Ultra luxury Paris hotels face an uncertain future amid Covid-19, travel restrictions

Paris’ most luxurious hotels, known as palaces, are reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic

Most have been closed for months and, with tourism at a standstill, business will remain tough when they reopen

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Le Bristol is one of 12 super luxury palace hotels in the city. Eleven have been closed for months, and with recent travel restrictions, they will struggle for occupancy after their planned reopening in September. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP

Published: 11:25am, 14 Aug 2020Updated: 5:00pm, 14 Aug 2020

As the capital of the world’s No 1 tourist destination, Paris has no shortage of hotels for all tastes and wallets, from the dumpy dive to the pillared palace, where a single night can set you back as much as €30,000 (US$35,000).

But coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown have been hard on the City of Lights. The fanciest hotels previously pulled in at least 80 per cent of their guests from outside Europe, a route now closed because of international travel restrictions. As a result, most of the ultra-luxury hotels went into months-long hibernation, from which they will only begin to emerge at the end of this month.

Paris boasts 12 high-end hotels that are classified as palaces, a cut above the mere five-star status. It’s a designation bestowed upon the houses by Atout France, the agency charged with promoting the country as a tourist destination abroad.

Palace hotels include storied names such as the Plaza Athénée, Le Bristol and the Hotel de Crillon. Only the smallest of the deluxe dozen — La Réserve, with its 40 rooms — has been open since May 5.

La Réserve has been open since May 5. Photo: La Réserve Paris

That brief monopoly on the most exclusive hotel segment has blessed La Réserve with occupancy rates of close to 80 per cent, according to general manager Romain Meiran. But when the rest of the pack come back, life will be tougher for everyone, he says.

“What we can do is adapt ourselves to a difficult situation,” Meiran says. That includes new initiatives such as delivery service from its restaurant and special dinner offers to pull in customers.