The catch at Le Bristol Paris
Five things separate the photographs from the stay. None of them is hidden and none is a reason to stay away, but each one changes which room you book, which nights you eat in, or what the bill comes to. The pool is the one that most often disappoints.
On our shortlists
The pool is small and indoors, and its windows look north, not at the Eiffel Tower
The naval architect Cäsar Pinnau laid out the pool on the sixth floor as the teak deck of a 1920s yacht: the water is kept at 28°C without chlorine, a sun terrace opens off one side, and hotel guests can swim from 6.30am to 10.30pm. It is also small, a swim with a view rather than a place for lengths, and that is the complaint guests make most often. The windows and the terrace look north over the rooftops to the dome of Saint-Augustin and Montmartre. The Eiffel Tower lies on the far side of the hotel's own 1925 building, which rises two floors higher, and it does not show from the pool. The gym in the spa keeps the same hours and is shared with members of Le Bristol Society Fitness Club.
What to do. Treat the pool as a swim after a day in the city, not a workout. If you want the Eiffel Tower in the window, it comes with three named suites, Suite 1925 on the seventh floor, Suite Honeymoon on the eighth and Suite Paris, not with the pool.
Epicure is shut on Sundays and Mondays, and 114 Faubourg is temporarily closed
Epicure, with three MICHELIN stars in the 2026 guide under Arnaud Faye, serves lunch from noon to 1.30pm and dinner from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday only. The six and eight-course menus must be ordered by 1pm at lunch and the eight-course menu by 9pm at dinner, and a jacket is required. 114 Faubourg, the hotel's one-star brasserie, is temporarily closed. On a Sunday or a Monday evening that leaves Café Antonia, the all-day room between the courtyard and the garden, as the only dinner in the house: it serves every evening from 6pm to 10.30pm and has a children's menu. Le Bar du Bristol does cocktails and tapas rather than dinner.
What to do. Book Epicure for a night between Tuesday and Saturday when you book the room, and pack a jacket. On a Monday, Jean-François Piège's Le Grand Restaurant on Rue d'Aguesseau, six minutes on foot, serves dinner; on a Sunday, Le Bœuf sur le Toit on Rue du Colisée is open from 7pm.
The first rooms for two look at the courtyard or the street, and the garden is sold by name
The Superior Room, about 35 m² with a queen bed, is sold for one guest, so a couple starts at the Executive Room: about 40 m², a king bed and a courtyard view. The Deluxe Room above it is about 45 m² and looks at the courtyard or the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, and the choice is the hotel's. The Prestige Room at 50 m² and the plain Junior Suite at 55 m² carry the same courtyard or street wording. The 1,200 m² garden, the middle of the house, comes only with the categories that name it: the Deluxe Room with garden view, the Deluxe Room with balcony, and the Junior Suites with garden view or with balcony. Every room is decorated differently, so the photographs of a category do not show every room in it.
What to do. If the outlook matters, book a category with garden or balcony in its name. For Tuesday 23 February 2027 the Deluxe Room with garden view was priced €95 above the plain Deluxe Room, and the Deluxe Room with balcony another €95 above that, at the same 45 m².
Breakfast, the city tax and the car all come on top
Breakfast is not included unless your rate says so. In Café Antonia the Continental is €58 a head and the American €72, eggs Benedict €39, the Saint-Honoré waffle €35 and an espresso €12; hotel guests can also take it in Epicure's dining room from 7.30am, or in the room. The Paris city tax for a palace, €15.93 per adult per night, is added to the bill, so about €32 a night for two adults. Valet parking in the hotel's underground car park is €55 a night, a dog of up to 7 kg is €100 a night, a spa treatment taken in the room costs €50 more, and afternoon tea in Café Antonia is €95 a head.
What to do. Budget €116 a day for two for the Continental in Café Antonia, or walk four minutes up the Faubourg to Dalloyau at No. 101, where the 101 breakfast with eggs is €25. Leave the car at home: Miromesnil station, on lines 9 and 13, is four minutes away.
In the fashion weeks the hotel fills early, and they come round six times in 2027
Le Bristol stands on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré among the fashion houses, nine minutes on foot from Hermès at No. 24, and in the fashion weeks a room here is hard to find at any price. For 2027 the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has set menswear for 19 to 24 January, haute couture for 25 to 28 January, womenswear for 1 to 9 March, menswear again for 22 to 27 June, haute couture for 5 to 8 July and womenswear for 27 September to 5 October. January, February and August bring the lowest rates of the year; September, the spring and the fashion weeks the highest.
What to do. If your dates can move, move them out of those weeks; if they cannot, book as soon as they are fixed. Late February, between the January shows and the March collections, and August fall in the cheapest months.
Who should skip it
Lap swimmers and anyone who wants a gym to themselves. Diners who want Epicure on a Sunday or a Monday. Couples who expect the garden from the entry rooms, since the Executive Room and the plain Deluxe face the courtyard or the street. Anyone who pictures the Eiffel Tower from the pool, and anyone who wants the Left Bank on the doorstep.
Who should book it anyway
Families above all, and anyone who wants a grand Paris hotel built around a garden. The 1,200 m² garden is real and sits at the middle of the house, Epicure holds three MICHELIN stars, Miromesnil station is four minutes away, and children are met with a welcome gift, a surprise in the room, connecting rooms and babysitting. Book a Deluxe Room with balcony over the garden, put Epicure on a night between Tuesday and Saturday, and the rest of these catches are small ones.
The catch elsewhere in Paris
- Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood HotelPlace de la Concorde
Only signature suites are sold with the Concorde view: Lagerfeld's Grands Appartements on the fourth floor and the Louis XV and Bernstein suites on the sixth. The 32 m² entry Deluxe Room faces an inner courtyard, and the Premier and Grand Premier Rooms a courtyard or the pedestrian Rue Boissy d'Anglas.
- Hôtel Madame RêveLes Halles
The entry Superior and Deluxe Balcony rooms look onto the courtyard's hanging garden, not across Paris; the city views start with the Paris View rooms.
- Shangri-La ParisTrocadéro
The entry Superior Room, 36 square metres, looks onto the courtyard or the glass cupola, and the tower view starts with the Eiffel View Room at about €3,005 against €1,730 on the same February night.
- Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, ParisSaint-Germain-des-Prés
The entry Grand Superior Room is 33 m² and looks onto the inner courtyard; the balconies start two categories up.
- Le Grand MazarinLe Marais
The entry Classic Room is 20 m², and the space starts at the Prestige Room.
- Le Pavillon de la ReinePlace des Vosges
Entry rooms are small: the Classic is an attic room of about 21 m² on the top floor, and the Superior is 22 m².
- Hôtel Molitor ParisAuteuil
Auteuil is the western edge of Paris, 7 km from Notre-Dame, and the Métro into the centre is a ten-minute walk.
- Le PigallePigalle
The ground-floor bar runs until 2am from Thursday to Saturday, the other bars on Rue Frochot keep the street lively at night, and noise can reach the rooms, most of all at weekends; the courtyard side is quieter.
- Grands Boulevards ExperimentalGrands Boulevards
The entry Petit Boulevard rooms are 14 to 15 m², and room size is the complaint guests make most often.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Le Bristol Paris
What are the downsides of Le Bristol Paris?
Five things separate the photographs from the stay. None of them is hidden and none is a reason to stay away, but each one changes which room you book, which nights you eat in, or what the bill comes to. The pool is the one that most often disappoints. The pool is small and indoors, and its windows look north, not at the Eiffel Tower Epicure is shut on Sundays and Mondays, and 114 Faubourg is temporarily closed The first rooms for two look at the courtyard or the street, and the garden is sold by name Breakfast, the city tax and the car all come on top In the fashion weeks the hotel fills early, and they come round six times in 2027
Who should not book Le Bristol Paris?
Lap swimmers and anyone who wants a gym to themselves. Diners who want Epicure on a Sunday or a Monday. Couples who expect the garden from the entry rooms, since the Executive Room and the plain Deluxe face the courtyard or the street. Anyone who pictures the Eiffel Tower from the pool, and anyone who wants the Left Bank on the doorstep.
Our verdict
Le Bristol is the grand Paris hotel to bring children to, with a garden, a pool and a three-star kitchen under one roof. Pay for the garden side, and plan your dinners around Epicure's Tuesday to Saturday hours.
Last checked: October 2026