Six of Paris's most opulent hotels, where rooms cost more than €700 a night and suites can cost more than €6,000, have been fined by the French competition watchdog for collusion.

The Bristol, the Crillon, the George V, the Meurice, the Plaza Athenee and the Ritz, all renowned for their historic buildings, attentive staff and Michelin-starred restaurants, were found to have regularly exchanged confidential commercial information.

The six hotels, known as palaces for their grandeur, were told to pay between €55,000 and €248,000 each by the competition council.

The heaviest fine was levied on the Crillon, which has hosted everyone from Madonna to Emperor Hirohito in nearly a century of use as a hotel.

Owned by Starwood Capital, the US property and hotel investment vehicle, the Crillon declined to comment on whether it would appeal, saying it had not yet received official notification of the fine.

The Meurice, whose past guests include Franklin D Roosevelt, was fined €55,000, while the Plaza Athenee, the haunt of Vanderbilts and Rockefellers, was fined €106,000. Both hotels are part of the Dorchester group.

The Ritz, owned by Mohamed Fayed, the proprietor of Harrods, was fined €104,000.

The George V, operated by the Four Seasons group, was fined €115,000. The Bristol was told to pay €81,000.

After a four-year investigation, the competition watchdog said it found regular exchanges of information between the six hotels through meetings and messages, on a weekly and monthly basis.

It said the super-luxury end of the Paris hotel market constituted a market in itself. - (Financial Times service)