Why Shangri-La Paris Is One of the City’s Most Iconic Luxury Hotels

1/0

The Shangri-La Paris occupies the former private residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte, grand-nephew of Napoleon I, in the heart of the 16th arrondissement. (Photo by Marcelo Barbosa)

Shangri-La Paris seamlessly blends far east hospitality with French elegance from the moment you walk in.

Spacious suites at Shangri-La Paris boast windows looking out over the hotel’s manicured gardens and the Eiffel Tower itself.

Dining in the hotel’s private garden at Maison Roland, named for the prince promises classic French bistro fare.

Shang Palace, the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant, is the first Chinese restaurant in France to earn a Michelin star.

Chi, The Spa, partners with Aromatherapy Associates around an indoor pool lit by natural daylight.

Listed as a Historic Monument since 2009, the building’s domed entryway and statement staircase remain largely untouched.

There are many ways to feel lavish and like royalty in Paris. (Photo by Marcelo Barbosa)

There are many ways to feel lavish and like royalty in Paris. Iconic hotels like Ritz Paris are rooted in aristocracy and grandeur, ensuring the modern frills of hospitality meet storied legacies. The Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel, has royal roots of its own, commissioned by Louis XV in 1758 as a royal entertainment locale.

Staying in the actual former home of a French prince is available to guests of the Shangri-La Paris. The palatial estate in Paris’s 16th arrondissement belonged to Prince Roland Bonaparte, grand-nephew of Napoleon I, who built it in the 1890s, with the Seine and the Eiffel Tower framing the view. The architecture borrows its gilded grandeur from Louis XIV rather than the era’s fashionable Art Nouveau.

Off a busy stretch of Avenue d’Iéna, a cast-iron gate opens onto what feels less like a hotel driveway and more like someone’s private courtyard – a welcome sight when I arrived deep in jetlag for a quick 36-hour Paris stopover before heading to Norway.

A Royal Parisian Estate Fit For Royalty

I was ushered straight through the shiny marble floors and impeccably preserved historic spaces into Les Salons du Prince, which opened this year inside the same historic, listed salons where the Bonapartes once entertained. The dark, wood-paneled room, with its sparkling chandeliers and soft piano music, runs a caviar program built around Maison Nordique alongside a Champagne list signed exclusively by Pol Roger.

It was transportive enough that I half expected Monsieur Bonaparte to join us for tea.

Listed as a Historic Monument since 2009, the entire property is meticulously preserved down to its cast-iron gateway, its domed entryway, its statement staircase with saturated stained glass, and the family’s former salons. The character of its original owner is still evident in nearly every detail – the family crest carved into the stone façades, bees and eagles gilded into the woodwork, the initials “RB” worked into practically every decorative surface in these hallowed rooms.

Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, the iconic brand known for its luxury properties across Asia since 1971, took over the building and opened it as its first European hotel in December 2010. Shangri-La succeeded in keeping the French elegance, accentuated by some of its beloved signatures, like the “Essence of Shangri-La” floral citrus fragrance smelled throughout that I wish I could bathe in. Since then, the brand has brought more of its signature hospitality to Europe with Shangri-La The Shard in London and Shangri-La Bosphorus in Istanbul.

The hotel itself, which holds 100 rooms and suites, blends historic French grandeur with the doting hospitality roots of the Asian brand. The Ming Dynasty–inspired vases flanking the entrance are an early sign of that merger. Far East precision meets French elegance from the moment you walk in.

The Shangri-La Paris Guest Experience

My jet-lagged tea-time respite ended with the team ushering me to my room – a spacious Eiffel View Room, windows framing the hotel’s manicured gardens and the tower itself, standing close enough to touch.

The rooms are well-appointed, with enormous bathrooms, spacious closets, and plush beds (maybe the most comfortable hotel bed I’ve ever slept in). Modern touches like high-velocity ionic hair dryers and TVs set into the mirrors complement the classic décor.

To recover from the flight, I headed to Chi, The Spa, which partners with Aromatherapy Associates and centers on an indoor pool lit by actual daylight rather than the usual windowless basement glow.
After my swim, with a few free hours left, I mentioned to the concierge that I wanted to see nearby Fondation Louis Vuitton. Within five minutes, I had a skip-the-line ticket printed and a taxi waiting – the kind of anticipate-it-before-you-ask service the brand built its reputation on across Asia, orchestrated here at its French address.

I sat for dinner in the hotel’s private garden at Maison Roland, also named for the prince, which serves classic French bistro fare. It was a tough choice between that and Shang Palace, the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant, which holds the distinction of being the first Chinese restaurant in France to earn a Michelin star. Another proof that the Asia-meets-France relationship extends all the way to the kitchen.

For travelers like me passing through Paris this summer on a longer European itinerary, the timing happens to line up well. Through the end of August, Shangri-La’s Summer In Motion program gives guests booking four consecutive nights one complimentary night, plus 20 percent off treatments at Chi, The Spa.

My 36-hour Paris stopover was not nearly enough, but a taste of the French Royalty sure does start any European vacation on the right foot.