Glamour and grandeur at Rosewood's Hotel de Crillon Paris
Editor's note: Hotel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel provided TPG with a complimentary two-night stay so that we could get an inside look at the hotel and its amenities. The opinions expressed below are entirely those of the author and weren't subject to review by the hotel or any external entity.
Just 12 of France’s 31 so-called “Palace” hotels — the fanciest designation a French hotel can achieve — are found in Paris. But even among the handful of those that have been converted from former royal residences or aristocratic mansions, the Hotel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel still stands out.
The imposing neoclassical edifice was originally commissioned by Louis XV as part of a complex of state buildings surrounding the Place de la Concorde and designed by 18th-century architect extraordinaire Ange-Jacques Gabriel.
It eventually became home to the Duc de Crillon and his family and temporarily housed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette before their untimely ends. The lavish landmark was transformed into a hotel in 1909, and just over a century later, it underwent a four-year, 200 million euro ($229 million at the time) renovation before reopening in 2017 as a Rosewood hotel.
Since then, the Hotel de Crillon has hosted royalty and celebrities, becoming one of the French capital’s most fashionable addresses.
Here’s what it’s like staying at the Hotel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel, and all the unique features that make it a true Parisian landmark.
Hotel de Crillon location
You can’t get more central than this. The Hotel de Crillon sits along the northwest corner of the Place de la Concorde, where the Champs-Elysees ends and just before you get to the Tuileries and the Louvre.
The Concorde Metro stop is just a block from the hotel’s entrance and is served by lines 1, 8 and 12, making it easy to get anywhere in the city center. If you’re coming from Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), you can take the RER B line to Chatelet Les Halles and switch to line 1. It should take around 60-80 minutes, depending on the time of day.
An Uber to the airport costs around 50-60 euros ($54-$65) and takes 30-60 minutes, depending on traffic.
Hotel de Crillon booking details
The Hotel de Crillon has a total of 78 rooms, 36 suites and 10 so-called signature suites, which include the “Grands Appartements” designed by the inimitable Karl Lagerfeld (whose photographs are part of the décor) and inspired by Marie Antoinette.
Rates at the Hotel de Crillon currently start at $1,670 per night for Deluxe rooms in the starting category, which are about 340 square feet and face the hotel’s stately inner courtyard.
The Deluxe Suite I was assigned was about 200 square feet larger and starts at around $2,970 per night. You can book directly through Rosewood, though this will not automatically include extras like breakfast.
The hotel does not participate in Chase’s The Edit or the Capital One Premier Collection. However, if you have The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, you can make a booking through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts on AmexTravel.com and receive perks like availability-based upgrades, up to a $100 credit to use on-property during your stay for things like drinks or meals, complimentary daily breakfast for two and guaranteed late checkout.
You could also book through our partner, Skylark, to enjoy elitelike benefits and on-property credits.
Standout features
- An impossible-to-beat location in the heart of the city.
- Contemporary touches and comfortable accommodations balance the building’s historical grandeur.
- Bar Les Ambassadeurs is the place to be all evening to take in the scene over creative cocktails and live music.
- The photogenic subterranean pool is a tranquil escape from the busy city streets.
Drawbacks
- If you want a certain table for breakfast in the Jardin d’Hiver or a seat at the bar in the evening, make arrangements well ahead of time since space fills up quickly.
- While the service is mostly warm and wonderful, a few lapses felt unwarranted at a hotel of this caliber.
- The incredibly high price point — not just for accommodations but also at the hotel’s bars, restaurants and spa — put this experience out of reach for most travelers.
The vibe
Welcome to Versailles in the city. Occupying one part of an impressive 18th-century palace along the bustling Place de la Concorde, the Hotel de Crillon feels like a magnificent monument plopped down in the center of Paris. Even Marie Antoinette herself might feel at home having a bath in the regal Arabescato Fantastico deep-veined marble tub in one of the Karl Lagerfeld-designed Grands Appartements (dorky historical footnote: The queen took piano lessons in one of the palace’s salons).
Steal a glimpse of Cleopatra’s needle over your shoulder in the Place de la Concorde as you swan past jauntily kerchiefed doormen. Settle into one of the lobby’s Empire-style sofas beside a rose marble fireplace.
There, you can peruse various art books as you watch visiting magnates and Parisian glitterati drift beneath the ornate gilt and crystal chandeliers from an appointment at Sense, A Rosewood Spa to afternoon tea at Butterfly Patisserie or cocktails at Bar Les Ambassadeurs.
The room
When redesigning the hotel, Paris-based Lebanese architect Aline Asmar d’Amman aimed to give the accommodations a residential feel, like having your own Paris pied-a-terre ... that is, if money were no object and you had exquisite taste.
Parting the heavy curtains and throwing open the portes-fenetres of my Deluxe Suite to view the courtyard with its prim garden and the awning-shaded windows of adjacent rooms felt like embarking on my very own unchaperoned Grand Tour. There was even a closet enormous enough for a complete set of steamer trunks.
I considered mixing myself a drink from the antique-style bar cart or the minibar with its silver-and-gold sylvan wallpaper and sinking onto a velvet loveseat. Instead, I dashed off a few notes on provided postcards at the glossy wooden table (OK, yes, and nibbled on some of the pastries that came as part of a welcome amenity).
Stepping into the adjacent bedroom, I noticed the pillowcases had been monogrammed with my initials and briefly considered canceling my evening plans so I could luxuriate in the white-sheeted king-size bed while flipping through some of the art books stowed on the nightstands.
Instead, I took up temporary residence in the all-marble bathroom, sampling the fragrant Officine Universelle Buly products while weighing a bath in the huge soaking tub. I eventually opted for a refreshing rinse in the shower, whose ornate, metal-bordered glass door felt like a baroque picture frame.
I’m sure I left towels (and drips of water) on the floor, sheets askew and a trail of crumbs on my way to dinner. When I returned, my room again looked spotless, thanks to evening turndown service.
Food and drink at Hotel de Crillon
Start your day with petit dejeuner at Jardin d’Hiver, or the winter garden, a light-drenched, lilac-accented parlor just off the lobby. The morning menu includes a Parisian breakfast ($38 per person) of coffee, fresh juices and fruits, and a basket of homemade pastries, including buttery, flakey pain au chocolat. If you don’t get your preferred table in the morning, pass by in the afternoon for tea service, including mouthwatering pastries by chef Matthieu Carlin.
If the forecast is fine, your afternoon should include an alfresco lunch at Comestibles par Paul Pairet in the inner courtyard. The menu includes French and continental classics like steak frites ($32) and a heaping club sandwich ($33) served with salad or french fries.
Reward yourself for an afternoon well spent at the city’s museums (or fashion boutiques) with tea or coffee and treats like Brazilian chocolate-lime eclairs ($17) and a Tahitian vanilla and raspberry millefeuille ($19) at the whimsical Butterfly Patisserie. You can also order a few sweets to go from the pastry counter for later.
After freshening up, it’s time for cocktails at Bar Les Ambassadeurs. Located in a lavish salon near the hotel’s main entrance, with a ceiling frescoed like a stormy sky and crystal chandeliers cheekily draped in metal chains, this is the place to be on a weekday evening thanks to live music with a full band and botanical-inspired cocktails like the Lavender ($34) with Del Maguey mezcal, fino sherry, lavender bitters, honey, citrus and chili; and the Rhubarb ($34) with Michter’s Bourbon, rhubarb bitters and fennel seed soda.
You’ve got a choice to make now. For a casual (if costly) dinner, duck into chef Paul Pairet’s Nonos for contemporary chophouse and brasserie fare like luscious tuna tartare over avocado ($24), onion soup ($20) and various internationally sourced dry-aged beef cuts including an utterly juicy Aubrac wagyu filet mignon ($63) and desserts like mango-licorice sable ($17).
For a splurge, though, make a reservation well in advance for the hotel’s Michelin one-star restaurant, L’Ecrin, in a private dining room off the winter garden. There, chef Boris Campanella creates seasonally changing tasting menus (5 courses for $233 per person; 7 courses for $288) inspired by his upbringing in the lake-dotted, mountainous region of Savoie.
Amenities and service
Stroll through the hotel’s ground floor away from Place de la Concorde, and you’ll eventually reach Sense, A Rosewood Spa.
Here, guests are transported (down one level) to an aquatic-themed retreat with a compact fitness center, men’s and women’s locker rooms and a coed hammam and sauna with Himalayan pink salt walls.
The piece de resistance, however, is the skylit pool, whose aquamarine and gold ceramic walls comprise an installation by artist Peter Lane and where the sumptuous seating areas naturally lend themselves to languid afternoons.
When the time comes, meander along the fish scale-inspired floors to your treatment room for a signature experience like the 90-minute Reverie face and body massage performed with Huages CBD products (90 minutes, $353) or the Sisley phyto-aromatic facial designed to reenergize and sculpt the skin — just what’s needed to fight that jet lag sag (90 minutes, $434). Then schedule a touch-up before your evening event with anything from a blowout to a cut-and-color at the Hair Salon by David Lucas.
Souvenir is a French word, so it would only be fitting to pick up a few of them as memories of your stay from the hotel’s boutique, located near Butterfly Patisserie and adjacent to the concierge section of the lobby. Stock up on models of classic French cars, Buly skincare products, or even the bespoke, side-lying wine glasses used at L’Ecrin.
The staff can be counted upon to know you by name after a day or so — you won’t even have to introduce yourself when checking in for a dinner reservation or breakfast in the morning. Likewise, housekeeping will leave you little presents like a bookmark or a handy tie to wrangle your computer cords.
That said, no hotel stay is perfect. During busy times, you might find your room skipped for turndown service, or all the bellmen are otherwise occupied when you arrive, so you might not have help with your bags or finding the tucked-away reception area. Ask for help, though, and it will arrive in no time.
Out and about
The Hotel de Crillon is close to some of the city’s most fabulous shopping streets and some of Paris’s most beloved museums. You merely need to stroll across Place de la Concorde to arrive at the Tuileries, where you can wend your way beneath the trees and past the fountains to the Louvre, then beyond to Notre Dame and a well-deserved sorbet on Ile St. Louis.
In the other direction, you can brave the tourist masses along the Champs-Elysees or cross the Seine to visit Les Invalides to the west or the Musee d’Orsay to the east. Seeing a show at the Opera Garnier? That’s just a short walk to the northeast of the hotel. Thanks to its central location and the fact that it’s a block from the Concorde station, the city is within easy reach with a Metro ticket.
Accessibility
The Hotel de Crillon has four wheelchair-accessible Premier rooms with wide doorways and spaces for navigating in a mobility device and roll-in showers and grab bars by the toilets. Guests with hearing and sight impairments can request devices such as visual alarms from reception. As always, however, it is recommended to call the hotel directly ahead of time to ensure your accommodations and any aids you request will be available.
The hotel’s entrance and some public areas are accessible to wheelchair users, as are guest room floors and the spa and pool level, thanks to elevators with wheelchair-height buttons (though there are some doors to navigate and no chair lift for the pool).
The Winter Garden and Bar Les Ambassadeurs require guests to use small flights of stairs, as does the entrance to L’Ecrin, meaning guests with limited mobility might have difficulty getting to those venues.
Checking out
Historic yet hip, grand yet cozy, timeless yet chic and utterly French yet unmistakably international ... the Hotel de Crillon is like a microcosm of Paris.
After its relatively recent rebirth as a Rosewood hotel, the Hotel de Crillon is just as stunning as ever and even more inviting, thanks to its many amenities (including what might be Paris’ best hotel bar) and elegant accommodations (including some of Paris’ most singular specialty suites).
Whether this is your first time in Paris or your hundredth, staying at the Hotel de Crillon will likely cast the City of Light in a new light and provide novel dimensions of the French capital for you to explore.
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.