Paris brings to mind elegance, style, and sophistication, and there is certainly no shortage of luxury hotels in the City of Light. With so many five-star hotels, deciding which are the best is an almost impossible task. All five-star hotels will provide the highest levels of luxury and service. However some hotels offer a sense of history that can only be achieved through years of catering to the world's most exclusive clientele.
One of the most famous hotels in the world, this is the one that gave rise to the expression "putting on the ritz." The level of luxury and service at this landmark is unsurpassed. Every room is furnished with the finest Louis XV furniture.
Each room at the Ritz Paris is decorated with tapestries, paintings and rugs that would please the fussiest French aristocrat. There are marble fireplaces, marble bathrooms and oversized marble bathtubs. Three staff persons cater to each guest, and there is virtually no request that the staff cannot satisfy.
Ritz Paris
15 place Vendôme
75041 Paris 01, France
+33-01-43-1645-33
ritzparis.com
The Hotel de Crillon was built in 1758 as a palace for Louis XV. It was here in 1778, where Benjamin Franklin and Louis XVI signed the treaty that gave French military aid to the United States during the Revolutionary War.
The palace was sold to the Count de Crillon in 1778 and remained a private residence for the de Crillon family until 1907, when it became a hotel. Some notable guests of the Grand Crillon have included Theodore Roosevelt, King George V, Winston Churchill, Emperor Hirohito and Richard Nixon.
The hotel is everything one would expect from a French royal palace. The lobby and public areas display tapestries from 17th and 18th centuries. Ornate furniture, crystal chandeliers, sculptures suitable for a museum are all surrounded by polished marble.
The rooms are just as luxurious as the public areas and are decorated in a classic Louis XV style. Rooms have marble bathrooms and many have marble fireplaces. There are many different room and suite categories, including a four-bedroom presidential suite. The Leonard Bernstein Suite, so named because it was Leonard Bernstein's favorite, has a living room with a baby grand piano and a large terrace with a direct view of the Eiffel Tower.
Hotel de Crillon
10 place de la Concorde
75008 Paris, France
+33-0-1-44-7115-00
crillon.concorde-hotels.com/en
Built in 1928, The Four Seasons Hotel George V has 245 guest rooms and almost 25 percent of them are suites. The rooms are among the largest of all Paris hotels and many have private terraces.
The lobby is notable for its art collection. The hotel's spa offers a wide range of luxurious treatments and includes an indoor pool, complete with a trompe l'oeil mural portraying the gardens of Versailles.
Four Seasons Hotel George V
31 avenue George V
75008 Paris, France
+33-0-1-49-5270-00
fourseasons.com/paris
