Plenty of Paris hotels sell a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Shangri-La Paris was built facing it. The house at 10 avenue d’Iéna went up between 1892 and 1896 for Prince Roland Bonaparte, on a plot between the statue of George Washington and the tower across the Seine, and according to the hotel, 40 percent of its rooms and 60 percent of its suites now have a clear view of the monument.
The view is the headline, but the case for staying here is broader. Shangri-La Paris is one of the few Paris palace hotels that is genuinely a prince’s former home, with listed salons, a restored staircase and an Asian hotel group’s approach to service inside a very French house. Choose the right room and both sides of that story come with it.
A house built for a prince
Roland Bonaparte and Ernest Sanson
Prince Roland Bonaparte, a grandson of Lucien Bonaparte, bought the plot in 1891. He was not an idle aristocrat. He had left the army for geography and botany, built a herbarium the hotel puts at more than 2.5 million specimens, and went on to preside over the Société de Géographie.
Ernest Sanson designed the house. The façade is Oise stone in the Louis XIV manner, carved with the Bonaparte arms. Inside, a Staircase of Honor joins the family wing to the wing that held the prince’s library and collections, and a bronze child holding a torch still stands at the foot of it. The Salon de l’Horloge has bronze copies of Michelangelo’s Dawn and Dusk above a wooden fireplace, and the prince’s crests and monograms are still carved into the walls.
From private palace to palace hotel
After the prince died, the house was sold in 1925 to the Suez Canal Bank Company. Shangri-La bought it in 2006, its first palace hotel in Europe. In 2009 the most important rooms were listed as Monuments Historiques: the gate, façade and roof, the vestibules and gallery, the Staircase of Honor, the ground- and first-floor salons, and the prince’s own apartment on the second floor.
The restoration, led by Richard Martinet and Pierre-Yves Rochon, took about as long as the original build. Wood floors were numbered, lifted and relaid. Stained glass came out and went back in. Taking down a dropped ceiling revealed a forgotten roof of glass and steel, a quiet echo of the tower across the river. In the Salle à Manger, mahogany panels the prince commissioned were freed from a later coat of blue lacquer. The stables became the pool.
Rooms facing the Seine
There are 100 rooms, 37 of them suites, mostly in blue, white and ecru, and nearly half have a balcony. Bathrooms are marble, with heated floors, a separate tub and a rain shower, and the toiletries are Guerlain.
Which room to book
This is a hotel where the room category decides the experience. Superior Rooms, at 36 square meters, look onto the courtyard or the glass cupola, so they are comfortable but do not deliver the view that defines the hotel. The upgrade worth making is to an Eiffel View Room or a Terrace Room, both 45 square meters. The Terrace Eiffel Tower Rooms add outdoor space facing the monument.
For a once-in-a-lifetime stay, the signature suites are in a different league. La Suite Gustave Eiffel, on the sixth floor, has a corner terrace of 30 square meters. La Suite Shangri-La is 225 square meters with a 100-square-meter terrace and a long window filled by the tower. L’Appartement Prince Bonaparte is the only suite on the Monuments Historiques list. It occupies the prince’s private rooms: 275 square meters, five-meter ceilings and a kitchen, with staff on hand.
Where to eat and drink
Shang Palace
Shang Palace opened in 2011 as Europe’s first Shang Palace, and the hotel calls it the first Chinese fine-dining restaurant of its kind in a French luxury hotel. It held a Michelin star from 2011 to 2024 and remains listed in the MICHELIN Guide, though it does not hold a star in the current selection. The room is dressed in mahogany screens, jade and crystal chandeliers. Since June 2024 the kitchen has been run by Executive Chinese Chef Tony Xu, from Chengdu, cooking Cantonese classics alongside dishes from Sichuan. It opens Thursday to Monday, so plan around its two closed days.
Les Salons du Prince and Maison Roland
Les Salons du Prince is the main French room, with fireplaces and a piano. Breakfast mixes French and Asian dishes; Saturday is afternoon tea and Sunday is brunch. Executive Chef Simon Havage describes his cooking as modern and sensory, and Timothy Lam has been pastry chef since 2023. Maison Roland, a Parisian bistro, is the hotel’s most relaxed option.
Le Bar Botaniste
Pierre-Yves Rochon designed Le Bar Botaniste around two of the prince’s passions: plants, and the tents of Napoleon’s campaigns. It is open from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., and the hotel reports that the 2025 Forbes Star Bars Awards placed it among the best bars in the world. For events, the Grand Salon keeps its Louis XIV look, and the Bonaparte Dinners are designed to recall the prince’s own table.
Chi, The Spa
Chi, The Spa draws on Asian healing traditions and has two treatment rooms, open to hotel guests and visitors. The pool and gym occupy the former stables. It is a city-hotel spa rather than a destination facility, and travelers visiting in winter should ask whether the annual maintenance closure falls during their stay.
The address, and how it compares
The palace sits on Chaillot Hill, a short walk from Place du Trocadéro. The Guimet and Marmottan Monet museums are within walking distance, and so are Avenue Montaigne and the Champs-Élysées. It is a base for travelers who would rather walk into the city than be driven through it.
Among the Paris palaces, Shangri-La’s distinction is the combination of authentic princely heritage and direct tower views. The MICHELIN Guide currently rates it a One-Key hotel, after a Two-Key rating in 2024. The trade-off is location: the 16th arrondissement is residential and quieter after dark than the Left Bank, the Marais or the Golden Triangle, so those who want street life on the doorstep may prefer a more central address.
Who should stay
Shangri-La Paris suits couples on a milestone trip, first-time visitors who want the Eiffel Tower in the window, and travelers who value history and calm over nightlife. Shoppers will find Avenue Montaigne close by; families can ask about suites that connect to additional rooms, but should not expect resort-style facilities.
Planning Your Stay at Shangri-La Paris
Location: 10 avenue d’Iéna, 16th arrondissement, near Trocadéro.
Hotel style: Prince Roland Bonaparte’s 1896 mansion, with listed salons and 100 rooms including 37 suites.
Best for: Romantic trips, milestone celebrations, first-time visitors, architecture lovers.
Room to book: An Eiffel View or Terrace Room at minimum; a signature suite for a major occasion.
Reserve ahead: Shang Palace (closed Tuesday and Wednesday), Saturday afternoon tea and Sunday brunch at Les Salons du Prince, and spa treatments.
Best time to visit: Spring and early fall for walking; the festive season for a more intimate city break.
Reservations: Through the official Shangri-La Paris website.
The Final Word
Shangri-La Paris earns its place on the strength of a rare pairing: a prince’s restored home and a direct view of the Eiffel Tower across the Seine. Book a room that faces the tower, and both halves of that promise are delivered.
This In-Depth Guide is based on the hotel’s official materials and independent reporting, verified October 18, 2026.
