The splendor, luxury, magnificence and the immaculate philosophy are synonyms of the Shangri-La hotel in Paris!
The Shangri-La group, native from Hong-Kong, bases its tradition in different values meticulously chosen, Honesty, Humility, Respect, Helpfulness, Courtesy and Abnegation.
The group started in 1971 with the opening of Shangri-La Singapore and opened the first European hotel in 2010, Shangri-La Hotel Paris. It is about this divine and dreamlike place I’ll talk to you about.
Situated in the former Palais Iéna, home of Prince Roland Bonaparte, grandnephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, this example of architecture from both the XVII and XIX centuries, known as eclectic style, is located in one of the best areas of Paris and has one of the best views above the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.
Staying at this hotel means having the legendary Jardin des Tuileries around the corner as well as having the exclusive fashion designers boutiques at the Avenue Montaigne and Avenue George V right next to us.
Nothing is left to chance in Shangri-La and the respect for the original architecture of the building is noticeable, with a project guided by the architect Richard Martinet and the interior designer Pierre-yves Rochon, all the renovation of the building was thought towards safeguarding the best from the architecture of the past centuries and giving it luxury and sophistication of the XXI century, therefore protecting areas and parts of the palace as “historical monuments”.
Reason why as we enter Shangri-La we seem to travel in time!
This place brings us the best of two worlds: the ancient Asian art of welcoming and the luxurious art of the French life.
Entering through the original iron gates we get to a small patio protected under the restored glass porch and we encounter two vases inspired in the Ming dynasty flanking the two sides of the door defining immediately the conjugation of Asia/Paris! When we walked in the historical pool room with fireplace we felt we had given a step back in history.
lobby
Bathed in natural light the hotel lobby is surrounded by high ceilings and remodeled marbles. Several points in the hotel have imperial insignia and ornamented monograms of Prince Bonaparte subtly integrated in the architecture.
Deluxe Bedroom
Its 101 rooms are masterfully designed, decorated in blue, white and crude tones, in line with both the European Empire and the Asian aesthetics, creating harmony with colors and textures. All the decoration was made after an exhaustive study of the files belonging to the decoration from the time of Bonaparte.
Details of the Imperial Suite
Suite Chaillot
Seeing the Eiffel Tower directly from the bathtub in our room is probably one of the best experiences we’ll ever have in life! At Shangri-La the experiences pile up one after the other, such is the unreality.
All the wide rooms, Grand Salon, Salle à Manger and the Salon de Famille have touches of pure history, through sculptures, frescoes, fireplaces, paintings, allowing the sensation of being in a party evoking the spirit of the great social events of the Parisian society in the XIX century.
Another place of interest is the Spa, or the well-being area, that allows any ordinary mortal to feel in heaven, all with treatments with the brand Carita Paris.
Restaurant La Bauhinia
Shangri-La has also three restaurants with different styles, L’Abeille, the restaurant with Phillipe Labbé’s signature, two Michelin stars and one of the most exclusive rooms in town. The Shang Palace, with a Michelin star, brings the best that the Chinese cuisine has to offer and La Bauhinia, also from Phillipe Labbé, joins the Asian and French cuisines in a fusion we’ll talk about in another article.
Le Bar
Everything I can say or all the adjectives I can use to describe this hotel will never be enough, because it is not just an hotel it is really a palace, worthy of kings and queens, fairytale like, worthy of an unthinkable luxury for most of the common human being.
I feel privileged to have known such a memorable place, probably one of the best places in the amazing city of light.
Shangri-La Hotel – Paris
Rooms from 900€
10, avenue d’Iéna, Paris
Text: Cíntia Oliveira | Photos: Shangri-La Hotel – Paris.