The 8 Most Luxurious Hotels in Paris

Here is where Benjamin Franklin signed the first treaties between the United States and France in 1778, where Marie Antoinette took piano lessons in the music chamber (years before she and Louis XVI were beheaded in hotel’s front square), and where Theodore Roosevelt, Michael Jackson, and the Dalai Lama have since stayed. After a five-year closure for a top-down refurbishment, the hotel reopened last summer with an understated new look that retains its 18^th-century elegance but adds larger guest rooms, a subterranean pool, spa, wine cellar, and two apartment-style suites designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Rooms from $1,200; rosewoodhotels.com.

Of the brand’s five properties—one of which is in Switzerland, the rest in France—its Paris property is by far the most intimate. The 40 Jacques Garcia-designed rooms include 26 suites and are airy and dramatic without losing its sense of romantic seclusion. Every room follows a distinct color palette and features silk wallpaper, velvet drapes, and antique furnishings. One of the biggest draws is its location: it faces the Grand Palais and overlooks the Champs-Elysées. Rooms from $1,560; lareserve-paris.com.

The legendary palace hotel on rue de Rivoli is all Louis XVI-style antiques, chandeliers, and gilding—yet, despite it being one of the city’s most opulent hotels, it also feels the most understated. One of two Dorchester Collection hotels in the city, the 160-room space’s most recent renovation was at the hands of Philippe Starck, who redesigned both restaurants, including Alain Ducasse’s Michelin-starred eatery, and the famed Bar 228. Book the Belle Etoile suite for its sprawling terrace that boasts 360-degree views. Rooms from $ 1,100; dorchestercollection.com.

As one of the few palace hotels that remain independently owned, Le Bristol’s decor is a direct extension of its owner, Maja Oetker, the German food-world titan. While unabashedly grand, with lavish brocades and gilded paneling, its 190 rooms and suites also have the warmth of a Parisian apartment. Located on a quiet stretch of rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré near the Elysée Palace, opt for one of the 36 rooms that overlook the hotel’s lovely inner garden. Rooms from $1,600; oetkercollection.com.

When the Four Seasons took over operations in 1999, the brand also brought along its polished but welcoming service style. While the rooms rank among the largest in the city, the real draw is the three Michelin-starred restaurants that epitomize the best of regional cuisine. That’s topped by a 50,000-bottle wine cellar that was built 45 feet underground during World War II, which opens for tastings upon request. Rooms from $1,200; fourseasons.com.

It’s telling that this grand hotel is the site where George Gershwin wrote the score for “An American in Paris” in 1928: it epitomizes old-world French glamor. The Haussmannian structure remained a government building until 2009, before it opened as The Peninsula Paris in 2014 after a four-year restoration, with spaces like the Kléber Bar and Lounge, and the Cantonese restaurant Lili, keeping to its original design. Other aspects were painstakingly deliberated over, including the limestone façade, which was sourced from the same quarries first used in the hotel’s 1906 construction. Rooms from $950; paris.peninsula.com.

The grand dame was part of the seemingly citywide refurbishment that took place starting in 2014, which included the integration of surrounding buildings like two luxury townhouses (one of which houses jeweler Harry Winston). The renovations of cocktail lounge Le Bar and Alain Ducasse’s restaurant seem to channel one of the hotel’s past loyalists, Christian Dior, with their sculpted fabric surfaces and splashes of color. The 154 rooms and suites follow a similar theme, with neutral color palettes complemented by vibrant pops of color. Rooms from $1,100; dorchestercollection.com.

Despite being the original palace hotel, the Ritz Paris doesn’t have the official designation from the French Tourist Ministry that’s been given to 12 of its neighbors. But that hasn’t changed the fact that the 192-room hotel remains one of the city’s most beloved. The design of each of the Prestige Suite reflects its namesake: Scott F. Fitzgerald’s comes with travel souvenirs and a curated library, Coco Chanel’s is all black-and-white—and lacquer and “Frédéric Chopin” includes a grand piano. Rooms from $1,200; ritzparis.com.