I think these answers are missing the most important benefit: savings of time and flexibility with respect to time. If you have a business premiere ticket, there’s a special ticketing queue and it’s open up to 10 minutes before departure.
Basically it boils down to the fact that Eurostar can move you between Paris and London, whereas TGV cannot. It’s not about the “extra cost” of Eurostar versus TGV or what Eurostar comfort is worth as this is not a choice available to anybody.
Speculating a bit, there are many things that might contribute to make Eurostar expensive:
Now, if you are looking for a great high-speed train to spend time on, no matter the journey, I don’t think TGV is particularly good value either. Germany’s ICE are my personal favorite but there are many I didn’t try yet!
First Class on the TGV means a wider seat, power sockets, fewer people (so a generally quieter environment), and that’s about it.
Standard Premier on the Eurostar is pretty much the same, except you get a small cold dish and a cold alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage.
The difference in price is more due to demand than the actual cost of the service.
Whether it’s worth it is up to you. The choice is not between Eurostar Standard Premier and TGV First Class, the choice is between Eurostar Standard and Standard Premier.
If the price difference between Eurostar Standard and Standard Premier is small enough to you that it’s worth it to spend those two hours with more space, a power socket, and a small free meal, then go for it.
note: carriages 5 & 14 have power sockets on the Eurostar, so if you book a seat in one of those and buy yourself a nice meal from M&S to take on the train, the difference comes down only to the difference in seat size.
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘