In Paris, the Mandarin Oriental and the Park Hyatt Vendôme are no longer palaces

Since June 2nd, France now has 33 palaces — 27 renewed and 6 new ones. On June 2nd, the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme and the Mandarin Oriental will officially lose their palace status in the French capital, along with the Byblos in Saint-Tropez and the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz. The Ritz is not one of them — and isn't even applying. To be or not to be a prisoner of Salesforce. To remain a Palace. To deploy AI agents. How do you take care of the customer experience and New Biz?

Two Parisian palaces lose their status

What exactly is a palace? Who awards this coveted distinction? And why does Atout France — a government-funded economic interest group — never answer its phone or emails? En-Contact conducted its own investigation, which began two months ago in Arles, at the Nord-Pinus.

The Palace commission, responsible for awarding the highest distinction in the hotel industry, is expected to announce on June 2nd that two Parisian institutions are being downgraded to five-star status.

According to information from Le Figaro, confirmed to Le Parisien by several players in the luxury hotel industry, this institution will be downgraded to five-star status on June 2nd, at the official announcement by the Minister of Tourism and the Palace commission. The Mandarin Oriental, located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement, faces the same penalty for similarly failing to meet the required standards of excellence.

"It's rare for a Parisian palace to lose its status, but two in the same year is a massive blow — it's never happened before," laments one luxury hotel industry observer. "On the other hand, we should be getting one or two new palaces in the capital. Some five-star properties have been upgrading and are putting themselves forward."

Until now, the capital had 12 palaces and could be down to just 10 as of June. Meanwhile, even though it doesn't appear on the official list, the Ritz — which underwent a major renovation in 2016 — is not a palace solely because it chose not to seek the distinction.

Florian Loisy, Paul Abran and Elie Julien for Le Parisien, May 18, 2026.

What is a palace? Are the Fouquet's and the Ritz considered palaces?

The official palace distinction was created in 2010 by the French government. It is subject to review by a dedicated commission, but the criteria for obtaining it are fairly subjective: the establishment must have a dedicated team of staff whose mission is to fulfill guests' every wish, several luxury suites, valet service, a spa, and a remarkable location or other distinguishing feature — an atmosphere, a design element, a heritage aspect, or a setting. And of course, a concierge, often a Clefs d'Or member.

Atout France's unreachability — a remarkable fact

Funded by the state, Atout France is an economic interest group responsible for various initiatives promoting France as a destination and, incidentally, for awarding hotel star ratings. A few weeks ago, we formally reached out by email — as instructed, since Atout France only has a voicemail — to the organization, which has been led since 2025 by Adam Oubuih, to understand what qualifies a hotel as a four-star property. We had stayed at the Nord-Pinus in Arles and were surprised that a four-star hotel offered no in-room TV. We eventually figured out that the Nord-Pinus was the equivalent of a four-star property.

We are still waiting for a reply to that email. Atout France bears a striking resemblance to the Paris Tourist Office, now rebranded as "Paris je t'aime." The quiet closure of Paris's last physical tourist welcome centre is surprising. Cat Khe, a former employee, recounted the story.

It's high time a parliamentary committee looked into what France's state-run tourism bodies are actually doing with their public subsidies and operating budgets.

Why are they getting relegated?

The Park Hyatt and the Mandarin Oriental apparently failed to meet the extraordinary standards required. The Byblos in Saint-Tropez and the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz are also losing their status. But the exact reasons for these sanctions have not yet come to light. The Ritz couldn't care less — you can be fully booked without being a palace. Sometimes there's more money and less hassle in not chasing Michelin stars or the countless distinctions and labels handed out by who-knows-whom.

This year's selection is highly anticipated, as the commission had not convened since the end of Covid, in order to give hotels time to recover from that difficult period. Made up of independent figures and chaired by Pierre Ferchaud (former director of the Hôtel de Paris Saint-Tropez and the Bristol in Paris), it was completely renewed following a reform at the end of 2024. That reform notably tightened the criteria, including the duration of the distinction, which was reduced from five to three years.

"The candidacy or renewal process involves putting together a dossier, a visit from two commission members, and a formal presentation in Paris," explains one commission member. "I must admit I was disappointed to have been visited by only two of the twelve commission members. Moreover, the questions asked were somewhat outdated," explains one hotel director (quoted in Les Echos, Jean Michel Alberti).

What should we make of these downgrades and rankings? Guest expectations are changing everywhere — their desire for freedom, for a tailor-made customer experience. In a lengthy and insightful article in Les Echos Week-end, various customer experience and hospitality experts share their views on these distinctions and their impact on sales (Marion Beilin, Giulia Panossian, François Dusart, etc.)

Exceptional

Les Prés d'Eugénie, the establishment created in the Landes region by Michel Guérard, was unanimously renewed by the jury according to one source — a very rare occurrence. A stay with a dinner package at the 3-star restaurant starts from €975. The establishment is a Relais & Châteaux.

The Ritz in Paris is not a palace and couldn't care less about being one: it doesn't even apply for the distinction.

The Royal Champagne Hôtel & Spa, in Champillon (Marne), is the only one among the six newly distinguished palaces not to be run by a large group, but by an American couple: the former founding partner of investment fund Bain Capital, Mark Nunelly, and his wife Denise Dupré, Dean at Harvard University and former holder of the hospitality and restaurant management chair at Boston University. The couple also owns the Champagne house Leclerc Briant.

A little further reading — with a smile

RevPAR — average revenue per room — at palace hotels is reported to be on the rise for 2026, especially in Paris. Average occupancy rates at this type of hotel are around 60%.

At the Floirat family's table, within the Pritzker family, and at Biarritz City Hall — the owners of the soon-to-be-dethroned palaces — there will likely be some serious soul-searching.

Don't bother looking for a palace in the Auvergne — there aren't any, unlike Courchevel, which has five. No discounted palace deals on Staycation, no day-use bookings via Dayuse.

If you want a truly memorable experience in phone hospitality, call 01 42 96 70 00 — Atout France's main line. Wow! Whatever your reason for calling, rest assured: speaking to an actual person won't get you anywhere.

Personal messages, conversational agents

A palace is, above all, wherever you feel truly at home.

My favourite place in France is a holiday camp in Savoie, at La Féclaz — the Chalet de l'Aurore. It has nothing in common with the Plaza except the colour red. The Bauges are paradise — like Sundance when Robert Redford discovered the resort in 1969, I believe.

In Ireland, Moy House left me with an unforgettable memory — but it has since closed.

Under my hi-fi headphones, Hotel California has been welcoming and transporting me with magic for fifty years. The Cabasse speakers recently filed for bankruptcy, but a German buyer, Loewe Technology, will attempt to rekindle the flame.

If Atout France wishes to become more accessible and reachable, one suggestion would be to equip itself with a telephone switchboard and/or a person to answer calls. Both together are affordable and well within the reach of a state-funded service.

An Aircall CCaaS licence costs just €30 per month and, as of today, includes the AI Agent option: the French unicorn is expected to announce today the acquisition of Piper AI. A conversational agent answers callers, understands the message, responds in a personalised way, and enriches the CRM with a summary of the conversation. Volubile.ai produces very effective ones for major players in tourism and camping, in several languages.

The En-Contact Editorial Team

Cover photo: Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme © Edouard Jacquinet