Can a luxury hotel really have more than five stars?
With (sometimes) dubious rankings around the world and no standardized international classification system, it’s a valid question. And it’s one that pestered the French Ministry of Tourism when faced with a conundrum: How exactly does one call out this unique class of hotels that far outrank five-star peers?
In such a competitive hotel landscape, there are some that are a cut above. And we don’t just mean grande dames with statement lobbies awash in marble and old-world glamour.
To recognize these standouts, the Palace distinction was established in 2010. The selection process is intense. Palaces must check all the boxes for an ultra-luxe stay (design! food! service!) in a lengthy application. Beyond the tangible criteria, the properties must show off French style, art de vivre, and a deep sense of place. Ultimately, a 12-person committee evaluates the subjective attributes that determine whether applicants clinch the title and enter the pantheon of Palaces.
Currently France has 31 Palaces, with more expected to join the elite ranks in 2026. There’s a concentration in Paris (a dazzling dozen), Provence/Côte d’Azur (eight), and Courchevel (five). Yet you can also find Palaces outside of these well-known destinations, and a triumvirate in the country’s southwest provide a portal into the Palace personality.
Gourmet Delights
Les Prés d’Eugénie has gone down in legend because of chef Michel Guérard, who forged a secluded idyll into a gastronomic destination par excellence. Deep in the Landes countryside, a two-hour drive south from Bordeaux, this garden oasis has been reputed since Roman times for its healing thermal springs. Empress Eugénie soaked here en route to Biarritz, lending her name to the town.
The spa property was originally purchased by Christine Guérard’s father, who turned it over to his daughter in 1967. She developed it with her husband Michel, the culinary icon who invented so-called “slimming cuisine” and trained generations of top French chefs. With multiple restaurants, a light-filled cooking school, and ample recreational facilities, Les Prés d’Eugénie achieved Palace status in 2017. Michel passed away in 2024. Today the maison is helmed by their two daughters, Eléonore and Adeline, who keep alive the soulful spirit of the place. Chef Hugo Souchet worked alongside Michel for eight years before taking over the kitchens, where he leads a 45-person brigade.
(Les Prés d’Eugénie)
It’s clear the Guérards fostered a family-like ambiance appreciated by longtime staff. Andreu Coma Roca arrived as an intern in 2005 and now serves as the director.
Pull into the driveway and you’ll be struck by the otherworldly estate, planted with palms, banana trees, and orange groves. Within this greenery is a village-like complex of historic buildings, whose centerpiece is the main house with the celebrated Michelin three-starred restaurant. Walk past a gurgling fountain and get ready to step into the Guérard universe; it’s hard to say whether it’s the food or décor that steals the show. Christine collected an extraordinary antique collection from all over the world — check out that colorful Persian carpet next to your bath tub! — and there’s an in-house team of specialists who takes care of it.
Sybarites could spend all day lolling in the spa, where Sisley treatments are complemented with rituals like The Art of the Bath, incorporating a soak in mineral-rich thermal waters. Healing plants play a role in the spa ethos; you’ll see herbs drying from the big timber beams next to the lounge fireplace, where you can sip an herbal infusion between treatments. The hotel is known for its wellness programs and detox retreats, complemented by the healthy cuisine offered at L’Orangerie restaurant.
(Les Prés d’Eugénie)
One of the tenets of “slimming cuisine”? You don’t need to skimp on good food to lose weight. This is a Michelin-starred table, so your three-course lunch (we loved the citrus-accented roast duck) even includes dessert.
Lest you think it’s all regimen and restriction, L’Auberge de la Ferme aux Grives serves hearty, rustic food, and the Restaurant Michel Guérard orchestrates a glorious, gastronomic adventure that’ll go down in memory. Among the delightful dishes, you’ll swoon over Guérard’s take on dim sum, inspired after a revelatory 1978 trip to China, and stuffed with mushrooms and truffle.
The 27 rooms and 18 suites are spread between three different buildings. In the Couvent des Herbes, a former 18th-century convent, the “Temps de Cerise” room overlooks the rose garden, from where gardeners cut flowers to fill in-room vases. The main house is where the imperial suites wow in their grandeur. The in-room touches show off Les Prés d’Eugénie’s meticulous attention to detail: ready-to-light logs in the fireplace, beeswax candles made from the hotel’s beehives, and postcards placed on the bed that the reception team will mail for you.
(Les Prés d’Eugénie)
The Only Palace on the Atlantic Coast
Oozing cinematic glamour, the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz also owes its genesis to Eugénie. The Spanish-born empress grew up summering on the Basque coast, and Napoleon III gifted her a seaside villa in 1855 to assuage her nostalgia. She invited royals from across Europe to come hang by the beach. Movie stars and aristocrats followed, and a chic seaside resort was born. Today Biarritz’s cool cred is linked to its surf culture (it’s been considered the European surf capital since Hollywood producer Dick Zanuck introduced the sport in 1956), and the recent influx of Parisian transplants has elevated the buzzing restaurant and bar scene. Lording over it all is the imperial pied-à-terre turned Palace that’s a treasured local landmark owned by the city.
Part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection since 2018, the hotel is deeply connected to its setting and history. Take the gold bees decorating the plush hallway carpets. The motif is a nod to Napoleon III’s imperial symbol. Oh, and that grandiose chandelier in the bar? The crystal pendants weigh a whopping 900 pounds. (While you’re there, sink into one of the red-velvet armchairs and order a signature Zombie d’Ici cocktail, accented with Espelette chili pepper from the Basque Country.)
(Hotel Du Palais Biarritz)
The hotel employs an entire team of gilders, upholsterers, and expert craftsmen (the Ateliers Folin), who keep alive a unique, centuries-old savoir faire. Guests can even participate in a gilding workshop. The ornamental décor you see all over the hotel? Let’s just say that to apply the gold leaf to one small item is a painstaking exercise involving specialized tools and an untamable gold sheet fluttering wildly with each exhalation of breath.
You can’t get any closer to the Atlantic. Rooms open onto the roar of the crashing waves (the oh-la-la Empress Sissi Suite boasts a giant terrace), and the pool overlooks the ocean. In La Rotonde restaurant, the views of endless blues are framed by walls of glass. You can even hear the ocean from your treatment room at the five-level Guerlain spa.
Some dining rooms with a view let the panoramas upstage the food. Thankfully that’s not the case at La Rotonde, where theatrical tableside service (i.e. cocktails prepared from a cart) is complemented by haute cuisine by chef Christophe Scheller. He took the reins in 2024, having honed his culinary chops in Parisian Palace kitchens. Crispy langoustine, foie gras confit, scallops in a mushroom infusion… Is anyone else’s stomach growling yet?
( ©itshenriette2025)
Luxury in the Vineyards
Launched in 1999 in the Bordeaux vineyards of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Les Sources de Caudalie is a sought-after wellness destination and the first Palace to be awarded the European Ecolabel. Adhering to biodynamic principles, the vineyard was organic before the concept became a buzzword. The hotel’s eco-friendly practices go beyond the permaculture kitchen garden. Even the construction, repurposing salvaged timber beams, was an example of “upcycling” avant la lettre.
This is a family affair: The vineyard is owned by Daniel Cathiard and Florence Cathiard, former French ski champions who were behind the Go Sport retail chain. Their entrepreneurial daughters created symbiotic businesses. Mathilde and her husband Bertrand were the brains behind the cult beauty brand Caudalie, which pioneered the use of grape antioxidants in their products. Alice Tourbier and her husband Jerôme developed the resort with a Caudalie-branded vinotherapy spa. A natural spring, or “source” in French, feeds the pool.
In fact, Les Sources de Caudalie is the flagship for a collection of vineyard hotels situated in coveted wine regions across France.
(©MPMorel 2022)
Here in Bordeaux, it’s all about the good life in the vineyards: fine dining, spa leisure, bike rides and walks surrounded by nature. Alice likes to think of the 62-room property as “shabby chic” — a countryside escape that exudes the charm and authenticity of a family home. Opt for a newly renovated suite in the Le Village des Pêcheurs, or follow in the footsteps of Beyoncé and Jay-Z and book L’Île aux Oiseaux, a standalone cabane suspended over a pond. Every few years a couture designer is given carte blanche to design the interior. Rabih Kayrouz created the latest white-on-white incarnation, inspired by his native Lebanon.
A must-do is a meal at La Grand’Vigne, the hotel’s Michelin two-starred restaurant. The nature-inspired extravaganza kicks off with an herbal tea that’s more than it seems. Made with plants plucked from the organic vineyards, the infusion transmits a message from chef Nicolas Masse about the health of both our planet and us.
Luxury and sustainability don’t have to clash: They can coexist.
Related Stories
Forbes vs. Michelin vs. 50 Best: Which Hotel Rankings Really Matter
What World’s 50 Best Hotels Reveals About the Future of Luxury