While Paris is probably the world’s most competitive market for luxury hotels, there aren’t all that many luxury points options in the city. That’s why it’s noteworthy that Hilton is planning on opening a new property in the near future, which will likely be the group’s most luxurious option in the city (thanks to khabah for flagging this).
In this post:
Basics of Hilton LXR’s 118-key Sax Paris
Sax Paris, part of Hilton’s LXR Hotels & Resorts collection, is now accepting reservations for stays as of June 15, 2025. The property will be located in the 7th arrondissement, on Paris’ Left Bank. The property is housed in a former telephone exchange with a Belle Époque façade, featuring views of the Eiffel Tower.
The hotel will have 118 guest rooms and suites, starting at 24 square meters (258 square feet). As far as amenities go, the property will boast a library bar on the ground floor, a Japanese restaurant and bar on the top floor, and a panoramic rooftop with Eiffel Tower views. The property will also house a wellness area and fitness center, plus an outdoor plunge pool (I’m curious about the details of that…).
Rates at the hotel start at around €560 per night, while Hilton Honors award stays start at 95,000 points per night. So it’s not cheap, but it’s also way cheaper than the city’s top properties, which nowadays retail for €1,500+ per night.
For those of you not familiar with LXR, this is Hilton’s fast growing collection of independent luxury hotels. LXR properties have the benefit of Hilton’s global distribution power, plus the Hilton Honors program, all while maintaining their unique designs.
What’s interesting is that the concept for this property was announced back in 2017, and at the time, the plan was for it to become the Hilton Paris Eiffel Tower. So obviously Hilton has decided to move this property upmarket a bit, as LXR is one of Hilton’s luxury brands.
There are some pictures of the property on the hotel’s website, but they’re so low resolution that I won’t even post them here, but feel free to check them out. The hotel looks nice enough, but it’s hard to know for sure with just renderings. For that matter, I don’t see any renderings of the rooms yet.
This should be Hilton’s most luxurious Paris property
Broadly speaking, Hilton has done a great job expanding its luxury portfolio in recent years. In particular, the Waldorf Astoria brand has opened some stunning new flagship properties, though Conrad and LXR have been expanding nicely as well.
That being said, up until now, Hilton hasn’t really had a single luxury property in Paris. Yes, there’s the Waldorf Astoria in nearby Versailles, but none of Hilton’s luxury brands have a presence in Paris.
That seems like it’s sorely missing, especially with awesome new Waldorf Astoria properties opening in so many global hubs, like London, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, etc.
I suspect this new property will be a step up from what Hilton otherwise offers, but it doesn’t seem like this will actually compete in the Paris “big leagues.” Paris is a market where luxury points hotels are just limited.
With Hyatt, you have the Park Hyatt Paris, which has French “Palace” distinction. It’s very good, with excellent service, but it could definitely use a bit of a refresh. Meanwhile Marriott’s most luxurious property is probably Prince de Galles, part of Marriott Luxury Collection. It’s literally right next door to the Four Seasons George V, which is either good or bad, depending on how you look at it.
So I’m happy to see another Paris luxury points hotel option, though I do hope that Hilton is still working on a new flagship property for the City of Lights.
Bottom line
Sax Paris will open in June 2025, as part of Hilton’s LXR collection. The property will feature 118 rooms and suites, and will be located on the Left Bank, in Paris’ 7th arrondissement. Hilton doesn’t currently have any luxury brands in Paris, so this is a positive development. However, I wouldn’t expect this to actually be competitive with the city’s top properties.
What do you make of Sax Paris?
I live in the seventh in Paris and the location is pretty weird to me; it’s a very quiet and residential part of the neighborhood (which imo is quite sad) that isn’t very close to any major tourist attraction.
I'd been looking at the Grand Hôtel du Palais Royal (an SLH for 120k HH points per night). Any thoughts on how this new LXR at 90k would compare?
also the hotel may do well in that it will be the nicest chain hotel close to UNESCO so they could get a lot of UN business at whatever negotiated rate they offer the UN which they would not get if it were competing with the highest range of luxe hotels here
weird that the hotel is called Sax when the street is Saxe. needlessly confusing. FWIW, there's a Sixt on the same street for anyone looking to stay at the hotel....can pick/drop a car within walking distance :) sixt sax saxe lol
"new Waldorf Astoria properties opening in so many global hubs, like London, New York, Paris, Sydney, etc."
I think Paris is wrongly named here
@ dan -- Whoops, indeed. Fixed, thank you.
Bland, poorly-located property with a stupid name.
The hotel is simply named after its address : Avenue de Saxe (which is Saxony in English, a german region)
In terms of the rooftop plunge pool, it is likely very small - but I would imagine outdoor pools (on the roof if possible) are becoming a much more requested amenity in city hotels where there are a lot of tourists in the summer. W Rome, Edition Rome, Edition Madrid all have outdoor pools.
When talking about buying and selling hotels, "price per key" is one of the "key" metrics that people evaluate...
Looks like an interesting hotel, but the location is really not the best. It's pretty far from central Paris and most of the main sites/attractions, and the immediate neighborhood is pretty sleepy (which may be a perk for some, admittedly).
Random aside, but when did everyone start to use "keys" instead of "rooms" when discussing the number of rooms a hotel has? Was this something that industry insiders always used that people have taken mainstream...
Looks like an interesting hotel, but the location is really not the best. It's pretty far from central Paris and most of the main sites/attractions, and the immediate neighborhood is pretty sleepy (which may be a perk for some, admittedly).
Random aside, but when did everyone start to use "keys" instead of "rooms" when discussing the number of rooms a hotel has? Was this something that industry insiders always used that people have taken mainstream lately? Or did I just not notice it before?
@ reddargon -- It has always been used in the industry, but perhaps less so publicly. I've started using it more simply because it's more accurate. Some properties have rooms, suites, villas, etc., so "keys" encompasses all of those.
Thanks Ben, that makes sense—I figured it as most likely an industry thing that was being used in more mainstream lately.