Shangri-La Paris Hotel
10 av. Iéna, Paris, Île-de-France, 75016, France
Why We Like It
The closest luxury hotel to the Eiffel Tower, more than half the Shangri-La Paris’s rooms face the icon, making a dramatic first impression when you step into your room (not to mention from the comfort of your bed and bathtub), especially when the tower sparkles every hour after dark. But the views are just one perk; the hotel’s historic landmark interiors, exceptional dining and bar, lovely courtyard garden, daylit swimming pool and outdoor sunning terrace make it a rarity in the city. The staff goes out of their way make your stay perfect, but they also remain discreet so you’ll always have a feeling of independence and privacy.
Fodor's Expert Review
Displaying French elegance at its best, this impressively restored 19th-century mansion gazing across the Seine at the Eiffel Tower was once the stately home of Prince Roland Bonaparte, grandnephew of the emperor himself, and his gilded private apartments have been transformed into L'Appartement Prince Bonaparte. Many of the luxurious historical details were carefully restored or faithfully re-created for the property's transformation in 2010 into the first Shangri-La hotel in Europe. This hotel is now a classic, with half of the rooms smack-dab in front of the Eiffel Tower, and nearly two-thirds with their own balconies. All have ultraglamorous French and Asian touches and the latest technological amenities. Marble bathrooms have deep soaking bathtubs, heated floors, Guerlain toiletries, and TV screens embedded in the mirrors. Two highly rated restaurants (including one with a stunning atrium), a 24/7 fitness room, Paris's most beautiful indoor hotel pool (with an outdoor terrace), and a soothing wellness center with therapeutic facials, massages, and body treatments make it hard to ever leave.
PROS
- Some of the best views in Paris
- Excellent dining
- Fabulous pool
CONS
- Astronomical rates
- Pool open only until 9 pm
- Expensive breakfast
Recommended Fodor’s Video
Room
Timeless elegance is the best way to sum up these plush rooms that take your comfort seriously without any superfluous adornment. Classic furnishings come in hues that conjure a sunny day: buttery yellow silk headboards, pale blue carpets and ivory walls lay the background for subtle Chinoiserie touches in black-lacquer minibars and graceful Japanese artworks. Cloudlike beds feature feather pillows and duvets and the Shangri-La’s specially engineered mattresses. The jewel-like L’Appartement Prince Bonaparte, a listed historic monument, retains all the grandeur of the prince’s private rooms but with every modern amenity. Eight suites offer spacious private terraces overlooking the Eiffel Tower.
Tip With the view a major attraction here, especially for romantic once-in-a-lifetime occasions, you can actually book your room online by view so there are no disappointments or surprises.
Bathroom
Giant marble baths sport heated floors, double sinks (with TVs embedded in the mirrors), generous walk-in showers and enormous tubs, complete with heavenly Guerlain toiletries, loofas, bath salts, Japanese bath trays (and pretty much everything but a rubber duck) all the better to soak in the scenery while the Eiffel Tower twinkles just outside your floor-to-ceiling windows (there are shades for privacy but who’s looking?). Japanese toilets are in a separate room within the bathroom.
Lobby
Stepping into the marble-clad lobby feels like entering the inner sanctum of a private mansion—and it is! Elegant salons on either side serve as reception areas and a gracious three-room lounge (transformed into the restaurant Les Salons du Prince), adorned with original gilded mirrors, moldings, and chairs, precious artworks, and frescoed ceilings, where you’re encouraged to settle into a silken sofa or cozy up to a roaring fire with a glass of champagne or hot tea in wintertime. Magnificent flower arrangements and a sweeping staircase mark the entrance to the superb Le Bar Botaniste.
Pool
The Shangri-La’s daylit pool, inhabiting the mansion’s former stables, is one of the biggest and loveliest in Paris, opening onto a private outdoor area for garden sunbathing.
Spa
The luminous Chi, The Spa, offers a wide range of massage and beauty and skin-enhancement treatments from all-natural French brands and more intensified treatments by Innerskin (LED, needling, micropeels, sculpting) for customized facials.
Gym
State-of-the-art cycling machines and treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a stepper, rowing machine and Kinesis strength trainer, plus free weights, are yours 24/7 or you can book a personalized session with a pro.
Dining
Paris's first Michelin starred Chinese restaurant, Shang Palace is the place in the city for a lacquered Peking duck, carved tableside, among other Cantonese delicacies. This is the rare restaurant whose beautiful setting matches the perfection of every dish on the menu.
Drinking
Le Bar Botaniste is one of Paris’s most romantic hotel bars (which is saying a lot), with a lavish private club feel and delicious plant-inspired cocktails that recall botanist Roland Bonaparte’s passion for herbs and flowers—a motif throughout the hotel. Having a drink here feels like an occasion, and it’s a great way for guests to mingle with the sophisticated locals who flock here.
What's Nearby
Getting Around
This sophisticated neighborhood is amazingly rich in culture: the peerless Musée Guimet sits right across the street and the Palais Galliera (Paris’s fashion museum), Palais du Tokyo for contemporary art, Musée d’Art Moderne, and Musée Yves Saint-Laurent are all within a five-to-ten-minute walk. The Trocadéro and Seine River are a 10-minute walk away.
Metro line 9 is a one-minute walk away and the area is served by numerous buses. The hotel will arrange a taxi for you at any hour.
Restaurants
There is plenty of dining nearby, from some of Paris’s great gastronomic restaurants (Ducasse Baccarat is a ten-minute walk away) to all-day brasseries. The Palais de Tokyo complex has three chic restaurants, including the marvelous Bambini serving gourmet pizza until 2 am (takeout too).
Bars
There is not a lot of nightlife in this part of the 16e arrondissement. This is an area more suited to lingering over a meal than clubbing at all hours.
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