10 Avenue D'Iéna, 75016 Paris

Shangri-La Paris

Name: Shangri-La Paris
Address: 10 Avenue D'Iéna, Paris, 75016, FR
Rating: 4.7

Hotel-restaurant 5-star with pool and spa in Paris

Presentation

The Shangri-La Paris dominates the Seine and the Eiffel Tower from Avenue d’Iéna, in the 16th arrondissement, at the exact spot where Prince Roland Bonaparte lived, Napoleon’s grandnephew and a great collector of rare plants. You push open the gate, walk along the façade sculpted with lion heads, and the tone is already set. Inside, five marbles echo across the lobby floor—Pyrénées griotte, Alpine green, Carrara white—leading to a rotunda topped by a vaulted ceiling painted with a planisphere. You linger for a moment beneath the chandeliers, notice the woodwork covered in gold leaf, before heading up to the upper floors by a staircase with finely chiseled copper details.

One hundred rooms and suites, decorated by Pierre-Yves Rochon in shades of blue, white, and gold, evoke the Empire style without ever slipping into stiff reconstruction. All bathrooms are marble, heated from the floor up, with the scent of Thé Blanc drifting through the corridors. The view of the Eiffel Tower remains the hotel’s greatest luxury, but it must be earned: the entry-level categories overlook the inner courtyard or nearby avenues, and it is only from the Deluxe or Terrace rooms that you finally open your shutters onto the Iron Lady. A detail to keep in mind when choosing your category, even if it means upgrading for breakfast facing the monument.

On the ground floor, La Bauhinia serves breakfast beneath a 1930s glass roof, among red and celadon silks. Its French toast has a reputation that reaches far beyond the neighborhood. In the evening, head to Shang Palace, the only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in France, where the chef orchestrates sixty dishes beneath chandeliers and mother-of-pearl screens. The Bar Botaniste pays tribute to Prince Bonaparte’s herbarium with cocktails featuring génépi and absinthe, in a setting that evokes the Napoleonic tents of Egypt. It is an ideal place to end the evening by the fireplace in winter.

In the basement, Chi Le Spa extends into the property’s former stables, around a 17-meter pool bathed in natural light and opening onto a landscaped terrace. Treatments use products from the French brand Alaena, certified organic and Ecocert-approved. The gym, meanwhile, looks directly onto the pool.

The 16th arrondissement, it must be said, is not Paris’s liveliest district once night falls. The streets around the Trocadéro empty out early, and to reach the terraces of the Marais or the bars of Pigalle, you will need a taxi or a metro station a few minutes’ walk away. In return, you enjoy rare peace so close to the city center, and immediate proximity to the Musée Guimet, the Palais de Tokyo, and the Museum of Modern Art.

One final tip for late afternoon: ask for a table in La Bauhinia’s garden around 5 p.m., tea time. The low light on the Eiffel Tower at that hour is well worth the detour.

Summary of a few positive reviews read on the Web

The concierge helped us with museum tickets, dinner reservations, and the driver. She thought of everything without us having to ask again.
Room with a partial view of the Tower, waking up with the Eiffel Tower right outside the windows. Two TVs in the suite, a third built into the bathroom mirror.
The French toast at breakfast at La Bauhinia alone is worth the trip. Full service, nothing to complain about.
Nespresso machine with free capsules, Bulgari toiletries replaced as soon as they were half empty. Well-maintained details throughout the stay.
The food is good, but the value for money at the restaurants remains high. On the other hand, the setting, with the flower-filled gardens, more than makes up for it.
Convenient location, the metro is just a few meters from the door and the Eiffel Tower is a ten-minute walk away.