Built in 1928 and returned to its Art Deco origins in 2013, the Prince de Galles keeps a courtyard of mosaics behind its limestone façade on avenue George-V.
In this story · 6 sections
From the street, the Prince de Galles is a sober limestone building of the late 1920s on avenue George-V. The surprise is inside. At its heart lies a courtyard lined with Art Deco mosaics, visible from the windows of the rooms around it and open, as Le Patio, for breakfast, lunch and dinner under the sky throughout the year.
The hotel opened in 1928 to designs by the architect André Arfvidson. Today it belongs to Marriott's Luxury Collection and is classified five-star, with 115 rooms and 44 suites in the 8th arrondissement, a few minutes from the Champs-Élysées.
Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris
- Address
- 33 avenue George-V, 75008 Paris
- Opened
- 1928
- Architect
- André Arfvidson
- Restoration
- Pierre-Yves Rochon and Bruno Borrione, reopened 2013
- Classification
- Five stars (Atout France)
- Rooms
- 115 rooms and 44 suites
- Restaurants
- Akira Back, 19.20 by Norbert Tarayre, Le Patio
01André Arfvidson's hotel of 1928
Arfvidson designed the building in the years when Art Deco defined Parisian luxury. The mosaic courtyard is its centrepiece: a private, ornamented space at the heart of the building, overlooked by the rooms.
02The restoration of 2013
The hotel reopened in the summer of 2013 after a two-year restoration led by the designers Pierre-Yves Rochon and Bruno Borrione with ERTIM Architectes, whose aim was to bring back the look of 1920s and 1930s Paris. Black marble, Macassar ebony and textiles inspired by the period run through the public rooms, and a handcrafted chandelier by Delisle hangs at the centre of the lobby.
The rooms take their cue from the same sources. Among the suites, 23 Mosaic suites and 18 Macassar suites are finished in geometric black Saint Laurent marble, with carpets whose scrolls echo the mosaics in the courtyard below.
03Le Patio
Le Patio is the hotel's most distinctive room. Breakfast is served here in the morning, and the courtyard stays open into the evening for cocktails and dinner under the stars; the menu is international, and it is open all year.
04Akira Back and 19.20
The Korean-American chef Akira Back, who trained with Nobu Matsuhisa after a career as a professional snowboarder, opened his first European restaurant here in 2022. His cooking reinterprets Japanese cuisine with Korean and international flavours; the dining room is large and dimly lit, with Art Deco chandeliers and a marble counter where the kitchen team works. Signatures include the tuna pizza and Wagyu bulgogi tacos.
19.20 by Norbert Tarayre is a French bistro and bar themed on the 1920s and decorated with paintings of Parisian history. It also serves the hotel's afternoon tea and a Sunday brunch.
05The Golden Triangle around the hotel
Avenue George-V runs from the Champs-Élysées down to the Seine, through the heart of the Golden Triangle with avenue Montaigne close by. The whole city is in VERA PI's guide to Paris, our list of the world's 100 best hotels is on Metro Mode, and more great hotels are collected on metromode.co.
06Making the most of a stay
Ask for a room overlooking the courtyard, or for one of the Mosaic suites. Take breakfast on Le Patio at least once, and book Akira Back for dinner, which is served from seven in the evening. On a Sunday, the brunch at 19.20 is an easy way into the decade the hotel was built in.
