Paris Palace hotels: the list of 13, and what the distinction means

The names are as Atout France lists them. Address, room count and Keys are what each hotel’s page in the Michelin Guide shows; the arrondissement follows from the postcode on the hotel’s own site (for Bvlgari Hotel Paris, from its Michelin listing). The pool and spa column follows the amenities list on the same Michelin pages, including whether the pool is indoor. The last column says whether the home, rooms or offers pages we read on each hotel’s site show a price before you enter dates.

Source: Atout France, list updated 2 June 2026; addresses, room counts, Keys, pool and spa from the hotels’ Michelin Guide pages; arrondissements from the postcodes on the hotels’ own sites, except Bvlgari Hotel Paris, whose pages give none (its postcode, 75008, is the one in its Michelin Guide listing); prices from the hotels’ own home, rooms or offers pages; all read 11 November 2026

By the Guide’s count, the 13 run from 40 rooms at La Réserve Paris to 243 at Four Seasons Hotel George V. Six hold Three Keys, five hold Two and Shangri-La Paris holds One; the Guide’s page for Fouquet’s Paris shows no Key. Keys are the Michelin Guide’s award for hotels, a private label that has nothing to do with the Palace distinction.

Mostly in the 8th arrondissement: eight of the 13 are there, among them the three on avenue George V. Two are in the 1st (Cheval Blanc Paris and Le Meurice), two in the 16th (Shangri-La Paris and The Peninsula Paris) and one, Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, in the 6th.

No official source says. The Atout France list does not rank its hotels, and all 13 must be classed five-star to hold the distinction at all. The Michelin Guide, a private label, gives the highest level found on this list, Three Keys, to six: Cheval Blanc Paris, Four Seasons Hotel George V, Hôtel Plaza Athénée, La Réserve Paris, Le Bristol Paris and Le Meurice.

Not on this list. Ritz Paris is not among the Paris hotels on the list updated 2 June 2026. That is no verdict on its stars or its quality: the list records a distinction; it does not rate hotels. The Ritz in London is covered in London’s luxury hotels.

By region, as Atout France groups them:

The Alps

• Airelles Courchevel, les Airelles, Courchevel
• Cheval Blanc Courchevel, Courchevel
• Fouquet’s Courchevel, Courchevel
• Four Seasons Resort Megève, Megève
• Hôtel Royal, Évian-Les-Bains
• L’Apogée Courchevel, Courchevel
• Le K2 Palace, Courchevel

Côte d’Azur and the south-east

• Airelles Gordes, La Bastide, Gordes
• Airelles Saint-Tropez, Château de la Messardière, Saint-Tropez
• Château Saint-Martin & Spa, Vence
• Cheval Blanc Saint-Tropez, Saint-Tropez
• Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
• Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes
• Hôtel Martinez, Cannes
• La Réserve Ramatuelle Hotel, Spa & Villas, Ramatuelle
• Villa La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade

The south-west

• Les Prés d’Eugénie, Eugénie-Les-Bains
• Les Sources de Caudalie, Martillac

The east

• Royal Champagne Hôtel & Spa, Champillon

The Caribbean

• Cheval Blanc St-Barth, Saint-Barthélemy

Source: Atout France, list updated 2 June 2026

• At least 24 months of trading, or 12 months after a full rebuild that closed the hotel for a year or more.
• A five-star classification.
• Rooms of at least 26 m².
• Every reinforced criterion of the five-star classification table.

The minister awards the distinction for three years, on the recommendation of the Palace commission. In the 2026 round, 27 hotels had it renewed and six received it for the first time; the list does not mark which six.

Atout France checks eligibility first. Two members of the Palace commission then visit each eligible hotel, and the hotel is heard by the full commission, which deliberates. The commission is appointed by the minister responsible for tourism and brings together experts in luxury travel, architecture and design, gastronomy and the media.

Among the things it weighs: an exceptional location and architecture, the hotel’s capacity and a large share of suites, its history, service, dining and the bar, its unique character, the staff’s commitment, a responsible approach and digital services.

The distinction was created by an arrêté (a French administrative order) of 8 November 2010 and amended by an arrêté of 24 January 2024.

Atout France puts it plainly: the distinction “is neither a simple additional level of prestige nor a marketing label”. It is, the agency says, an official category regulated by the state, and hotels that call themselves six or seven star belong to no official classification system.

The word palace turns up in names all the same. Shangri-La Paris, which does hold the distinction, has a restaurant called Shang Palace; the restaurant’s name has nothing to do with it.

This is not a ranking. We set three Paris holders side by side because they differ on facts you can check: size, setting and pool.

Source: the three hotels’ own sites; Le Bristol’s room count, the closure notice and the Keys from the hotels’ Michelin Guide pages; all read 11 November 2026, prices as shown that day

Michelin published its 2026 Keys selection on 18 September 2026. The levels here are the ones the Guide’s hotel pages showed when we read them after that date (see Sources); check the Guide again before you book.

Le Bristol has an indoor rooftop pool, with views over Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower by the hotel’s account. It also claims to be “the first luxury hotel in France to receive the Palace accreditation”; the claim is the hotel’s own.

Cheval Blanc Paris is the work of the architect Peter Marino and its spa has an infinity pool, both by the hotel’s account.

Shangri-La Paris holds Monument Historique status, by its own account; its Palace distinction is confirmed by the Atout France list.

The hotels’ sites will not say without dates: none shows a standard nightly rate, so there is no fair way to name the most expensive. We read the home, rooms or offers pages on all 13 hotels’ own sites. Only Le Bristol and Shangri-La show a figure before you enter dates, and both are package prices, not a standard nightly rate. Shangri-La’s Escapade parisienne starts from €2,300 a night on average; Le Bristol’s packages start from €1,272 (My Parisian week, six nights or more), and its page does not say whether that is per night or per stay. The other eleven show no room price; where a euro amount appears at all, it is for an extra such as breakfast, parking or a hotel credit.

Eurostar runs direct from London St Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord. Its timetable for Wednesday 11 November 2026 listed 14 trains, the first leaving at 07:01 and the last at 20:01 London time; allowing for the one-hour time difference, 10 were scheduled at 2 hours 20 minutes and the other four at 2 hours 21 to 2 hours 31. The count and times vary by day. Hôtel Plaza Athénée, for one, puts Gare du Nord 20 minutes from its door.