I stayed at a 'Palace' in Paris where rooms can cost more than $20,000 a night. See inside Le Royal Monceau, a hotel frequented by the stars.
Jordan Parker Erb
- In France, the highest designation a hotel can get is a "Palace" ranking — even better than five stars.
- Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris is one such Palace. Its most extravagant rooms can cost more than $20,000.
It's not often that I'm treated with a stay at a five-star hotel. It's even less often that I can stay at a hotel that's been ranked even higher than five stars — in fact, it's only happened once, earlier this month.
On a trip to Paris this summer, I stayed at Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris, a hotel deemed a French "Palace," a designation awarded only to France's most exceptional hotels.
The "Palace" ranking was established by the French Minister of Tourism in November 2010 as a way to highlight already exceptional hotels, according to Explore France. Throughout the country, there are just 31 such hotels; In Paris, there are even fewer, with just 12 making the list.
Le Royal Monceau, a property by the international Raffles Hotels & Resorts group, is one of the city's few palaces. On its face, Le Royal Monceau boasts a typical Parisian facade; enchanting and ritzy. Inside, however, is a playful display of art and culture. French designer Philippe Starck redesigned the hotel in the early 2000s, which gave the property new life as an art deco lover's paradise.
The palace is filled with works of art: a wooden herd of 15 life-sized elk and deer welcomes guests to their rooms in one hallway. Elsewhere, an all-red smoking room symbolizes pleasure and the descent to hell. One suite is decorated with portraits of Ray Charles — a nod to the man who used to stay in the same room.
Charles isn't the only big-name guest who's stayed at Le Royal Monceau. Winston Churchill and Michael Jackson were once counted as frequent patrons; more recently, Madonna and Robert De Niro have called the palace home for a time.
The hotel's star-studded clientele is reflected by its cost: a junior suite, the room I stayed in, can cost $3,000 a night. More deluxe rooms, like its presidential suite, can cost nearly $20,000 per night.
I spent three nights at Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris. From being picked up at the airport to dining at its in-house Michelin-starred restaurant, here's what it was like.
Insider paid a press rate of $1,000 for three nights.
My experience with Le Royal Monceau began long before stepping foot on the property; After arriving at the airport, Laurent, a hotel employee, picked me up in a Range Rover.
The hotel is just a short walk from the Arc de Triomphe, one of Paris' preeminent monuments and tourist attractions.
The hotel opened in 1928 amid the roaring twenties. The building looks just how I imagined, with a classic Parisian facade.
Outside, there seemed to be a variety of fancy cars every time I walked out the door.
After checking in, I headed straight to my room, where I was surprised to find a breakfast of pastries, fruit, orange juice, and coffee waiting for me.
My room, a junior suite on the second floor, was generously spacious, with a king-sized bed in the middle of the room.
The bathroom, whose walls were lined with mirrors, seemed to go on forever.
I loved how luxurious the bathroom felt, with marble floors and a sprawling walk-in shower. The only problem I noticed was the small gap under the shower door, which let water spill onto the floor when showering.
At first glance, I was alarmed to find no toilet in the bathroom — but I soon discovered it had a separate room detached from the shower and bathtub area.
The walk-in closet was similarly lined with mirrors, making it appear even bigger than it already was.
One of the most interesting features of the room was the television, which was embedded into a mirror.
Outside of my luxe room, my favorite part of the hotel was Il Carpaccio, its in-house Michelin-starred restaurant.
Chef Oliver Piras cooked and served me a pasta dish at my table on the patio as part of my dinner at the restaurant.
While I didn't dine at them, Le Royal Monceau has two other upscale restaurants: Matsuhisa Paris and La Cuisine. The former is France's first outpost from world-renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
Beyond stellar dining and fabulous suites, Le Royal Monceau is an art lover's paradise; It's home to La Librairie des Arts, a contemporary art bookstore.
The palace is so art-centric that it employs its own art concierge, Julie Eugène, who guides guests on all things art and culture. I joined Eugène on a tour of the hotel's art and got to see dozens of different installations.
My favorite piece of functional art was one of the hotel's two smoking rooms; doused in red, Eugène told me this one represented pleasure and hell.
Throughout my stay, I found the staff to be kind and attentive, though I felt that the service waned as my stay went on — as if the excitement of having a reporter around slowly faded.
All told, I felt pampered and well taken care of during my stay at Le Royal Monceau and would love to return the next time I'm in Paris.
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