Where The Stars Stay In Paris: Here’s Why I Love Shangri-La Paris

When it comes to Parisian hotels, the hip hangouts rise and fall, the trends, like the seasons, come and go, but style? Style is forever. Vive le Shangri-La Paris! Rebecca Cox takes a (repeat) visit to one of the world’s most luxurious hotels to check out its dual-city break. 

In my line of work, I rarely visit a hotel twice. There’s always a new opening to review, a new viewpoint to seek and though repeat invitations arrive, they are scarcely taken up. There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule: the Shangri-La Paris is one of them. So, straight from a night at GŎNG Bar Shangri-La The Shard following a quick zip on the Eurostar (the only genuinely enjoyable form of travel to Paris from London, or indeed, international journey full-stop) I arrived in the Paris outpost with high expectations three years after my last stay. You can read the hotel review from 2023 here, which covers all the still-relevant basics (though breakfast is now served in La Bauhinia with its beautiful private garden with Eiffel Tower views), but here, allow me to present seven reasons why I believe that Shangri-La Paris is still one of the finest hotels in the world.  

My very own slice of the Eiffel Tower

The Views

I have visited Paris dozens of times – I know many areas better than London’s boroughs – and call me a dullard, a tourist, a noob, but I will never tire of the Eiffel Tower. Any hotel room with a private view of her will always elicit a shriek of delight on check-in. Shangri-La Paris has the best views of the iconic lattice tower of any hotel in the city, including from many of its 100 rooms and suites. In general, the higher the category, the more window-space the tower takes up – though one of its most luxurious suites, the former quarters of the Bonaparte family themselves, sits on the other side of the hotel – with the hotel’s crown jewel, La Suite Gustave Eiffel, boasting a sprawling penthouse terrace from which to enjoy the tower across the Seine and all of Paris laid out before you. Zendaya and Tom Holland reportedly checked out the morning before we visited the suite for lunch, and my spidey senses tell me the room has seen more A-listers than a Met Gala bathroom mirror. 

The Spa 

Great spas are fairly easy to come by in Paris. Great pools? Not so much. The Molitor, way further to the west of the city, has an incredible outdoor art deco lido, but as far as central Paris pools go, the Shangri-La takes the crown. Thanks to the hotel’s position, despite the enormous pool being in the basement spa, it benefits from enormous light-flooded windows and even a green spa terrace, making it a huge draw for the summer months. I’ve had a couple of good treatments at the spa in the past, but on this most recent visit I tried the ‘Pause & Reset’, billed as ‘the ultimate stress relief’, combining massage with dry brushing, aromatherapy and breathing exercises for a genuinely transformative ritual that left me feeling deeply relaxed (and quite emotional) when the 60 minutes was up. Not staying? You can book into the spa as a day guest.  

Magazine covers at the Dior gallery and a room with a view at Shangri-La Paris

Shang Palace: The Best Hotel Restaurant In The World?

In 2023 during my visit to Shangri-La Paris, I tried the crêpes de riz rouge aux crevettes at Shang Palace Restaurant. The whole meal that night was excellent, but that red-rice shrimp dim sum roll has taken on something of a mythic status in my culinary memory, the soft red rice wrap, the inexplicably crispy fried shrimp inside, I have thought about it so much I’ve started to think perhaps I imagined it. And though I know, never meet your heroes, (/never try to recreate the perfect meal,) but when presented with the opportunity to dine here once more, I couldn’t resist a second taste. Did the crêpes de riz rouge aux crevettes measure up? They were even better than I remembered, little morsels of heaven, salted soft and crunchy treats, an elevated comfort food so good I will continue thinking about it on a near daily basis until my next visit. Oh, and the rest of the food is outstanding, too. You can book in without checking in, so add this to your next Paris outing itinery, whether or not you plan to check in. 

Room service breakfast? Another highlight.

The History

Opulent French decor is not hard to come by in Paris’ best hotels, but a storied past quite like this one: almost impossible. Shangri-La Paris occupies the former private residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte, a direct descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte. Roland’s daughter, Princess Marie Bonaparte who lived in the property, became a pioneering feminist and psychoanalyst and a close friend of Sigmund Freud, while her father himself was known for his extensive botanical collection that inspires much of the interior decor today. Housed in a late-19th-century building that was meticulously restored before opening as a hotel in 2010, one of its most recognisable features is the sweeping white marble grand staircase, an original statement piece that has featured on-screen multiple times, as well as serving as a favourite spot for a well-planned romantic proposal. Fun fact: the hotel recently made it onto Channel 4’s The World’s Most Luxurious Hotels, so it’s not just me who can’t get enough of this Paris stalwart. 

C’est moi! L’escalier d’honneur du Shangri-La Paris

The Future

So, it’s in with the old with the fascinating and classical preserved and restored interiors and artefacts, but it’s also in with the new at the Shangri-La Paris. Always improving, this year the hotel has teamed up with its London sister property Shangri-La The Shard to offer a dual-city escape showcasing not only the two luxury properties, but the best of the cities’ cultural offerings, too. In London, the stay includes a Deluxe City View Room or Premier Shard Suite, breakfast, a cultural experience, GŎNG Bar champagne and snacks, and a transfer to or from St Pancras; in Paris, it includes a Deluxe Room or Junior Suite, breakfast, VIP culture access, a caviar-and-Champagne experience, and a transfer to or from Gare du Nord. Outside the hotel in Paris this means checking out the legendary La Galerie Dior on Avenue Montaigne with VIP access – one of my favourite of the many resident fashion exhibitions in Paris – or spending an afternoon in the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Frank Gehry’s glass-and-steel masterpiece rising from Bois de Boulogne. 

Utter Indulgence: Caviar And Champagne

It would be remiss to omit the caviar and champagne portion of the package, which along with those little red morsels of heaven will be a new must for any future visit to Shangri-La Paris (third time’s a charm, after all). Shangri-La Paris’s new restaurant Les Salons du Prince is designed as an intimate, comfy lounge that pays tribute to the heritage of Prince Roland Bonaparte’s former residence. Summoning the elegance of aristocratic Parisian salons, it features a roaring fireplace, piano music, original artwork and soft lighting all upstaged only by the champagne – opened by sabre, of course – and enjoyed alongside caviar for the ultimate indulgence. 

Les Salons du Prince and more interiors details from the hotel

The Journey 

I travelled by Eurostar Premier from St Pancras, cutting the queuing time with fast-track boarding, lounge access (all-you-can-eat croissants, all-you-can-read magazines) and flexible tickets that mean you can stick a pin in your return if you’re having too much fun. Best of all, it’s city-centre to city-centre in just over two hours – of free-flowing champagne – meaning you’re ready to jump right into the action on arrival. 

C&TH Key Notes 

If you want a little cheat sheet to get the most out of your stay, here are the C&TH key notes to the Shangri-La Paris. 

– Drink to order: the BESHKAN in Le Bar Botaniste: fresh Rose Pisco, Pistachio orgeat, and Sumac syrup

– Treatment to book: Pause & Reset, it’s genuinely transformative

– Room to request: one with a view of the tower, or live like an A-lister in La Suite Gustave Eiffel 

– Don’t miss: the crêpes de riz rouge aux crevettes at Shang Palace. You’ll be thinking about them for the next three years at least. 

– How to get there: it has to be Eurostar Premier

– Whatever you do don’t: uncork your champagne. Have it sabred off in Les Salons du Prince. 

Elsewhere in Paris: picking up bread, vintage shopping and making friends with chic canines

The Last Word

Pinch-me views, superlative spa, unforgettable food; if you want to live like a prince or princess in a Parisian palace, there’s no better place to add to your bucket list. And if you’re really, really lucky, you might just get a return-visit. 

BOOK

Book by 31 December 2026 for a dual-city Shangri-La escape from £3,285 or €3,785, based on one night in each hotel and the mentioned inclusions | shangri-la.com