The fashion capital of the world and the city of dreams, Paris attracts hordes of tourists and business travelers to its ethereal realms every year. A marvelous and spectacularly beautiful city, Paris embodies all that is ancient and magnificent, ultra-modern and chic of European culture. While the Louvre is visited by art and sculpture lovers and enthusiasts of the world, the Rue Saint-Honore and the Champs Elysees are thronged by globetrotters and shopaholics who patronize haute couture and who like to regale themselves at nightclubs. Paris is dotted with numerous hotels. The various Paris hotels offer excellent accommodation to the travelers who arrive at this historic European city for holidaymaking, attending art conferences and for business.
Luxury Paris Hotels
The many Paris hotels that are located in the heart of the city, in close proximity to the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre museum, on Champs Elysees and Rue Saint-Honore, the celebrated Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, Tuileries Garden, the Elysee Palace, the Invalides Museum, the Seine river that cuts across Paris, and the other renowned landmarks of Paris are obviously the most expensive and the plushest hotels of the city. Some of the best luxury Paris hotels are the Hotel Plaza Athenee, Hotel Pont Royal, Hotel Le Meurice, Tiara Chateau Hotel Mont Royal, Hotel de Crillion, Radisson Blu Le Dokhan’s Hotel, The Westin Paris, La Tremoille, Hyatt Regency Madeleine, Hotel du Louvre, Trianon Palace Versailles, Sofitel Paris Arc de Triomphe, etc.
The luxury Paris hotels charge anything from 610 to 20,000 per day according to the rooms and suites that you choose to stay in. These hotels of Paris provide grand luxury to their inmates. Each of the rooms and suites are gloriously furnished and opulently decorated. Whether you’ve booked just a single room or the Presidential suite, you’ll feel that you’re re-living history and living like one of the Parisian monarchs, in the luxury Paris hotels. The architecture of each of the modern luxury Paris hotels resembles that of some medieval palace or imposing medieval edifice of Paris in one way or the other. So it’ll not be surprising if you feel like Louis XIV or Napoleon Bonaparte while traversing through the rooms of a luxury Paris hotel. Though equipped with modern and hi-tech amenities for the comfort of the 21st century traveler, the luxurious hotels of Paris represent the medieval spirit of the Palace of Versailles, the fascinating beauty of the exhibits of the Louvre, the exquisite workmanship of the Notre Dame and the intellectual superiority of the Montmartre in their halls, rooms, their decor and in their milieu.
Conference Facilities, Banqueting, Weddings and Fashion Shows in Luxury Paris Hotels
Needless to say, the luxury hotels of the city are great places for historic meetings and rendezvous. These hotels boast of spacious and elaborate conference and banquet halls equipped with the smartest audiovisual gadgets so that meetings may be conducted seamlessly. It’s an altogether different experience to conduct or attend meetings amidst gorgeous surroundings, intricately carved statues, sculptures and caryatids in the meeting rooms of these Parisian hotels. While transporting you to a bygone age, the meeting rooms in these hotels help you to experience the advantages of cutting-edge technology when you’re hosting and participating in interactive conferences. Meeting room layouts in these hotels can be arranged as you wish and according to which Parisian landmark you’d like your meeting attendees to get a glimpse of in the course of the meeting: the Eiffel Tower, the Tuilleries Garden or the Louvre.
The luxury hotels of Paris are also perfect venues for celebrating weddings and for hosting parties and fashion shows. The luxury Paris hotels employ the talents of the best chefs of Paris who dish out their amazing and mouthwatering creations at banquets, parties, weddings and conference luncheons and dinners hosted in the hotels.
Medium-Priced Paris Hotels
These hotels are situated on highways, near the Charles de Gaulle Airport of Paris or in places in the city from where long-distance traveling is essential to get to downtown Paris and the various tourist hotspots of Paris. Medium-priced hotels in Paris are good hotels and offer fine accommodation facilities to their guests. They are well decorated but not opulently decorated. The décor in medium-priced Parisian hotels is modern and posh and focuses more on utility than on grandeur. Medium-priced hotels afford their guests an extremely comfortable stay as rooms and suites in these hotels are equipped with all the modern amenities. The medium-priced hotels of Paris are generally 3 and 4 star hotels.
The medium-priced Paris hotels are noted particularly for the sumptuous breakfasts that they serve their guests every morning. Sumptuous breakfasts, in Parisian hotels, are included with the room charges and are not extra as they are in the London hotels. Breakfast halls are typically roomy and divided into many segments so that different groups of tourists can sit in the different segments, while they eat. Breakfasts are well-laid out and include meat as well as non-meat products. Different kinds of French cheese; fruits, fruit juice; a variety of French bread including baguettes and croissants with generous helpings of butter, marmalade, pork-spread and jam; different preparations of egg such as French omelets, scrambled eggs, fried eggs and boiled eggs; milk, cream; cereals such as cornflakes and porridge; pork products such as grilled and deep-fried bacon, smoked and grilled sausages, ham and salami; and beverages such as tea and coffee are what you’ll see in the breakfast halls of medium-priced Paris hotels every morning, when you wake up, bleary-eyed and eager for a hearty meal. Hotel guests of these hotels have often praised the kitchen staff of these hotels for serving tasty and filling breakfasts, luncheons and dinners.
Medium-priced Paris hotels charge anything from 102 to 500 per day. Some of the most famous medium-priced Paris hotels are Express by Holiday Inn, Lille Center, Abba Montparnasse Hotel, Baltimore Paris Hotel, Astra Opera Hotel, Best Western Etoile Saint Honoré Hotel, Best Western Premier Elysées Bassano Hotel, Castille Paris Hotel, Metropol Hotel, Modern Lafayette Hotel, etc.
Meeting Facilities in Medium-Priced Paris Hotels
All medium-priced Paris hotels are equipped with meeting rooms and conference facilities. The meeting rooms in such Paris hotels are equipped with hi-tech audiovisual gadgets so that meetings may be conducted, effortlessly. The seating arrangements in the conference halls may be designed as you wish, in boardroom, U shaped, cabaret, classroom or in other styles. All medium-priced Paris hotels are equipped with Business Centers which are operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the benefit of conference hosts, presenters and attendees.
Budget and Cheap Paris Hotels
The budget Paris hotels are also known as the cheap Paris hotels. These hotels are plainly decorated and are ideal for travelers who travel on a strict budget. Rooms in these hotels are equipped with basic amenities. Many of the cheap hotels of Paris are located in the Montmartre area of Paris, the artists’ quarter and the various flea markets of Paris. The Montmartre area and the Latin quarters near the world famous University of Paris, Sorbonne, are inhabited by intellectuals and students who prefer living on a tight budget. So, the cheapest hotels of Paris which are situated in these areas offer several advantages to their inmates. The Ile de la Cite of Paris epitomizes the quaint culture and charms of Paris. Several cheap Parisian hotels have cropped up here too. The Ile de la Cite houses the famous Notre Dame and other well-known landmarks. Many famous museums of Paris, other than the Louvre, are located in the vicinity of the Ile de la Cite. These are the Musee d’Orsay and the Musee De La Conciergerie. The guests of the cheap hotels hence have a wonderful time visiting the repositories and their breathtaking works and sightseeing in these picturesque parts of Paris.
There is a distinct advantage of living in the budget hotels of the city because these Paris hotels encapsulate the tasteful and lively culture of Paris. As they are located in the crowded areas of Paris near the museums and universities, the hubs of intellectual learning and culture, they offer endless opportunities to their guests to explore the nooks and crannies of Paris, to get the feel and pulse of the city, it’s rich and variegated history, its myriad etiquette, cuisines, artworks, the romantic spirit of the sculptures that adorn the city, every now and then. The cheap Paris hotels ask for anything between 30 and 150 for a single night’s stay.
Paris is a truly enchanting city. Its romantic aura encompasses you the moment you step into the city. Every boulevard, every sidewalk, thoroughfare, every street corner of Paris is a treat for the eye of the discerning tourist. Whether you’re parading the Grande Gallery of the Louvre or admiring the fabulous interiors of the Palace of Versailles, whether you’re getting your picture painted in the Montmartre or just gazing at the Egyptian obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, you’ll always be surrounded by the rich heritage of Paris, a heritage that’s inextricably interwoven with the city, its people and its monuments. And all the Paris hotels, however modern or sophisticated, try to be the archetype of the city’s wonderful past. So it’s no wonder that tourists feel the turmoil and turbulence of the Bastille, hear the screams and shrieks of guillotine victims, and perceive the sounds of Louis’s hundred horsemen clip-clopping on the roads of Paris while they roam in Paris or when they reside at the Paris hotels.
Paris Hotels
The End of World War II Parade – Celebrating the Rejuvenation of Paris
The City of Lights, the Fashion Capital of the World – the monikers of Paris are many. However, it is universally agreed that the historic city sitting sedately upon the banks of the magnificent River Seine is the most romantic in the whole of Europe. What sets the French capital apart from the other grand dames of the Continent is not only its poetic atmosphere and proliferation of art – it is also the air of liberation and love of expression that permeates the culture of Parisians. This precious love of expression and freedom saw sudden and brutal suppression during the Nazi era.
The liberation of Paris was surely neither the most significant nor the most dramatic victory seen by the Allies during WWII, yet surely it was the most joyous and romantic liberation of its history. Grandparents and great grandparents still pass down the tales of the emotional dizziness and joy of Parisians dancing in the streets as they sped the Germans out of their beloved city. It is also important to realize that Hitler had ordered the city to be burnt rather than see it surrendered and but for timely diplomatic intervention Europe’s crown jewel and its unrivalled treasure trove of art and history may have been lost to today’s generations. Today, though most European countries celebrate May 8th as Victory in Europe Day to commemorate the surrender of Hitler’s Third Reich and the end of the Second World War, none can hold a candle to the celebrations of the Parisians who still exult in the release of their beloved city from the Nazi chokehold.
The annual Victory Day Parade held in Paris is still a red-letter holiday for the French. The roads are closed down for the procession of soldiers in full dress regalia playing brass and drums to the cheering of thousands of onlookers who throng the pavements waving tri-color flags in a reenactment of 1944. There are few sights grander or more proud than the regiments marching down the Avenue of Champs Elysees.
For the traveler looking for a luxury Paris hotel in a situation ideal for viewing the parades from the best vantage point, the Millennium Hotel Paris Opéra is highly recommended. The elegant Paris city hotel offers the best in Parisian hospitality and prime access to all of the city’s greatest monuments.
Boutique Hotels and Luxury Hotels in London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam That Attract Celebrities
You know how it is. You’re having a quiet drink at the hotel bar and Angelina Jolie asks for a light. What do you mean it’s never happened to you? Well, all I can say is that you’ve been staying in the wrong hotel. Allow us to mark your card with a view to a bit of celebrity-spotting in some of the top luxury hotels and boutique hotels of Europe.
If you happen to be in Paris and want to catch a glimpse of Jolie, try the award-winning George V or, to give it its full name, the Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris. She has stayed at this Paris luxury hotel in the past. And, if a place is good enough for George Clooney, it should do for you and me and I’m reliably informed that George and the cast and crew of Ocean’s Twelve stayed at Hotel Le Bristol.
Another classic luxury hotel in Paris is the Ritz. This was the last point of departure for Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed that tragic August night in 1997. The Ritz has always been a mainstay for the rich and famous including Coco Chanel who lived in a luxury suite there for more than thirty years. These days, you might at any one time bump into likes of Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow or Uma Thurman.
Luxury Rome hotels abound and there are several for top celebrity spotting. The Hassler, at the top of the Spanish Steps, has welcomed everyone from Juan Peron to Audrey Hepburn and event the Kennedys. George Clooney likes this one a lot, while just recently it hosted the photocall for the movie Get Smart with Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell. Not far away is the Hotel de Russie. This historic hotel was a favourite of Picasso and today is a popular meeting place for the bright young things from the worlds of fashion and media.
The Hotel Eden is another luxury boutique hotel in the heart of Rome, which prides itself on its elegance and tact when dealing with VIPs and celebrities. It would never release its guest list, of course, but sources tell me that the likes of Jane Fonda, Pierce Brosnan and Richard Gere have been guest here.
Few luxury hotels in London have names that resonate throughout the world like the Dorchester, for instance. It was here that Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton spent one of their honeymoons back in 1964. Recently pictured arriving were Jerry Springer and Forest Whitaker. And Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise have been guests here, too.
The Ritz is the Grande Dame of London luxury hotels and has played host to any number of top celebrities over the years, including Edward VII, Winton Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and Judy Garland. It has never lost its charm and these days has had celebrity guests like Julia Roberts, Johnny Depp and Hugh Grant.
One of the newer luxury hotels London is The Lanesborough, a former hospital in fashionable Knightsbridge. It’s pricey, but you could be lucky enough to run into Madonna, Jim Carrey or Leonardo di Caprio.
Amsterdam is one of the most laid-back capitals in Europe and a popular destination for celebrities. The Intercontinental Amstel is arguably the most beautiful and prestigious of the Amsterdam luxury hotels and has welcomed royalty, government leaders and film stars including Jennifer Aniston who took a room with a river view and the Rolling Stones. The Dylan Hotel in Amsterdam has also been much visited in the past by royalty. These days it is host to international personalities who welcome the discretion and privacy that are the hallmarks of this Anouska Hempel-designed luxury boutique hotel in Amsterdam. It’s so discreet, in fact, that I couldn’t possibly reveal any names.