With its new restaurant, Maison Roland, this Parisian grande dame is one of the most stylish European escapes to enjoy this summer
Words: Charlotte Pasha
They say Paris is always a good idea, but with the opening of the Shangri-La hotel's new restaurant, Maison Roland, in May, it's a great one. Dine al fresco overlooking the hotel's charming garden – and the Eiffel Tower – on elevated traditional French delights, such as beef tartare, fries and lobster served various ways.
Dessert is a must, the crockery is beautiful and staff are wonderfully attentive; I can recall few more spoiling or delicious meals. Once sated, it's a choice between a trip to the spa for an Aromatherapy Associates treatment or retire to bed.Â
With a sumptuous room that has a ludicrously oversized bed, Guerlain products and a TV embedded in the bathroom mirror for perfect wallowing, it's an easy choice.
The five-star hotel is a former palace that belonged to Napoleon's great-nephew Prince Roland Bonaparte (after whom the new restaurant is named) and fittingly, the decor is ornate and lavish. There's plenty of gilt, sensationally high ceilings, marble flooring and crystal chandeliers, with the Shangri-La signature scent wafting throughout.
At breakfast, a waitress offers warm freshly baked madeleines to accompany my truffle scrambled eggs. In a city where luxury is in abundance, the Shangri-La is setting standards.
