- Tennis great says she and her family were denied spot at rooftop restaurant by luxury establishment in Paris
A luxury hotel has apologised to tennis great Serena Williams after she complained on Monday about being turned away from its restaurant, in a social media post seen by millions.
Williams, who is in France for the Olympic Games, said she had been unable to get a seat for herself and her family at a rooftop restaurant at the Peninsula Paris, part of the luxury chain that includes its flagship establishment in Hong Kong.
“Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in an empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids. Always a first,” Williams said on X.
Williams, a four-times Olympic gold medallist, was one of the Olympic flame’s torch-bearers during the Paris Games’ opening ceremony. She is also among celebrities who have come out to see US gymnastics star Simone Biles compete in the Games.
Her post was seen by more than 4 million people and some of the responses to William’s post were supportive, saying it was unacceptable that the restaurant did not make room for her.
Others said celebrities had no more right to a fully booked restaurant than anyone else.
“I’m a celebrity, kick a regular person out so I can eat,” one X user joked.
“Will you tweet out an apology as fast as you tweeted out your obvious mistake … What if someone got fired due to your irresponsible behaviour?” another said.
Over on Instagram, more social media users waded in, despite her not posting about the incident on there.
“You were turned away at a table in France. You are not special. People had reservations,” one popular comment said.
The Peninsula Paris, a five-star hotel whose gourmet restaurant offers a view of the Eiffel Tower, swiftly responded: “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.”
A second message followed, saying: “We have always been honoured to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again.”
Williams was much more positive after the Games’ July 26 opening ceremony, saying on X: “Have you ever had an unforgettable moment? That was yesterday for me. Truly unforgettable. From being part of an amazing Open Ceremony at the Paris Olympics – to riding in the boat in the rain – and it was pouring! So much so my lashes came right off. Unforgettable!”
