Just back from Paris

By Globalista

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We have been busy pre-Christmas updating the Paris Report and tried two newish hotels, both part of Oriental chains, which hadn't been properly reviewed before.

The Mandarin Oriental

The Mandarin Oriental is just next to Hotel Costes and round the corner from the Ritz, so if you want to be in or around Faubourg Saint-Honoré, it's highly recommended. The rooms are beautifully decorated with the lightest of oriental touches, supremely comfortable and with superb service. If its not over your budget do ask for one of the rooms overlooking the courtyard - ideally one of the few with its own terrace. This is instantly one of the best hotels in Paris and a Globalista top recommendation.

The Shangri-La

The Shangri-La in contrast is in the 16th arrondissement and unless you are doing a literary tour inspired by Edmund de Waal's “Hare with the Amber Eyes” or want to be near Trocadero, it's probably not every tourist’s first choice of location. However, it does have the advantage of some of the rooms overlooking the Seine and the Eiffel Tower so the views can be lovely. What put us off, however, is not that the rooms aren't comfortable or the service anything other than excellent, but that the decor was truly hideous. It's a melange of Empire furnishings and Oriental fabrics/pots which, expressed like that, doesn't sound too bad but trust us, it's awful.