Paris je t'aime

Over the past decade, the Parisian luxury hotel segment has gone through a radical transformation.

- Paul J devries

A number of traditional palace hotels – names like the Ritz Paris, Hôtel de Crillon and Le Royal Monceau, long part of the city’s fabric – closed their doors for renovation projects. Other brands made their debut, including three of the major high-end Asian hotel groups: Mandarin Oriental on Rue St Honoré, Shangri-La on Avenue d’Iéna and The Peninsula on Avenue Kléber. A nightly budget of four figures can soon become a reality if it’s luxury you seek.

Fortunately, several new options combine style and affordability. The Hoxton cut the ribbon on its second hotel outside London in Paris, in a 16th-century building in the 2nd arrondissement. Just around the corner, the Experimental Group added Hôtel des Grands Boulevards to its growing portfolio, while a few minutes in the other direction it looks after the restaurant and bar of the renewed Hôtel Bachaumont. Micro “budget-chic” hotels aren’t quite as prevalent as in a city like New York, but Dutch group Citizen M opened in the La Défense business district and at Gare du Lyon, and is working on more.