I’ve written in the past about the general issue with hotel star ratings. Hotels can ultimately identify themselves however they’d like — while there are organizations like AAA and Forbes that award stars, personally I don’t put too much weight into those ratings. While they’re fine for giving you a general sense of the quality of a hotel, I think they fail to consider service, sense of place, and the little things that make a stay exceptional.
If you ask me, a hotel can technically have five stars, but still not be a luxury hotel (in the sense that it’s actually a luxury factory with 300+ rooms and very little personalization).
That’s why I thought it would be interesting to take a look at France “Palace” distinction for hotels, which is one of the few government-awarded hotel rating systems out there. While I’ve covered this in the past, we recently saw the list updated for the first time in years, and I’d like to reflect all of those details in this post.
What is France’s “Palace” hotel rating system?
France is known for luxury and amazing food, and by connection, some amazing hotels. This is where France’s “Palace” distinction for hotels kicks in.
Since 2010, Atout France (France’s official tourism development agency) has been awarding certain hotels “Palace” distinction. This is a much higher honor than being a five-star hotel, as there are currently only 33 hotels in France with this distinction.
Note that a French hotel having “Palace” distinction doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s in a former palace (though several properties are). Rather it’s intended to describe just how grand these properties are.
This concept is intended to encourage hotels to be their best, all while increasing the profile of these properties on the international scene. I know many Francophiles go out of their way to stay at “Palace” properties, and for good reason.
You’ll find that hotels with “Palace” distinction heavily promote that honor, and typically put it right next to their name online.
How do hotels in France get “Palace” distinction?
How does a hotel in France earn “Palace” distinction? While the exact criteria aren’t published, here’s what we know:
- “Palace” hotels must contribute to enhancing the image of France throughout the world, and must have qualities that embody French standards of excellence; they must have good locations, architectural heritage, great design, and bespoke service
- Hotels earn “palace” distinction in two phases — first there’s an initial investigation phase, based on objective criteria, including having certain facilities, and then there’s an evaluation phase, conducted by a panel, intended to judge things like the character of a property, the service levels, the quality of the restaurants, etc.
- When a hotel receives the “Palace” distinction, it’s valid for five years, and can then be renewed
For more context on some of the recent updates:
- In 2019 we saw the list updated, with six new hotels getting the honor, and none having it taken away
- In 2026 we saw the list updated again, with six new hotels getting the honor, and four having it taken away
- Usually this list would be updated every few years, but there was a gap following the start of the pandemic, given how hotel service procedures and operations were modified for some amount of time
Which hotels in France have “Palace” status?
As mentioned above, currently 33 hotels in France have “Palace” distinction. I think it’s important to emphasize that if a hotel has “Palace” status, it’s probably pretty awesome. However, it’s possible for a hotel to be great without having “Palace” status.
It’s possible that a hotel is new and just hasn’t been judged yet, or it’s possible a hotel just didn’t meet one of the criteria, but is excellent nonetheless. While I’ll share some more thoughts below, let’s start by looking at the hotels in France with Palace status.
As you’d expect, Paris is the biggest market for “Palace” hotels, as there are currently 13 properties with this distinction:
- Bulgari Paris
- Cheval Blanc Paris
- Fouquet’s Paris
- Four Seasons George V Paris
- Hôtel Lutetia Paris
- Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris, Dorchester Collection
- La Réserve Paris
- Le Bristol Paris, Oetker Collection
- Le Meurice Paris, Dorchester Collection
- Peninsula Paris
- Raffles Le Royal Monceau Paris
- Rosewood Hôtel de Crillon Paris
- Shangri-La Paris
The next biggest market for “Palace” hotels is the South of France, and in particular the Côte d’Azur, as there are currently 11 properties with this distinction, though they’re more spread out than in Paris:
- Airelles Gordes, La Bastide
- Airelles Saint-Tropez, Château de La Messardière
- Château Saint-Martin & Spa Vence, Oetker Collection
- Cheval Blanc Saint-Tropez
- Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat
- Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Rock Antibes, Oetker Collection
- Hotel Martinez Cannes, Hyatt Unbound Collection
- La Réserve Ramatuelle
- Les Prés d’Eugénie Maison Guérard Eugénie-les-Bains, Relais & Chateaux
- Les Sources de Caudalie Bordeaux
- Villa La Coste Aix-en-Provence
The next biggest market for “Palace” hotels is in ski destinations, as there are currently seven properties with this distinction, five of which are in Courchevel:
- Cheval Blanc Courchevel
- Four Seasons Megeve
- Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges Courchevel
- Hôtel Royal Evian Evian-les-Bains
- L’Apogée Courchevel, Oetker Collection
- Les Airelles Courchevel
- Le K2 Palace Courchevel
The last two hotels with “Palace” distinction have some geographic diversity, with one being the only one that isn’t in Metropolitan France, and the other being in what’s perhaps France’s most famous wine region:
- Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France
- Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa
In the interest of being thorough, let me mention the only four hotels that have had their “Palace” distinction taken away, and that happened as of June 2026, to the following properties:
- Hôtel Byblos Saint-Tropez
- Hôtel du Palais Biarritz, Hyatt Unbound Collection
- Mandarin Oriental Paris
- Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme
As you’ll notice, at this point there are two points hotels with “Palace” distinction — Hotel Martinez Cannes belongs to World of Hyatt, while Raffles Le Royal Monceau Paris belongs to Accor Live Limitless (but Accor doesn’t have a traditional loyalty program, as points can just be redeemed for vouchers toward hotel stays).
In general, I think this list is pretty spot on, though there are some quirks, and properties worth calling out:
- Ritz-Paris is one of the city’s most famous hotels, but doesn’t have “Palace” distinction, which seems odd; some suggest it’s because the hotel doesn’t want it (eh?), but who knows
- With the latest updates to the list, I was expecting that Airelles Château de Versailles and Airelles Val d’Isère would be added, as they both opened since the 2019 rankings; however, neither were added, which I can’t wrap my head around
- The only hotel on the list I can’t make any sense of is Hotel Martinez Cannes, as I don’t see how on earth that 400+ room hotel represents the best that France has to offer
Bottom line
France is one of the only countries to have an official distinction for the country’s top hotels, in the form of “Palace” status. There are currently 33 of these properties, and they’re most heavily concentrated in Paris, Courchevel, and Saint-Tropez. Furthermore, French hotel brands like Airelles and Cheval Blanc are also heavily featured.
You can expect that “Palace” properties have a great sense of place, amazing dining, and good French service. For those into miles & points, Hotel Martinez Cannes and Raffles Le Royal Monceau Paris are two of these properties that you can book with points.
If you’ve stayed at a French “Palace” property, what was your experience like?