Paris. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announces the opening of Shangri-La Hotel, Paris in the capital’s 16th arrondissement, to take place on 17 December 2010. The hotel is the brand’s first property in Europe; a unique flagship of smaller scale and historical significance. Built in 1896 as the private home of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s grandnephew, Prince Roland Bonaparte, Shangri-La Hotel, Paris brings a tasteful balance between the group’s signature style of hospitality and French art de vivre.
The restored landmark retains its residential heritage offering 81 rooms including 27 suites, making it the most intimate of all Shangri-La Hotels worldwide. Internationally acclaimed interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon crafted each room individually to retain the residential ambience, while providing all modern day comforts. Accommodations offer three Signature Suites including La Suite Imperiale which originally housed the Prince’s private apartment and the penthouse La Suite Panoramique with 100 square metres (1,076 square feet) of outdoor deck facing the Eiffel tower. Unique in Paris, 40 percent of the rooms and 60 percent of the suites feature a breathtaking, unobstructed view of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine below. Nearly half of all rooms offer balconies and terraces to take in the sights and sounds of the City of Lights.
Executive chef, Philippe Labbé is in charge of the hotel’s culinary division. La Bauhinia, the all day dining restaurant and lounge in the centre part of the building features a striking, newly uncovered and restored glass cupola modelled after the Eiffel Tower’s famous iron-lattice construction style. The French gourmet restaurant L’Abeille and the city’s first authentic gourmet Cantonese restaurant, Shang Palace will open in early 2011. Chef Labbé will also oversee the cuisine for Le Bar and the former residence’s historic banqueting rooms.
“Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is honoured to have been entrusted the preservation of this significant part of French heritage,” said Alain Borgers, general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Paris. “Whether for accommodation, dining, entertaining, or celebrating special events, we look forward to welcoming Parisians and visitors to reveal this French treasure and offer our signature style of hospitality”.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts dedicated four years to meticulously restore Roland Bonaparte’s Palais Iéna to its original splendour, the same amount of time it took to build the original home from 1892-1896. The hotel is now registered under the French heritage institution Monuments Historiques to preserve this important Parisian landmark in full. Perched on Chaillot Hill, amidst one of the highest concentrations of museums in Europe and a short walk from the famous Trocadéro, the hotel offers guests an incomparable mix of culture, from Imperial to modern times.
The 16th arrondissement on the right bank of the River Seine is one of the city’s premier residential districts yet within short walking distance from the capital’s main attractions, shopping areas and parks.
