François Delahaye, General Manager of Hôtel Plaza Athénée and Chief Operating Officer of Dorchester Collection © Hôtel Plaza Athénée
BOARD’S CHOICE 2026 — A Paris palace defined by continuity, identity and service
The European Hotel Awards have named Hôtel Plaza Athénée Palace Hotel of the Year 2026. The distinction recognises a house whose international prestige is sustained by an unusually coherent relationship between Paris, avenue Montaigne, haute couture, gastronomy, wellbeing and a deeply established service culture.
The property is represented by François Delahaye, General Manager of Hôtel Plaza Athénée since 1999 and Chief Operating Officer of Dorchester Collection since 2006. For the Board, this continuity of leadership is part of the reason the palace has been able to evolve while remaining immediately recognisable.
Palace Hotel of the Year 2026
Hôtel Plaza Athénée — Paris, France
Represented by François Delahaye, General Manager & Chief Operating Officer, Dorchester Collection
Why the European Hotel Awards selected Hôtel Plaza Athénée
Opened in 1913 on avenue Montaigne, Hôtel Plaza Athénée is inseparable from a particular expression of Parisian luxury. Its relationship with fashion developed naturally as the avenue became one of the city’s principal addresses for haute couture, giving the hotel a cultural context that cannot be reproduced simply through design.
The Board selected the property because this identity is supported by the complete hotel experience. Architecture and history, highly precise service, gastronomy, wellbeing and long-term leadership operate as parts of the same house rather than as separate luxury components.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée has been part of the culture of avenue Montaigne since 1913 © Hôtel Plaza Athénée
A palace whose social and gastronomic life remains active
The hotel offers 154 rooms and 54 suites, combining French classical references with Art Deco elements. Yet the Board’s assessment extended well beyond accommodation. A palace must remain alive throughout the day, and food and beverage plays an essential role in maintaining that rhythm.
The gastronomic restaurant, Le Relais Plaza, La Galerie, La Cour Jardin, Le Bar and seasonal terraces allow the house to move between grand occasions and the everyday social life of a Parisian address. Gastronomy therefore contributes directly to the palace’s continuing relevance.
Gastronomy keeps Hôtel Plaza Athénée connected to the active social life of Paris © Hôtel Plaza Athénée
Made-to-measure luxury from couture to wellbeing
The Dior Spa Plaza Athénée extends the long relationship between the hotel and couture into wellbeing. For the European Hotel Awards, the significance lies in the shared culture of individual attention: luxury becomes convincing when it is adapted to the guest rather than displayed only through prestige.
This same principle can be seen in the wider service culture of the house. The guest journey must remain coherent from arrival to room, dining, wellness, concierge and departure. The Board recognised Plaza Athénée for sustaining that precision without allowing the palace to become impersonal or ceremonial.
Dior Spa Plaza Athénée extends the house’s culture of personalised, made-to-measure luxury © Hôtel Plaza Athénée
The meaning of Palace Hotel of the Year 2026
Palace Hotel of the Year 2026 recognises Hôtel Plaza Athénée for the consistency with which heritage, fashion, gastronomy, wellbeing, leadership and service reinforce one another. The house can remain grand without becoming distant, historic without becoming static, and international while remaining unmistakably Parisian.
The Award was presented within the eighth edition of the European Hotel Awards, held on 28 September 2026 at the Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa in Bordighera, Italy.
Official 2026 laureate film
https://youtu.be/932lv7LNVBI
Hôtel Plaza Athénée — Palace Hotel of the Year 2026
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
25 avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris, France
Tel. +33 (0)1 53 67 66 65
Internet: dorchestercollection.com/paris/hotel-plaza-athenee
Discover the Main Awards dedicated to excellence across European hospitality and visit the Hall of Fame to explore previous laureates.
Tags: Avenue Montaigne, Awards Insights, Dorchester Collection, European Hotel Awards, European Hotel Awards 2026, François Delahaye, Hôtel Plaza Athénée, palace hospitality, Palace Hotel of the Year 2026, Paris
