Paris, France · Five-Star Palace · ★★★★★
Shangri-La Paris
The tower is out there. You simply open the curtains and it fills the room.
The tower is out there. You simply open the curtains and it fills the room.
"No hotel in Paris frames the Eiffel Tower better. The Bonaparte mansion sets the stage; Shangri-La's Asian hospitality philosophy fills it — quietly, attentively, without theatre."
Prince Roland Bonaparte built his private mansion at 10 Avenue d'Iéna in 1896, two years after the Eiffel Tower had already made the 16th arrondissement the most visually privileged address in Paris. The Bonaparte family lived here for decades. When Shangri-La converted the building into a hotel in 2010, they inherited both the grandeur and the view.
The conversion was done with genuine care. The original Napoleonic fresco ceilings, marble columns, and gilded salons were preserved. The 100 rooms and suites — some in the original mansion, others in a modern wing — were dressed in the brand's signature palette of blue, white, and ecru, with European Empire furniture sitting alongside Asian aesthetic influences. The result is coherent without being timid. It feels like a place that knows what it is.
The Eiffel Tower views are the defining amenity. Thirty-five rooms have direct sightlines to the tower; the suites facing the river are among the most photographed hotel rooms in Europe. At night, when the tower sparks on the hour, the effect from a tower-facing suite is not subtle. It doesn't need to be. This is Paris at its most theatrical, and Shangri-La has placed you in the best seat.
The hotel's two restaurants are both excellent. La Bauhinia serves contemporary French and Asian cuisine under the mansion's original glass-and-steel roof, one of the great dining rooms in the city. Shang Palace is the only Chinese restaurant in Paris to hold a Michelin star — dim sum here on a Sunday morning is a ritual for those who know. The bar, L'Abeille, is intimate and serves exceptional cocktails alongside fine wines from a well-considered list.
The spa and pool occupy the former stables — a 12-metre heated indoor pool bathed in natural daylight, flanked by the kind of relaxed luxury that Shangri-La does better than almost anyone. The service culture, drawn from the brand's Hong Kong origins, combines European formality with Asian attentiveness in a way that never tips into performance. They are genuinely glad you're here.
Book a tower-facing suite and you have, quite simply, the most romantic hotel view in the city. The evening turndown with the tower sparkling in the background is the kind of moment that becomes a fixed point in a marriage. The butler service is thoughtful without intruding. La Bauhinia for dinner on arrival night is the correct choice — ask for a table near the glass roof.
The concierge team here has orchestrated proposals against the best backdrop in Paris. A tower-facing suite, champagne on arrival, dinner at L'Abeille bar — the setting does most of the work. The hotel can also arrange a private tour of the mansion's historic salons beforehand, which establishes the right atmosphere of occasion and intention.
The hotel remembers returning guests well. Request the same tower-facing room you stayed in before — the service team will note it and try to oblige. Sunday brunch at Shang Palace followed by an afternoon in the spa is a Paris anniversary that doesn't require leaving the building, which is often the point. The location, a short walk from the Trocadéro, means the city is there when you want it.
Rates shown are approximate. Verify at time of booking.
The King's Suite
Monthly. No noise.