Which room should you book at the Hôtel de Crillon?
Book the Grand Premier Room and ask for the inner courtyard side: at 42 square meters it is the first category with real room to move, and it is the smallest one that takes an extra bed. It faces either rue Boissy d'Anglas, the side street along the hotel, or the courtyard, and the courtyard is the quieter of the two.
The catch most people miss is that the Crillon's famous façade is not where its rooms are. On the hotel's pages, no room category and no standard suite faces Place de la Concorde. Every room from the Deluxe Room to the Grand Premier Suite looks onto the courtyard or rue Boissy d'Anglas. The square is reserved for two named suites, covered below.
So the choice at room level is about size and quiet, not the view. That makes the Grand Premier Room the one to book: the 10 square meters over the entry room matter more than anything a cheaper category can offer.
How do the Crillon rooms and suites compare?
| Category | Size | Beds and guests | View | Floors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deluxe Room | 32 m² | 1 bed, up to 2 | Inner courtyard | 1 to 6 |
| Premier Room | 35 m² | 1 bed, up to 2 | Rue Boissy d'Anglas or inner courtyard | 1 to 6 |
| Grand Premier Room | 42 m² | 1 bed, extra bed possible, 2 to 3 | Rue Boissy d'Anglas or inner courtyard | 1 to 6 |
| Junior Suite | 45 m² | 1 bed, extra bed possible, 2 to 3 | Rue Boissy d'Anglas or inner courtyard | 1 to 5 |
| Deluxe Suite | 51 m² | King-size bed, up to 2 | Inner courtyard | 1 to 4 and 6 |
| Premier Suite | 57 m² | 1 bed plus sofa bed, 2 to 3 | Rue Boissy d'Anglas or inner courtyard | 1 to 6 |
| Grand Premier Suite | 72 m² | 1 bed plus sofa bed, 2 to 3 | Rue Boissy d'Anglas or inner courtyard | 3 to 6 |
Every one of these lists a separate walk-in rain shower and a soaking tub, so the bathroom does not change the choice. The hotel's pages show no rates, so none are given here.
Which Crillon room should you skip?
Skip the Premier Room. It is 35 square meters, only 3 more than the Deluxe Room, and the main thing it adds is the chance of a room on the street side, which is the louder side. If you want the smallest room, book the Deluxe Room: at 32 square meters it is tight for more than two nights, but every one faces the inner courtyard, so it is the one category that guarantees the quiet side.
I would also pass on the Junior Suite for most couples. At 45 square meters it is 3 more than the Grand Premier Room, and it tops out at the fifth floor, so it does not buy you a higher room either.
Which Crillon rooms face Place de la Concorde?
Only the signature suites, and only some of them. On the hotel's pages, two suites name the square in their view:
- Suite Louis XV: 116 square meters on the sixth floor, facing Place de la Concorde and the Cour d'Honneur, the hotel's main courtyard.
- Grand Appartement Concorde: 176 square meters on the fourth floor, one of the two apartments designed by Karl Lagerfeld, facing Place de la Concorde and the Eiffel Tower.
If you want a landmark in the window without paying for one of those two suites, book Ateliers d'Artistes - Le Peintre, a 58 square meter apartment under the roof, with sloped ceilings, on the seventh floor and with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Its page lists a walk-in shower and no tub, so it suits someone who wants the rooftop view more than a bath.
Who should upgrade to a suite at the Crillon?
Upgrade for a family of three, for a long stay, or for a higher floor; not for the view, because the standard suites face the same two sides as the rooms.
- Two adults and a child: the Premier Suite, 57 square meters, with a sofa bed of 140 by 200 centimeters, so the child is not on a rollaway in the bedroom.
- A week or more: the Grand Premier Suite, 72 square meters. It is the one standard suite kept to the third floor and above.
- Quiet first: the Deluxe Suite, 51 square meters with a king-size bed, which faces only the inner courtyard.
For history over view, Suite Marie-Antoinette keeps 18th-century décor in the room where, the hotel says, the queen took piano lessons; it is on the second floor and faces the Cour d'Honneur, not the square.
What should you ask for when you book?
Ask for the inner courtyard and a high floor, in writing, before you arrive. Most categories span floors 1 to 6, so the floor is the one thing the category does not settle. A higher room on the courtyard gets more light and less noise from the street.
- If you booked a Premier Room, Grand Premier Room, Junior Suite or a Premier or Grand Premier Suite, name the courtyard: those categories can put you on rue Boissy d'Anglas.
- Traveling with a child, ask for the extra bed when you book the Grand Premier Room or Junior Suite; the pages say it is subject to availability.
- If you want the Eiffel Tower in the window, book Le Peintre outright rather than hoping for a lucky room, since no room category promises it.
Every category can be booked from the hotel's accommodation pages, then send the requests by message to the hotel once you have a confirmation number.
What else should you read before booking a Paris hotel?
The Ritz Paris room guide and the Le Bristol room guide make the same call for the other two palaces most people compare with the Crillon. The where to stay in Paris guide picks the neighborhood before the hotel, if you are still deciding where in Paris to be.
Landing in the morning, the early arrival hotel guide covers getting into a room before check-in, and the Louvre, a walk through the Tuileries garden from the hotel, has its own tickets guide.