RM67, we gave that advice because that was EXACTLY what the OP asked for: "I'm looking for 5 star all the way"

If the OP had asked for suggestions for boutiquey 4 star hotels, we would have provided it.

Check out Hotel l'Abbaye or the Madison Hotel, both in the 6th.

www.hotelabbayeparis.com

The point I'm trying to make is that the trip is not all about the hotel. The OP reports an unsatisfactory experience with perfunctory siteseeing first time round, then seems doomed to repeat that experience by just changing one obvious must-see list for another, albeit with 5 star perks. Why?

Lonely planet was for when I was 20.

Trip pathetic because I saw nearly nothing. I'm sure this won't be my last trip there, but if it were, I'd regret not seeing things like the d'orsay especially since I was an art history minor with a concentration in 19th century European painting :)

I've priced out the 5 etoile hotels and I can't fathom spending that much.

Any opinions on these that range from 600-1000:

Luxembourg parc -8th
L'hotel - 6
Lancaster - 8th
Fouquet's Barriere

I'm torn between wanting the opulence and grandeur and sticking to my artsy roots.

Would love reccos too for best cafés in the marais, and if someone could point me to the best formal French garden in the city... Thank you so much!

Hotel Luxembourg Parc is in the 6th, not the 8th. I like the location -- I lived next door when I was a student in Paris. The street can be a bit noisy at times, but overall it's not bad.

Thereadbaron, agree that Versailles should be nixed.

Have you seen the spoof MIDNIGHT IN PARIS? Really a fun flick which highlights many of the "must sees" in Paris. The family stays at the elegant Bristol Hotel. Enjoy!

The Plaza is closed for renovation.

How about the Shangri-la or the Peninsula, which is opening soon?

well, some of those you name are 5* hotels (like Lancaster and Fouquet's). The Luxembourg Parc is not a 5* and it's not in the 8th.

I never stay in these kind of places, so have no inside knowledge, but I don't really like the location of Fouquets, it is right off the Champs-Elysees. I just think staying in St Germain would give you a great choice of restaurants at better prices and a more pleasant ambience. The Champs-Elysees is really a high-end business environment IMO, so unless you are there on business, I wouldn't want to stay in that location. I thikn Lancaster's is very attractive, but it also isn't far off from the Champs-Elysees.

When people say "I don't want to go over a thousand a night"... Is that the local currency.? So euro.?

If I paid a thousand a night, I would just sit in the room.... Literally. I would never leave it.

Of course, I live in Hungary. I spent a thousand on coffee and a croissant this morning.

I love that movie. $1000 US. I have free flights to justify this :)

Christina, where do you think the 5-star hotels are located?

I stayed in a lovely apartment directly across the street from L'Hotel in the 6th Arr. last October and sipped drinks at le bar two nights. Rue des Beaux Art is a short quiet and narrow street close to the Seine and L'Hotel is a small, intimate hotel with a non-descript facade so it doesn't surprise me to know that celebs seeking peaceful accommodations stay there.

The location is perfect for walking to popular sights or jumping on the metro St Germaine des Pres (which requires a short walk down rue Bonaparte past a Laduree shop). The Seine is a block and a half away and the romantic pedestrian Pont des Art leads right to the Louvre. The pedestrian market and restaurant filled rue de Buci is just a little more than two blocks away and is filled with diners both locals and tourists late into the evening, I prefer the quiet location of L'Hotel over the business executive bustle of the "biggies" on or near the Champs Élysées.

Find L'Hotel on google maps and see that it is walking distance to the Louvre, D'Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle and shopping (especially shoes like Christian Louboutin, Sergio Rossi, Prada and Tods) on rue de Grenelle. "Walk down the street" using the Streetwise feature of google maps to see how small and intimate rue des Beaux Art is to decide if its your cup of tea (or flute of champagne).
Ann Marie

Just an FYI: you don't say when your birthday is, but the Plaza Athenee will be closed for an expansion/refreshment until May (estimated) 2014. So if your birthday is between January and May, the PA is off the list.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/tr...-to-close.html

As part of the refurb, several signature bits of the PA were auctioned off earlier this month, including the bar from (duh) the hotel's bar and the spoon and fork sculpture by Folon that were at the entrance of Alain Ducasse. I'm a Folon fan, so am sorry to see the sculpture go -- wonder who bought it.