Paris - Plaza Athenee

It’s a husband’s nightmare!

Prada opposite. Marni just up the street. They’re all here….on your doorstep.

The Plaza Athenee luxury hotel is situated slap bang in the middle of Paris’ Bond Street or Rodeo Drive - Avenue Montaigne. In fairness, it is also just off le Champs Elysee and not too far from the Eiffel Tower, if you can drag her away from the clothes rails.

The hotel is grand, with one of those ludicrously expensive Alain Ducasse restaurants. This grandeur is reflected in the dining room at breakfast, which is certainly not a relaxed experience.

Lunch is oddly served in what is effectively an extension of the hotel lobby, a corridor with tables on either side. We had sashimi and sushi. Extraordinarily, we were given a knife and fork. A request for chop sticks was met with that renowned French grunt “Non”! Like a Japanese tourist, given a Kodak film for his digital Canon, this camel was rendered speechless by incongruity.

The rooms are adequate and unless you pay a huge amount don’t expect any sort of a view. Our junior suite had, what was called, a garden view. In reality the room looked in to the centre of the hotel which is built around, what is more, a courtyard. It’s not a view to get excited about, unlike the Hotel Russie garden views in Rome.

This hotel is not a bargain, even with the Amex “Leading Hotels of the World” packages. Don’t expect to get away with much less than 1000 euros per night if you have breakfast and a few drinks. You might consider the George V nearby as an alternative.

There are some excellent dining options close by.  For lunch, grab an outside table at the ‘almost next door’ L’Avenue restaurant for lunch. The people watching is second to none. There is also a very good typical Parisian restaurant around the corner called Chez Andre which is a much more informal, and considerably less expensive option, for dinner.

If you are into 5 star ‘formal’ luxury this is a good hotel. Be warned, however, that a weekend at Plaza Athenee, with its surrounding shopping opportunities, may seriously test your credit rating.

Plaza Athenee
25 Avenue Montagaine
75008 Paris

+33 1 53 67 66 65

Link to website