The French government announced the eight recipients of its new ‘palace’ hotel rating May 5, dealing a blow to some of Paris’s most famous hotels.

The ‘palace’ rating is an official designation above five stars awarded by the French tourism authorities — it’s designed to help travelers identify the cream of the country’s many swanky hotels.

A total of four Paris properties were given the award — the Bristol, the Meurice, the Park Hyatt and the Plaza Athenee.

The bathrooms in Paris’s swanky Le Meurice hotel have been voted by best in Europe, beating a list of other contenders that prove the French know best when it comes to the salle de bain.

The honor was awarded last week at the industry Villegiature Awards, which recognizes the best aspects of Europe’s hotels — from terraces to websites.

The Philippe Starck-designed bathrooms of Le Meurice were judged to be the best, managing to top competition from Hotel Raphael in Paris, Le Palais Stephanie in Cannes, La Mas Candille in Mougins, and Muse in Ramatuelle (all in France) as well as Luna Baglioni in Venice, Italy.

Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf decided to take the opportunity of Paris Fashion Week to celebrate the 5th anniversary of their fragrance Flowerbomb.

They threw a party at Le Meurice on March 4, 2010 which featured Grace Jones singing La vie en rose as well as the presentation of a limited-edition pastry.

The pastry, co-created by the hotel’s head chef, Yannick Alléno, and its pastry chef, Camille Lesecq, was inspired by the Flowerbomb fragrance.