Reading through the Sunday papers yesterday I came across an article re-cycled from The Daily Telegraph, stateting that officially Paris does not have 5 star accommodation but "Four star Luxe" being the highest category.
I was amazed!
The writer descibes the most lavish foyers and luxurious beds to be in the "palace" hotels.
Which is the best? It's like spotting the Big Five on safari - they are all captivating.
The Ritz is discreet, the Crillon rich in history, the Plaza-Athenee`effervesces with fashionistas, the Four Seasons Georges V is impeccably run- but if you held a gold paperknife to his throat he'd point you to the Meurice (www.lemeurice.com) for it's unbeatable location and zestful style.
Two more palace hotels are the Bristol (www.hotel-bristol.com)and hip young pretender, Fouquest's Barrieire (www.fouquets-barrier.com), which opened last November with contemporary interiors by Jacques Garcia.

Now my question is, why not give a fifth star to such wonderful hotels?

Hi T,

>why not give a fifth star to such wonderful hotels?

Because France does not have a 5* category.

Also, the Michelin Guide doesn't award more than 3*.

Thanks Ira. I was wondering if any other countries also stop at 4 stars?
For such a sofisticated country you'd think they would be flashing 5 stars wherever possible.

Perhaps the real "sophistication" comes from the fact that the French have been quite efficient by packing in all those amenities which drive star numbers into 4.5 categories rather than 5 or more.

Am I correct in assuming that your description of these various establishments comes from first-hand experience or were those quotes from the article?

First, I don't think France is particularly sophisticated. It's a developed country with a long history, both of which facts make it interesting, but that does not amount to national sophistication.

Second, changing criteria so as to allow hotels increase their number of stars and flash more of them is crude, cheap, and (well, I need to use the word)unsophisticated

It's just a different rating system. Some rate on 6 stars, some 5, some 4, and some 3. Some don't use stars at all.

Note that the number in stars in the French rating system does not rate ambience, service, cleanliness, location, etc. Though a 4-star hotel would probably be more likely to excel in these areas than would a 1-star hotel.

Hi T,

>For such a sofisticated country you'd think they would be flashing 5 stars wherever possible.<

Perhaps they don't find it necessary?

In the French hotel classification, the ****L (luxe) is the equivalent of five stars. ****L is a class higher than ****.

Keep in mind that hotel classifications are national and the criteria vary from country to country.

From a French hotel with ****L you can expect the highest standards.

Stars are a guide but they do not mean exactly that a 5 is better than a 4, etc. Probably the Ritz in Paris or the
Plaza-Athenee lacks some item that in the US is necessary for become a 5 stars, but that does not mean they do not have many other sophisticated services and items that makes them a 4 de luxe , who puts them over many 5 stars. I always take the stars clasification with some caution.

Graziell5b- well thats a relief! Still a bit be-puzzled but not that it should worry a 3-4 star hotel person like me!

Dukey - from the article as stated.

Maybe no 5 stars becasue one would need to take out a second mortgage to pay for a night's stay!

Reminds me of the amplifier in <i>Spinal Tap</i> -- the guitarist thinks his is loudest because the volume control numbers run all the way to &quot;11.&quot;

So, Padraig, what countries do you think of as sophisticated? What are the requirements?

I've always considered the city of Paris to be &quot;5 star&quot;. The hotels just can't compete! LOL EJ

This doesn't make sense to complain that they don't have a 5 star category. It's just a category label, it doesn't have any intrinsic meaning, whether you call it 5* or 4*L or 5 chimneys or 5 shovels.

Who cares, it's just a rating category and makes absolutely no difference what you call it.

&gt;Probably the Ritz in Paris or the
Plaza-Athenee lacks some item that in the US is necessary for become a 5 stars, ...&lt;

That is highly unlikely.

Consider the hotels that in the US are rated 5*, or 5 diamond, or 5 cowpies.

I've been in some 1-cowpie motels in Nevada and Utah.

The hotels in France are classified by government. Stars are &quot;official&quot;, according to legal criteria.

The ratings of guidebooks are a completely different story.

In Germany, hotels are classified by the hotel and gastronomy association, also according to fixed criteria. If you like to learn something about the system and the criteria, here is the link:

http://www.hotelsterne.de/englisch/index-englisch.html

Just a few examples for criteria for 5-star-hotels:

# Personalized guest welcome with flowers and/or sweets in the room
# Laundry and ironing services within 12 hours
# Second service in the evening

And:
Please do not apply every system you know from the USA to any other country. There are about 200 countries in the world. The USA is just one of them - and a rather particular one (e.g. they measure temperatures in Fahrenheit and distances in miles - which is very out-of-date).

Mimar asked: &quot;So, Padraig, what countries do you think of as sophisticated? What are the requirements?&quot;

To the extent that I think about sophistication (which is not very much), it seem to me to be an attribute of some individuals.

The idea of a whole nation being sophisticated is too big an ask for my imagination. Countries differ in various ways, and that is what makes travel worthwhile.