Hotel chain Mandarin Oriental will open its first Paris branch on June 28, the latest of several Asian firms to enter the competitive French luxury hospitality market.

The 138-room hotel is in the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore in central Paris, not far from traditional French rivals such as the Meurice and the Ritz.

French tourism authorities last month launched a rare new hotel classification, crowning eight of the most chic with “palace” status, which goes beyond five stars to reward what they call “French-style excellence.”

That was a bid to distinguish posh French hotel brands in the face of competition from foreign competitors such as Mandarin Oriental and another Hong Kong-based chain, Shangri-La, which opened a Paris hotel in December.

A third Asian chain, Raffles, opened Le Royal Monceau hotel in Paris in October and a fourth, Peninsula, is due to launch a Paris branch in 2012.

Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx will head the kitchen at the new Mandarin Oriental.

Source: AFPrelaxnews