A member of staff at a five-star Paris hotel reported claimed that Serena Williams was ‘unrecognisable’, after the tennis star claimed she and her kids were refused entry to a rooftop restaurant.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner took to X to publicly complain about the treatment she received at The Peninsula Hotel on Monday, sharing her annoyance at the way in which her visit went down.
Sharing a snap of the hotel, she wrote alongside it: ‘Yikes. @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids. Always a first.’
The hotel hit back in a post on X, claiming that the only unoccupied tables she saw belonged to their gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which they said was fully booked.
A member of staff at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, Maxime Mannevy, has reportedly claimed that Williams looked ‘unrecognisable’, according to her colleague who was working at the time.
Serena Williams claimed she and her kids were denied access to a rooftop restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel in Paris (the tennis star pictured with daughter Olympia and husband Alexis)
Staff at the hotel reportedly claimed Williams looked ‘unrecognisable’ while the hotel has also responded in defence in a message on social media
The Peninsula Hotel claimed their rooftop bar was fully booked and the only unoccupied tables at their gourmet restaurant were fully reserved
She told Variety: ‘When she came there were only two tables available and they had been reserved by clients of the hotel.
‘My colleague didn’t recognise her and feels terrible, but he told her what he would have told any other client, which is to wait downstairs in the bar for a table to become available. That was absolutely nothing personal.’
The restaurant in their response on X said: ‘Dear Mrs. Williams, Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight.
‘Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved.
‘Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight… we have always been honoured to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again. The Peninsula Paris.’
Williams’ fans were quick to rip the hotel for rejecting the tennis legend as one X user asked: ‘How does one get denied when they are Serena Williams…… lol’
‘Glad you didn’t have to waste money there,’ another fan pointed out.
‘You’re better off not going, their food is subpar — I’ve unfortunately had to pay for it quite a few times,’ someone else said.
Williams has attended several sports at the Paris Olympics, and is pictured with her daughter Olympia as they arrived for the artistic gymnastic women’s team final last week
‘It’s Serena Williams – you make a table for her!,’ a fourth commented.
But not all social media users flocked to take the star’s side, with some people claiming her attitude was ‘entitled’ and ‘about privilege’.
One X user said: ‘Wait are we really telling this place that because she’s a celebrity they should have figured it out? No. If they’re booked, they’re booked and it’s entitled as heck to be upset that they didn’t figure it out because “I’m special.”
Another chimed in: ‘I love the people in here saying she deserved special treatment and should have gotten a table in a place that was fully booked. Jesus Christ, talk about privilege, lol’.
Some fans supported Williams on social media, though others criticised the former tennis star
Williams (right) was part of the opening ceremony as she shared a boat with Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci
One more added: ‘There is literally nothing more entitled than walking into @peninsulaparis during tourist and the Olympics, expecting a table to be ready for you’.
Williams has attended several Olympic disciplines with her six-year-old daughter, Olympia, and her family in Paris.
She was also among several high-profile names to be part of the Games’ opening ceremony on July 26, as she shared a boat with other legendary sports stars including Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci.
Williams, who retired from tennis in 2022, has four Olympic gold medals to her name, including in both singles and doubles at London 2012.