Shangri-La Hotel Paris

Having stayed at both the Four Seasons and the Peninsula multiple times, the Shangri La outperforms on all levels. Take an Eiffel Tour view room. The concierge is a magician. Don’t think twice about it.

This used to be our favorite hotel in Paris, if not the world. Things have changed markedly. We booked six nights for a stay earlier this month and had to check out early because of a totally unnecessary and shameful experience involving the hotel shepherding a large group of social influencers into the dining area, where they proceeded to photograph themselves and everyone there, endlessly, creating a total scene. When we asked for this to stop, restaurant management refused. Since this is not the kind of activity we want our hotels to endorse, we checked out early and moved to Le Crillon, about which I cannot say enough good things. Le Crillon will be our Paris hotel going forward. Unfortunately, things then got even worse with the Shangri-La. When we checked in, they charged a deposit of $20,000 on our AMEX. The final bill when we checked our was about $10,000. Which means they owe us $10,000. Despite NUMEROUS calls and emails from both us and American Express, the hotel refuses to refund this money in a timely manner. They claim their bank will not release the funds, and they "hope" that, perhaps after a couple of weeks, the bank may be able to release the funds. I feel like we are dealing with Motel 6. Isn't this the five star Shangri-La? One of the leading hotels chains in the entire world? And they are making (what used to be) a good and regular customer wait to receive money they agree we are owed? How bad must their cash situation be to essentially borrow money from a guest in this unpleasant manner? All I can say is, if you are looking for a hotel chain that actively invites social influencers onto its property and, further, will not treat their financial transactions with guests honorably, wow have you found a great spot for your next Parisian getaway.

Absolutely blown away by the service and the beauty of the hotel! 10/10 the team made our babymoon so special with early check in, an upgrade and thoughtful welcome gifts. I can’t speak highly enough about the service, delicious breakfast brought to our room every morning, the stunning suite and the hotel grounds/location. This is by far the best hotel in Paris!

We recently stayed at the Shangri La in Paris and our stay was nothing short of perfection! We were travelling with our 16-month-old and the hotel’s baby amenities were by far the best of any luxury hotel group we have ever stayed with. When we arrived, they allowed our daughter to pick a toy from a treasure chest and she was so delighted. We were booked in a generously sized junior suite and they placed a high-chair in our room for the duration of our stay (so handy!) and decorated with the sweetest balloons. They also had a coloring book, colored pencils, bib, panda lovey, crib, sleepsack, diaper genie, changing pad, bathrobe, slippers and baby bathtub in the room for her. It was like we were at home! We had dinner at Shang Palace our first night there and it was simply amazing. The food, service, everything was exquisite. We loved every single dish we ordered and only wish that we were with a bigger group so we could try more. I have to highlight the Concierge team, who went above and beyond to ensure that we were able to get reservations at all the restaurants we wanted to visit and sights we wanted to see. They were so well coordinated that the doormen always seemed to know if we had a table booked nearby to offer us complimentary housecar service. We decided quite last minute to book a daytrip to Champagne and the team handled everything from our train tickets and car service to visiting fantastic, lesser-known maisons and a fantastic restaurant for lunch. Every request was greeted with a smile and enthusiasm and they were somehow to get us last minute bookings at some of the best restaurants in the city – always with a great table, too! You honestly couldn’t ask for a better hotel - the location, service, restaurants and rooms were all perfect!

The hotel itself is very stunning and luxurious. We stayed on a small suite with a direct Eiffel Tower view and balcony and while the view we had during our in room breakfast was worth it, the room itself was a bit musty and not very up to standards for a 4000/night room. One of the lamps had a broken handle, we needed to call someone to get a bulb changed, the lights were a bit dim overall, the tub base didn’t look clean enough for me to feel comfortable taking a bath. The bathroom was extremely tiny and we had to call for basic amenities (at least for the higher end rooms this should all be provided). I’m still giving it four stars because the staff that we dealt with directly was excellent and the reception/lobby area is indeed beautiful and gives you the full Parisian vibe.