Shangri-La Hôtel Paris

Forced to leave the army in 1886 because he belonged to the imperial family, Prince Roland Bonaparte turned to anthropology, then geology and botany, and began a collection of herbaria. In 1891 he bought land in Chaillot to build a setting for his collections and commissioned the architect Ernest Janty, a pupil of Hector Lefuel, to design a vast house in the Louis XIV style. The prince died there on 14 April 1924, leaving a large herbarium collection and a library of nearly 150,000 rare volumes.

After his death, his only daughter, Princess Marie Bonaparte, sold the house to the Suez Canal Company, and from 1929 the architect Michel Roux-Spitz remodelled the main building, replacing its mansard roof with straight walls topped by three stepped levels. The French State later bought the building to house its foreign-trade office, the Office national du commerce extérieur. Since 10 February 2009 the building has been listed as a Monument Historique, a protection covering its façades, roofs, concierge pavilion, entrance gate, grand staircase and several historic rooms.

The conversion into a palace hotel ran from 2005 to 2010 under the architect Richard Martinet and the interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, and Shangri-La Paris was inaugurated on 17 December 2010. Its name is inspired by the legendary land in James Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon. The hotel received the Palace distinction in 2014, and the Michelin Guide, which lists it with one Michelin Key, sums up its atmosphere as contemporary classic and lively.

L'Appartement Prince Bonaparte, a one-bedroom suite of 315 m² on the second floor, was originally the prince's private residence and holds Monument Historique status. Decorated in the Directoire style, it has 5-metre-high ceilings with mouldings shaped like crowns and gilded with fine gold, Versailles-style parquet floors, and period artworks within décor that blends late-18th-century French style with subtle Asian influences. The bedroom, in blue and gold, is centred on a large crystal chandelier, and a separate living room and dining area seat up to eight.

Shangri-La Paris stands at 10 Avenue d'Iéna, 75116, in the 16th arrondissement, a location the hotel describes as central; the Michelin Guide places it in the Trocadéro quarter. From the balconies of L'Appartement Prince Bonaparte the view takes in Avenue d'Iéna and the Guimet Museum, and the hotel keeps a secret garden with what it calls a magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower.

Charles de Gaulle Airport is 45 minutes from the hotel and Paris Orly Airport 30 minutes away. The hotel offers airport transfers, taxi and limousine services, car rental and a travel agency desk; there is parking for guests who drive, and facilities for people with reduced mobility.

The Superior Room, at 36 m², looks onto the courtyard or the glass cupola, views the hotel calls peaceful. The Deluxe Room adds space at 40 m², with large French windows onto the hotel garden or the surrounding avenues, and the Terrace Room, at 45 m², has the same outlook from a private terrace. The Eiffel View Room, also 45 m², looks at the Eiffel Tower through airy French windows, while the Paris Panoramic Signature Room (54 m²) and the Terrace Eiffel View Room (55 m²) take in the tower from a private, furnished terrace. The latter sleeps two in a king-size bed and has a marble-clad bathroom with a walk-in shower, a separate deep-soaking bathtub and heated floors.

Among the suites, the Junior Suite (55 m²) and the Deluxe Suite (60 m²) look onto the courtyard, Avenue d'Iéna or Rue Fresnel. The Junior Suite Paris View, also 55 m², looks over the French garden with a partial view of the Eiffel Tower, and the Terrace Suite with Paris View (70 m²) has the same garden and partial tower view from the suite or its private terrace. The Duplex Eiffel View Suite (80 m²) looks at the tower through windows two storeys high, and the Duplex Terrace Eiffel View Suite (70 m²) takes it in from a private, furnished terrace.

Designed for large families or groups of friends, the Connecting Family Junior Suite joins a Junior Suite to a Deluxe Room for 99 m², with courtyard or city views. It has two en-suite bedrooms, a separate living room in the main suite and two marble bathrooms; it sleeps four in a king-size bed and two twin beds, and can accommodate up to six. The Connecting Family Eiffel View Suite (97 m²) has Eiffel Tower views, and many rooms connect for larger families or groups. La Suite Gustave Eiffel (70 m²), on the sixth floor and dressed in ecru, gold and white, has a separate living room opening onto a private, furnished corner terrace with views of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower, and it can connect to an adjacent room to form a two-bedroom suite.

La Suite Chaillot, a one-bedroom suite of 110 m² designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon in taupe and jade, has a walk-in dressing room, a separate living room with a guest washroom and a dining area for up to six; its wraparound terrace, in the hotel's words, puts the Eiffel Tower almost at arm's length. La Suite Shangri-La (120 m²) sits on the top floor with unobstructed views of the Eiffel Tower, and its private, furnished 100 m² terrace gives a bird's-eye view of the city's best-known sights. It balances French Directoire and Empire styles with Art Deco details, and its custom furnishings include a hand-painted Asian-inspired cabinet, pearlescent Lelièvre wall panels and Manuel Canovas drapes. The entire floor can be privatised as a four-bedroom apartment of 500 m².

Shang Palace, opened in 2011 as the first restaurant of that name in Europe, serves haute Chinese cuisine under its executive chef, Tony Xu, who comes from Chengdu. From 2011 to 2024 it was France's first and only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant. Chef Xu reworks traditional dishes such as pork belly and sweet-and-sour aubergine stuffed with shrimp and fish, and there are dim sum and vegetarian menus. Lunch (12:00 to 14:00) and dinner (18:30 to 22:00) are served from Thursday to Monday, so the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; the dress code is smart casual, and two private dining rooms, Tang and Qing Ming, seat up to 12 and 24 guests.

Maison Roland is a garden-set Parisian bistro, open daily from 12:00 to 22:00, whose classics include mimosa eggs, country-style terrine, sole à la grenobloise and onglet steak with pepper sauce. Crisp white tablecloths, Gien porcelain, polished silverware and attentive service set the tone, a combination the hotel says evokes the elegance of grand Parisian dining. Les Salons du Prince, on the lobby level and also open daily from 12:00 to 22:00, serves what the hotel calls traditional and indulgent cuisine, with a lunch and dinner menu and a tea-time menu.

Le Bar Botaniste, on the lobby level, was designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon as a tribute to the splendour of Napoleonic tents, and its cocktails and spirits draw on Prince Roland Bonaparte's passion for botany. It is open nightly from 18:00 to 01:00, with last orders at 00:15, and serves an extensive menu of exclusive cocktail creations; in 2025 Forbes Travel Guide named it among its 58 Best Hotel Star Bars. Room service runs 24 hours a day, and children's menus are available for guests staying at the hotel.

Chi, Le Spa occupies what were originally the stables of Prince Roland Bonaparte's mansion. Its approach is holistic, based on the balance of physical and mental energy, or Qi, and it works with eco-friendly, organic products from the Alaena brand to rebalance mind, body and soul, as the hotel puts it. On arrival, guests complete a questionnaire and have a consultation with the therapist to personalise the treatment, so they are advised to arrive 20 minutes before their appointment.

The 17-metre pool, bathed in natural light, opens onto a 94 m² green terrace that the hotel calls spectacular. Swimmers can start early: the pool is open from 07:00 to 21:00 for hotel guests and members, while the spa itself keeps hours of 09:00 to 21:00. There is also a fitness room; a swimsuit is required in the pool and sportswear in the gym. Bathrobes and slippers are provided, treatments are best booked in advance, and mobile phones must be switched off in the spa.