the property of Pierre Cardin’s Compagnie and subsequently of Michel Reybier and his family.
A far cry from traditional 5-star palace hotels, La Réserve Paris, exudes the atmosphere of a private urban mansion, open to guests sharing a certain travel philosophy. With more suites than rooms, La Réserve offers everything you’d expect from a much larger establishment.
5. Le Bristol
The Hôtel Le Bristol is a five-star hotel located at 112 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, in the heart of the fashion, design, and art district of Paris. In 1923, Hippolyte Jammet purchased Jules de Castellane’s former property. His ambition was to transform the property into the most luxurious hotel. He named it Le Bristol as a tribute to Bishop Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, an eighteenth-century traveler famed for his love of comfort and the high standards he demanded.
Following the opening of Pierre Cardin’s boutique at 118 Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré in 1954, many other luxury brands began to open boutiques. With the opening of boutiques such as Lanvin and Christian Lacroix, the hotel was frequented by clients such as Charlie Chaplin, Rita Hayworth, and other celebrities. From the 1960s and onwards, Hotel Le Bristol became a destination for fashion photographers. In 1962, the hotel was ranked number one by the American travel guide Fielding’s, thus cementing its reputation in America as one of the top hotels.
6. Le Meurice
Le Meurice is a five-star luxury hotel in the 1st arrondissement of Paris opposite the Tuileries Garden, between Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre on the Rue de Rivoli. Since 1835, Le Meurice was Paris’s first palace intended to welcome guests from Britain.
Le Meurice opened in 1835 and is named after its original owner Charles-Augustin Meurice. His vision was to create a hotel that would be particularly appealing to British people staying in Paris. This was because the Meurice family originally had a hotel in Calais, just across from the English Channel, before becoming hoteliers in Paris.
Over the years, Le Meurice has often been referred to as “Hotel des Rois” (Hotel of Kings) due to its many royal guests —Queen Victoria stayed in 1855 for her official state visit to Paris. Le Meurice has been shaped by the artists who have called it home. From Dalí and Zola to Warhol and Dylan, the hotel has provided repose and inspiration for the many iconic characters.
7. Mandarin Oriental Paris
The Mandarin Oriental is located on exclusive Rue Saint-Honoré, one of Paris’ most prestigious shopping streets, where the hotel is flanked by designer boutiques. The Louvre Museum, Tuileries Garden, Musée d’Orsay, the Seine, and Place de la Concorde are all an easy walk away.
Alongside its 1930s Art Deco facade, the hotel’s suites and penthouses are steeped in the city’s quasi-mythical history and offer both sumptuous design plus the arresting views of Paris time-worn mansard roofs, punctuated by church spires and the magnificent Eiffel Tower. The hotel has 3 restaurants, bars, and a Cake Shop, all under Michelin star-winning Chef Thierry Marx. Additional hotel features include “The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Paris” and a private interior courtyard garden.
8. Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme is exclusively located in the center of Paris, just footsteps from the luxurious jewelry shops and fashion boutiques of the Place Vendôme in the chic 2nd arrondissement. The Louvre Museum and the Opéra are within walking distance, as are Paris’ most famous luxury shops at Place Vendôme, Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, and the Tuileries Gardens.
Unlike other palace hotels in Paris, the Hyatt —in a 19th-century Haussmannian building— has no opulent history. Once the home of the famous fashion house of Paquin, the Park Hyatt still serves as one of Paris’ most stylish addresses for business and leisure travelers. The hotel celebrates its French past but seamlessly melds it with a contemporary décor designed by acclaimed American architect Ed Tuttle.
9. Le Royal Monceau Raffles
Located on the prestigious Avenue Hoche, just steps from the Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe, Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris is an oasis of charm, calm, and conviviality in the heart of Paris. Founded by Pierre Bermond and André Junot, Le Royal Monceau opened its doors on August 1st, 1928, and was marked since its beginnings by the unique spirit of Paris in the 1930s when artists came from around the world to share, create and relish in the city’s cultural awakenings.
Prestigious guests came, returned, and met up: Joseph Kessel, Walt Disney, the Maharajahs of Indore and Kashmir, King Farouk of Egypt, and the Aga Khan. In their footsteps would later come Michael Jackson, Madonna, Robert de Niro, Lou Reed, and Sofia Coppola.
In 2008 the new owners closed the hotel for two years and gave famed designer Philippe Starck an unlimited budget and carte blanche to make magic. Starck succeeded; elements of 20’s glamour, mod-cons, quirky details, and top-notch comfort combine to create perfection.
10. Shangri-La Paris
The building of Shangri-La Paris was constructed in 1896 for Prince Roland Bonaparte —grand nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte— where he resided with his family. It took four years to construct, as it exemplified the 17th and 19th centuries and was inspired by the Louis XIV style. Steiner and Houguenade sculpted the building’s family coat of arms, lion heads, and antlers. The foyer of the hotel still shows the zodiac symbols painted on the ceiling, and the billiard room (the Lounge of the hotel), showing Greco-Roman design.
Shangri-La group took over in 2006 to restore its historic décor and detail. Architect Richard Martinet and interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon guided a team for four years to restore and protect the original design and intent. Most of the original rooms are still in the hotel, just used for different purposes: the billiard room, the waiting room, Bonaparte’s private living quarters, and the stairway of honor —all part of the Shangri-La Paris.
11. The Peninsula Paris
Perfectly situated at 19 Avenue Kléber, just steps from the Arc de Triomphe, The Peninsula Paris sits in the heart of Paris within walking distance of some of the world’s most famous monuments, museums, and shopping districts. The Peninsula Paris is located in a late 19th-century classic French building with Haussman and Neo-classic details which first opened as the Hotel Majestic in 1908.
The hotel was converted to government offices in 1936. It served as a field hospital for wounded officers during World War I, staffed mainly by British aristocrats. And during World War II, it served as the headquarters of the German military high command in France during the German occupation of Paris. The building reopened as The Peninsula Paris in August 2014, following a complicated and costly restoration. The Peninsula houses 200 luxurious rooms, including 93 suites.
12. Hôtel Lutetia
The Hôtel Lutetia, located at 45 Boulevard Raspail in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the best-known hotels on the Left Bank. Opened in 1910 on the initiative of the Advisory board of the department store “Le Bon Marché” for their important clients, the Lutetia hotel is significant in the history of Paris for being a transition from the Art Nouveau of the day to the then-emerging style of Art Deco.
The hotel was built in 1910 in the Art Nouveau style to designs by architects Louis-Charles Boileau and Henri Tauzin. The Lutetia is named for an early pre-Roman town that existed where Paris is now located. It quickly became a place where the anonymous could be found alongside the famous, where art, philosophy, science, and politics were continually created discreetly and without ostentation.
Famous guests over the years have included Pablo Picasso, Charles de Gaulle, Marianne Oswald, André Gide, Peggy Guggenheim, and Josephine Baker. James Joyce wrote part of Ulysses at the hotel. Dawn Powell lived at the Lutetia for three months in the fall of 1950, during her only visit to Europe. One. of my favorite palace hotels in Paris!
Et voilà! I hope this guide to the best palace hotels in Paris will help you. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comment below.
