Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announces the opening of Shangri-La Hotel, Paris in the French capital's 16th arrondissement, on 17 December 2010.

The hotel is the group's first property in Europe, a unique flagship of smaller scale and historical significance.  Built in 1896 as the private home of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's grand-nephew, Prince Roland Bonaparte, Shangri-La Hotel, Paris achieves a balance between the group's signature style of hospitality and French art de vivre.

The restored landmark retains its residential heritage and offers 81 rooms including 27 suites, making it the most intimate of all Shangri-La Hotels worldwide.  Internationally acclaimed interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon crafted each room individually to retain the residential ambience while providing all modern day comforts.  Accommodation includes five duplex suites; the Suite Imperiale, which originally housed Prince Roland's private rooms, and the penthouse Suite Panoramique, with over 100 square metres (1,076 square feet) of outdoor deck.  Unique in Paris, 40 per cent of the rooms and 60 per cent of the suites feature unobstructed views of the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine below.  Nearly half of all rooms offer balconies and terraces that allow guests to take in the sights and sounds of the "City of Lights."

Executive Chef Philippe Labbé is in charge of the hotel's culinary division.  La Bauhinia, the all-day dining restaurant and lounge in the centre of the building, features a newly uncovered and restored glass cupola modelled after the Eiffel Tower.  The French gourmet restaurant L'Abeille and the city's first authentic gourmet Cantonese restaurant, Shang Palace, will open in early 2011.  Chef Labbé will also oversee the cuisine for Le Bar and the former residence's banqueting rooms.

"Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is honoured to have been entrusted the preservation of this significant part of French heritage," said Alain Borgers, general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Paris.  "Whether for accommodation, dining, entertaining or celebrating special events, we are eager to welcome Parisians and visitors to reveal this Parisian treasure and offer our signature style of hospitality."

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts dedicated four years to meticulously restore Roland Bonaparte's Palais Iéna to its original splendour, the same amount of time it took to build the original home from 1892-1896.  The building is listed with the French heritage institution, Monuments Historiques, to preserve this important Parisian landmark in full.  Perched on Chaillot Hill, amidst one of the highest concentrations of museums in Europe and a short walk from the famous Trocadero, the hotel offers guests an incomparable mix of culture, from Imperial to modern times.  

The 16th arrondissement on the right bank of the River Seine is one of the city's premier residential districts, yet within a short walking distance from the capital's main attractions,  shopping areas and parks.