Kagehitokiri

forgot to say - great photos/reports everyone!

extremely few (%) hotels are owned by individuals. overwhelming majority are corporate, increasingly, and i dont mean just biggest corporations. many especially in europe are family owned, passed down through generations.

wasnt sure how to describe : on forbes billionaire list = ellison # 7 (bought lanai) ; alwaleed # 45 (owns half of FS corporate)

scented

Very saddened to learn of the recent passing of Laurent Jeannin, star patissier at Le Bristol. He brought so much joy to the lives of so many people, including myself -- he truly took us into his world with his art.

I first noticed him when he re-opened George V 1999, but he was at his best at the Bristol.

CGRA

Yes very sad news. 49 Years old only.

vuittonsofstyle

Oh no! I had not heard. How awful - he was an extraordinary man.

uggboy

Very sad news.

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

Larkin

Like a couple of others on this site, my husband and I also stayed at the Ritz in Paris in June. I had last stayed there on a family trip many years ago, but always had fond memories and when the renovation was announced decided I would need to return once again.

In the many years in between I often traveled to Paris and have stayed at the Plaza Athenee, George V, Le Bristol and the Crillon and others. PA was my favorite until it closed for renovation and since then I have preferred Le Bristol.

In comparison to these hotels I was blown away by the renovation at the Ritz. I thought it was gorgeous. The attention to detail in the rooms, public spaces ( both indoor and outdoor) was amazing. The pool Was fantastic ( I did not use the spa - no time- but did swim every morning and found the pool to be wonderful). The gym looked nice as well although I'm a pool person!

We stayed 4 nights in a beautiful one bedroom suite. It was beautifully decorated ( although I can do without the gold swans for faucets). I was worried I may not like the style as I tend to prefer more sleek designs, but this was so beautifully done that I actually loved it. The bathroom was spacious with everything you would want. We had a large wardrobe area, and a large living room and separate bedroom. It had very high ceilings with lovely views and a French balcony. I loved the room and when it was time to move on to our next destination did not want to leave!

We had dinner one night at L'Espalier which was terrific. It was a lovely night so we had drinks in the garden area off the Ritz Bar (they have turned this garden area into a beautiful space where you can sit and have drinks or eat snacks during the nice weather - a great addition in my mind). The service in the garden and in the restaurant were top notch. The food was divine. Very different from my usual favorite restaurants in Paris that tend to veer to the more modern style - e.g. L'Arpege, L'Astrance, Passage 53, YAm T'acha etc, but this was so special we loved it and would return. I must admit I am a room service breakfast person so never ate there fir that meal, but can say the room service breakfasts were wonderful!

These were the only meals we experienced while there as we went out every day and night, and in retrospect if it hadn't all been planned in advance I might have spent a bit more time enjoying the other restaurant and bars in the hote as I am sure they were all great. We did try to have a drink one night after dinner in the Hemingway bar, but there was no place to sit so we decided to pass thinking we would return but never did. It still is very similar to what it was in the past and even Collin the bar tender is still there.

Overall, I loved the stay and would highly recommend. I have not been back to the PA nor the George V the renovation was completed, but this far surpassed my expectations which were high, and we would return!

We had one small issue before arrival. I was communicating with the concierge about restaurant reservations and things via email and it got a bit mixed up. I finally called to get things squared away as my emails seemed to be answered by a different person every time. This made me a bit nervous about the service before arriving. However, this was straightened out after arrival and the concierge service became excellent!

If you are debating whether or not to try it, go! We will return and our expectations were exceeded!

bhrubin

While staying at the Prince de Galles for 4 nights for my hubby's surprise bday dinner party at La Scene, I had the chance to check out rooms and/or suites and occasionally have drinks or lunch at a number of the city's most famous hotels:

Hotel de Crillon
Ritz
Mandarin Oriental
Park Hyatt Vendome
Le Bristol
Peninsula
FS George V

I hadn't had so much fun visiting luxury hotels since our Hong Kong excursion!

All are extremely impressive, and we can see why so many herein like them. Yet we definitely had a clear favorite: the newly renovated Hotel de Crillon. We also really loved the Peninsula, despite not expecting to like it. Obviously, we tend to prefer a bit more clean and modern and less traditional decor. We also really enjoyed the Prince de Galles.

More details comparison/contrast forthcoming for those once I complete my formal reviews of our own hotels: StR Rome, Hotel Imperial Vienna, Prince de Galles Paris, and London Edition (last minute transit night to avoid Paris ATC strike).

callmedtop

Glad you had such a great and memorable trip!

I too am dying to try Crillon, but they don't make it cheap to do so! 1200 EUR for an entry-level room in February (low season) isn't chump change. As much as I love Paris and its fantastic hotel market, the top-tier properties here charge more than any city I can think of - certainly more than NY/London/Tokyo/HK.

bhrubin

Thanks--and indeed! Which is why we spent $0 for our 4 nights in a suite at the wonderful but more boutique Prince de Galles. Our 39K points per night got us a Mosaic Suite, and my Ambassador elite status (and inimitable charm) got us upgraded yet again to a very spacious and beautifully designed (with adequate air con) Makassar Suite.

That being said, if we were going to pay 1200+ EUR, we definitely would choose the Crillon. The rooms and public spaces are the perfect combo of chic and modern while still completely Parisian with traditional touches that make you know you definitely are in Paris--a very tough feat to accomplish. The bar seems the most traditional space, not quite as modernized in design (yet with beautiful hints of Deco) that makes me wonder if they were required or decided to maintain that space without much change to preserve the history of the space.

Then perhaps the Peninsula, though we much prefer the Vendome area. But the restaurant and service at the Pen truly were off the scale. And the Pen location isn't as crazy as George V, so we enjoyed our walks around that neighborhood more than we would have guessed. We found the hallways combining rooms a but curious, but I still loved the design and service. The lobby was a bit sterile for me, but the rooftop restaurant, cigar bar, and other spaces completely made up for that IMO.

Then probably the MO, since we do love the Vendome and still love the modern, Asian inspired design--even if it isn't as much a sense of place as many of the others.

Then the Ritz, likely way too formal and traditional for us but still perfectly situated in the Vendome--though we only saw the Coco Chanel Suite--or the Park Hyatt, which is in the Vendome but felt much less glam, less polished via service, and with less sense of place than even the MO. The PH really felt dated and less polished than all of these and suffered by comparison. If you appreciate more traditional and formal style, then the Ritz is absolutely for you. Though it isn't our style or our crowd, so to speak, it's truly spectacular.

We would take the PdG over the FSGV or the PH any day unless we absolutely had to be in the Vendome. The PdG is a beautiful execution of Parisian Art Deco, and the suite and rooms we saw were wonderful. Though it's smaller, the PdG really impressed us. The FSGV still seems like you need or need to enjoy blue hair to enjoy it, but the same could be said for the Ritz or Bristol--with apologies to fans of those! The fact that the PdG is literally adjacent to the FSGV made the contrast all the more blatant for us.

We liked the Bristol the least, but we are quite averse to that very old school, very traditional decor--but its service, location, and sense of place (and that spectacular elevator!) still were outstanding. We have the same challenge with Le Meurice, which we'd visited several years ago.

callmedtop

Excellent write-up, bhrubin, and I appreciate the commentary. We too did a site tour of most of the properties you mentioned last year (not the Crillon, obviously) and shared some of the same sentiments. However for us, the Peninsula and the MO were non-starters as they felt way too modern and lacked sense of place, as you described. For us, being in Paris lends itself to staying in a hotel that shares some of those charms. While the Pen/MO were beautiful hotels, I felt like they belonged more in Asia than in Paris.

We loved the Ritz but can agree that it felt very formal. We also loved Le Bristol, more so for the common areas and beautiful garden and less so for the (in my mind) outdated rooms. Le Meurice is where we stayed, as combined with a 3rd night free offer, offered by far the most value, and we did love our stay.

I agree with you on FSGV - it is a beautiful hotel certainly, but the location is not my favorite and I actually found the common areas to be not all that impressive to be honest (the rooms are fantastic).

We also stayed in PH Vendome a few years ago and even then thought it needed a major renovation. No sense of place, no real charm, but a free stay on points is awfully tempting!

Lastly we visited La Reserve, which I quite liked. Rooms are fantastic, though common areas are small (which makes sense given the size of the hotel). My spouse hated it though, so take that for what it's worth.

If I was returning to Paris and had no budget, I would go: Crillon, Ritz, Le Bristol, in that order (granted, I have not stayed at any). But given the price involved, I don't know if I could in fact justify at least the first two on that list at least at this point in my life.

DSI

Agree with a lot of points you made, and I actually liked staying at PDG more than the MO.

If I go back, I'd honestly just rent a really nice place on Airbnb in the Latin Quarter/St. Germain for more space, a people watching balcony and the potential for far nicer or more unique furnishings. I realize that this option doesn't appeal to many, if any, people on this board, however.

Valveking

I have 5 or 6 days with the family next summer in Paris and we are considering renting an apartment in the 5th or 6th instead of staying in a hotel this time. If any of you guys have had an especially good experience with one, please PM me. Sorry for the thread hijack.

As far as the hotels go, The FS George V is my favorite, but I am not crazy about the location. The PH needs a refurb, but have stayed there a few times on points and it can't be beat in that regard. My wife who used to live in Paris much prefers the left bank, so we have been staying at the D'Aubusson which is near luxury but in a great location. I am a little curious about the post renovation Lutetia.

chinmoylad

Have you tried OneFineStay?

DSI

I didn’t really like the onefinestay website myself, and they mainly use the Airbnb, which has more inventory I think? Plus they own luxury retreats too. La reserve, for example, is through Airbnb right?

DSI

Correction: Just noticed that One Fine Stay seems to have a huge inventory now. Lots of great looking places.