Updated: November 2008

Shangri-La Asia, parent company of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, has acquired the historic palais of Prince Roland Bonaparte with plans to convert it to the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris in 2009, marking the group’s European debut. The Bonaparte family mansion in Paris’ prestigious 16th arrondissement will be converted into the capital’s first luxury hotel fully owned and operated by an Asian hotel group.

Located at 10, avenue d’Iena, near the Trocadero, the building offers some of the city’s finest views of the River Seine and the Eiffel Tower, which is a 15-minute walk away. The Champs Elysées and Arc de Triomphe are also within walking distance. The mansion is located next to the Iena metro station and set amidst a mix of residences, businesses, museums and embassies.

The 110 year-old mansion was designed and owned by Prince Roland Bonaparte, grand nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. The historic and architectural integrity of the building exterior will be maintained and Shangri-La will work with top interior designers, such as Richard Martinet and Pierre Yves Rochon, to renew and enhance the inner spaces.

Guests will arrive at the hotel’s own porte cochere which fronts a facade with ornate grillwork. Interiors will feature original grand staircase, fireplaces, parquet and marble flooring, seven-metre high doorways and ceilings, chandeliers, mirrors, ceiling frescoes, gold-leaf accents and moulding enhanced with the Bonaparte insignia. Historic paintings and statuary will remain focal points.

Accommodation in the seven-storey building will consist of 108 deluxe guestrooms and suites, ranging from 50 to 160 square metres (538 to 1,720 square feet), some to include private balconies. A rooftop speciality suite with “reach out and touch” outlook on the Eiffel Tower and river.

Gustave Eiffel lived nearby and obtained a neighbourhood building height restriction so that his tower was always easily visible from his home. Consequently, 10, avenue d’Iena affords close-up views of the Paris icon, to be showcased from the future hotel’s rooftop terrace and suites.

Two restaurants will include a fine Chinese restaurant in addition to a French gourmet restaurant under a glass dome.

Meeting facilities will include a Grand Salon, a Petit Salon and a Salon Bleu with a combined balcony overlooking Place d’Iena. A Ballroom will include a recreation of Prince Bonaparte’s library on a mezzanine level. The hotel will also include an indoor swimming pool; CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La; retail space; and a business lounge.

“This exquisite property is the culmination of a long search to find the perfect location to launch Shangri-La in France,” said Madhu Rao,  managing director and chief executive officer of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. “We aim to combine Shangri-La’s renowned Asian hospitality, accommodations and dining, with the site’s romantic history, privileged location and structural attributes, to create another gem in Paris’ crown.”

Shangri-La Hotel, Paris will be joined by the group’s two other European hotels.  The opening of Shangri-La Hotel, Vienna, located in the former Erste Bank headquarters on the Schubertring in the city’s 1st district (Bezirk), is scheduled for 2010.  And the Shangri-La Hotel at London Bridge Tower, London, situated in the 310-metre (1,016 feet) high, Renzo Piano-designed London Bridge Tower, projected to be the tallest building in Europe, will open in 2012.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, currently owns and/or manages 57 hotels under the deluxe Shangri-La and mid-market Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 28,000.  The group has over 50 projects under development in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.   For more information and reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at www.shangri-la.com.

Editor’s Histroical Reference: Prince Roland Bonaparte (1858-1924) was the grandson of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Lucien. He traveled the world as an eminent scientist and anthropologist, and sponsored expeditions to Africa, Asia and the New World. His home at 10, avenue d’Iena was constructed to accommodate his vast collection of scientific specimens including the world’s largest herbarium. The mansion also housed an immense library which was eventually donated to the Geographic Society, of which Bonaparte was president at the time of his death. Avenue d’Iena is named after the fierce battle in 1806 at which his great uncle Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces won a decisive victory over the Prussian army.

For digitised pictures of the group’s hotels, please go to http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary