With 168 rooms the Prince de Galles seems smaller than it really is, perhaps because the public spaces are beautifully done in a majestic, yet understated way. The Regency Bar where cocktails, lunch, tea and supper are served opens onto the lob by. It has a clubby English atmosphere the walls are lined with prints and is furnished with dark red leather armchairs, mahogany tables, paisley design crockery and a deep-hued carpet. In the high-ceilinged Jardin des Cynges restaurant good taste reigns and you feel as though you could be anyplace on the continent. The dining room is crowned with a painted ceiling of a trompe l'oeil sky and extends into a lovely, beautifully landscaped patio with mosaics on the walls.
Guest rooms are charming.
Bathrooms are mostly marble. Some suites on the upper floors have large terraces overlooking the courtyard. We enjoyed two outstanding meals in the Jardin des Cynges. Dinner began with Petrossian caviar and a light cream sauce on a large blini, accompanied by vodka served in thin flutes. A whole small lobster removed from its shell was napped with sauternes sauce and ginger-flavored diced vegetables.