Future of French luxury hotel "palaces" uncertain

(Adds comment from Paris tourism office in paragraphs 5-6)

PARIS, Oct 23 (Reuters Life!) - France's handful of luxury hotel "palaces" face an uncertain future after the government announced plans to align itself with international practice and create a "five star" category of top notch lodgings.

France's official hotel scale currently stops at "four star luxury", but in Paris half a dozen hotels offering rooms from upwards of 600 euros a night claim the right to call themselves "palaces" - a term that even the hotels themselves can't agree on who qualifies to use.

Now the government wants to reform the system, putting in place common standards and labels for each level of accommodation from bed and breakfasts to presidential suites.

"We hope to move as quickly as possible, even at the end of 2008 if we can reach an agreement," said Guenola du Couedic, a spokeswoman for tourism minister Luc Chatel, who announced the reform plans in a statement late on Monday.

Paul Roll, managing director of the Paris tourism office, said a five star category would make things simpler for international customers, and it was still an open question whether "palace" would continue to exist as a category apart.

"It will make things simpler. A customer who is used to staying in five star hotels does not really want to go to a four star luxury one. But in practice it won't change anything in the Paris hotel landscape," Roll said, noting the city was currently enjoying record occupation rates.

"If there's a category above or alongside (five star) we will see. It's too soon to say," he added, noting the self-declared nature of the current palace system.

The move was welcomed by France's largest hotels group, Accor, none of whose luxury Sofitel hotels currently fall into the "palace" category.