Bed 'n' Banquet

In many cities, hotel food is about as appealing as hotel art. But in Paris, hotels are the red-hot center of haute cuisine. Not since the glamorous '30s and '40s have hotel dining rooms enjoyed such culinary prestige: the coolly elegant Bristol, the flamboyant Meurice and the sumptuous Four Seasons George V boast some of the most talked-about chefs in town.

There are two recent entries in the hotel kitchen bake-off: the Hotel Lancaster's La Table du Lancaster by Michel Troisgros, which opened March 1 (he has three Michelin stars at his family's namesake restaurant in Roanne, near...