Paris, the home of historic style icons like Louis XIV and Coco Chanel, has more than its share of stellar overnight stays. From gilded guest rooms to lavish lobbies, the capital’s high-end hotels are jaw-droppingly gorgeous. But some are more spectacular than others.
We’ve sifted through the City of Light’s best suites to narrow down five of the most glamorous.
Suite Coco Chanel at Ritz Paris
Chanel once said, “The Ritz is my home.” And she truly made it one, staying for 34 years in a suite near her couture maison on the Rue Cambon. Named in her honor, this second-floor accommodation overlooking Place Vendôme (a square that’s home to some of the biggest names in the jewelry world) is done up in an elegant black-and-white color palette that would make the late fashion icon proud.
The eponymous suite takes a cue from Chanel’s room during her days at the Ritz, when she brought in her own furniture and décor. Expect sumptuous velvet sofas, gleaming gilded mirrors and chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, plus some of the designer’s very own photographs and drawings sourced from her private collection.
Continue the Chanel theme with a trip to the Five-Star spa, where the brand’s beauty products weave their way into the massage menu.
Arc de Triomphe Signature Suite at Hotel Barrière Le Fouquet’s Paris
With its trademark red awning, upscale brasserie Fouquet’s has long been a celebrity hot spot (this year marks its 120th anniversary) along the Champs-Élysées, but the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotel next door gives travelers a new reason to return to the famous Parisian avenue.
Modeled after the city’s historic Haussmann-style apartments, the Arc de Triomphe Signature Suite is a crown jewel of the hotel’s seven new signature townhouse suites, where you’ll have some of the most sought-after views of the namesake landmark from a wraparound balcony — and from your bed.
Dreamt up by Jacques Garcia — the interior designer behind fashion crowd favorite Hôtel Costes and Marrakech’s Four-Star La Mamounia — the suite is the epitome of Parisian sophistication, and wouldn’t be out of place in a Proust novel. With high ceilings, Haussmann-style moldings, marble-encased fireplaces, a table for 10 (if you decide you’re in the mood for a dinner party) and around-the-clock butler service, you’ll feel as pampered as the nobles who once called the area home.
Panoramic Suite at Le Bristol Paris
The first hotel in France to receive the prestigious “Palace” title by the French Minister of Tourism, this elegant Five-Star hotel off the designer-boutique-lined Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré was the place to be when it debuted during the Roaring Twenties (fashion glitterati like Chanel, Cristóbal Balenciaga and Marcel Rochas were regulars), and it hasn’t lost its allure in the century since.
A slew of acclaimed eateries and a “couture cocktail lounge” that was recognized on Forbes Travel Guide’s 2019 Verified List of the World’s Best Hotel Bars help attract this stylish set.
So too does the picture-perfect Panoramic Suite, which served as the backdrop for Woody Allen’s 2011 movie Midnight in Paris. As the name hints, the view spans across some of the city’s best sites (Opéra Garnier, Sacré Cœur) and is outfitted in furniture fit for a king — the elegant furnishings are inspired by Louis XV.
While the suite itself is stunning (envision a white Carrara-marble-lined bathroom and French master paintings from the owner’s personal collection), the best spot in the house is actually outside on the expansive, plant-filled terrace, where you can really soak up the best of the suite’s sweeping shots of Paris.
Saint Germain Penthouse by Coppola at Hotel Lutetia
Recently reopened after a four-year revamp, the only Palace hotel gracing Paris’ Left Bank is modeled after the silver sailing ship on the city’s crest, and the room design draws inspiration from luxury yachts.
While it’s hard to choose a favorite among the signature suites, the Saint Germain Penthouse boasts one of the hotel’s best pieces of real estate — follow the winding staircase to a 645-square-foot rooftop terrace for nearly unbeatable Eiffel Tower vistas.
What really makes this suite stand out, though, is the design duo behind the Hollywood-worthy space: Jean-Michel Wilmotte (responsible for the reimagined Louvre) and film legend Francis Ford Coppola. Of course, the Carrara-clad master bath and soaking tub is a big selling factor, but you’ll also notice décor from Coppola, who lent a few of his family’s scripts, stills and personal paintings to the space. Look out for his own Eclair camera on display, his way of paying homage to French film.
Belle Étoile Penthouse Suite at Le Meurice
This 18th-century stunner (and Paris’ oldest Palace hotel) has attracted everyone from Salvador Dalí to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, but that doesn’t mean the Five-Star retreat is resting on its laurels.
Philippe Starck may have modernized the hotel’s regal look, but the newly restored Belle Étoile Suite has stepped up as one of the city’s most sought-after spaces. Sprawling across the seventh-floor penthouse, the 6,674-square-foot beauty (which starts at a cool 25,000 euros, or $27,500, a night) is one of the most roomy in Paris, and features four bedrooms, a cinema-style sitting room and a lush rooftop that mimics the Tuileries Garden below.
As for the view, you’ve got a 360-degree shot over the city’s most iconic monuments, like the Sacré-Cœur basilica, which you can admire from the marble-clad Jacuzzi overlooking Montmartre.
