Originally Posted by ijgordon

Hi all, planning a trip this summer and looking to "splurge" a little. In the $1000-1200 range we've narrowed down to probably the Raffles Royal Monceau (which has 3rd night free FHR so actually goes <$1k on a 3-night stay) and maybe Barierre Fouquet's (we nixed Prince de Galles as no pool/spa). There seems to be a bit of a gap above that, until you get to the $1800+ level for the grande dames, really only seeing the Park Hyatt (~$1400) and Le Bristol (~$1600).

Park Hyatt doesn't look all that exciting frankly, although I know it's generally viewed as a top hotel. Worth the premium over the Raffles? I guess "better" location, somewhat more central, although Place Vendome can be a bit dull.

Would appreciate any thoughts on whether "upgrading" to the PH/Bristol would be worth it, or also whether we're missing any key alternatives (are mostly focusing on Amex FHR but open to others). I will look through the Premium Hotels and the 2023 Luxury hotel thread as well. Haven't done much research yet on which hotels are good about FHR upgrades, we did get a double-upgrade at Fouquet's in November 2023 to a Champs-Elysee balcony. Really liked that hotel except lobby was a bit dull and room wasn't particularly spacious (a decent amount of the square footage was in a long hallway from the entry to the bed area).