Shangri-La Hotel, Paris for Romantics

By Susan Breslow Sardone, About.com Guide

The hotel with the best view of the Eiffel Tower in all of Paris, the Shangri-La occupies a circa-1896 landmarked building. Until I learned more about this stately property, I imagined it a place where Jackie Kennedy might have met a friend for a glass of Champagne after a fitting at the atelier of Hubert de Givenchy, or where Pierre Salinger solved the world's problems over a glass of Cognac and a good cigar in Le Bar.

I was mistaken: the Shangri-La hotel, Paris first opened its doors in... December 2010. Yet the degree of refinement and sophistication as well as the professionalism of the staff reflect that of a long-established hotel.

It is in the many details, large and small, that this traditional, Hong Kong-based brand excels. Pose a question to one of the Shangri-La bellmen, for example, and by the time you walk into the lobby a staffer appears to assist you. Service this good is intoxicating -- or is it the heady, seductive Shangri-La fragrance that fills the air?

If you're not familiar with the Shangri-La brand, the reason may be that there are no hotels in the United States. This Paris outpost is the company's first foray in Europe. Other Shangri-La hotels are located in Australia, Canada, mainland China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Maldives, the Philippines, Singapore, the Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, Thailand, and elsewhere. And many projects are underway in faraway locations including Russia and Mongolia.

The brand’s core values are sincerity, humility, helpfulness, respect, courtesy, and selflessness, and we found them to be consistently embodied by the staff.

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