A REGAL RETREAT
Beloved by Princess Grace and the crown jewel of Monaco’s five-star hotel scene, Hôtel de Paris is the epitome of luxe living. It has earned a reputation for Mediterranean decadence since its inception in 1863, when the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) opened the hotel with the backing of Charles III of Monaco. This season, it emerges from a four-year overhaul, and introduces new gardens, refreshed rooms and suites, and all-new abodes that rival any other five-star stay along the coast.
Top to bottom, east to west, the sibling of SBM’s Hôtel Hermitage, the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel and the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel has been renewed. The last major renovation project took place in 1909 and this time round, more than a century later, $280 million has been injected into the site to ensure the world’s highest of high rollers would have a hotel that surpasses even the city’s glitzy reputation. To put the figure into perspective, that’s more than $1 million per bedroom.
The project took place in stages, with two of the hotel’s four wings demolished and reconstructed, allowing architects Richard Martinet and Gabriel Viora to landscape a than 7,200-square-foot inner garden to the property. Space may not be a luxury that Monte-Carlo has in abundance, but “Le Patio” allows the hotel – and its residents – room to breathe, both figuratively and literally with 671sqm of space and luxury boutiques such as Graff, Harry Winston, Omega and Stardust.
Of the new rooms, 45% are suites, with a blend of contemporary and classic aesthetics. The light and airy accommodations boast white marble floors, wood furniture, bronze fabrics and Murano glass chandeliers and lamps. And modest balconies open the rooms up to Riviera views at the rear. Each and every room has a terrace.
Martinet and Viora, with their architectural wizardry, have bolstered the living areas also, with more room to manoeuvre and ample space to sashay from the marbled bathroom (with his and hers sinks, of course) to the cosy terrace. Our stay took place in the 53sqm-plus Junior Suite – Sea View with a king bed, lounging area, desk and large dressing room.
NEW SEASON, NEW ERA
It’s a well-worn trope that an escape to Monaco is reserved for the upper echelons of society, but the destination is accessible to a range of budgets – depending upon the season. The coastline is balmy year-round, bathed in perma-sunshine with temperatures seldom plunging to single digits, but the destination really comes alive during the warmer half of the year. And finding a room during the Grand Prix? You might need to get Bernie Ecclestone on speed dial.
As soon as spring has sprung the city-state changes gear to welcome a raft of events, from Formula One’s most thrilling spectacle to the head swivelling Monte-Carlo Masters tennis tournament. Despite its compact environment, Monaco is a haven for events across a range of prestigious venues, including the recently augmented Grimaldi Forum; Auditorium Rainier III and Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
The tiny nation’s nucleus, however, is unquestionably “Place du Casino”. Casino Square is a hive of action from breakfast till the small hours, with a cocktail of supercars wedged into every conceivable space, and espresso-sipping jet setters seated veiled behind trendy sunglasses at Café de Paris, doing their best to ignore the coach loads of selfie stick-wielding bus tourists, all soaking up the glamorous atmosphere.
It may seem odd to anthropomorphise the square but it’s a star in its own right. A veteran of several hit films, including Iron Man 2, GoldenEye and 2011 rom-com Monte Carlo, the iconic roundabout is nestled among Hôtel de Paris, Café de Paris and Casino de Monte-Carlo, which lends its name to the hub. Adjacent to the plaza, myriad high-end retailers have ‘popped up’ with the Les Pavilions domes, with rows of boutiques spilling off Avenue Princess Alice.
Treated like a prince
Stepping off the square, it’s a hop and a step to the revolving entrance of Hôtel de Paris. The stoic but cordial doormen usher you in to the elegant lobby, which serves as a rendezvous point and segues into Le Bar Américain, providing a cosy lunch spot or a bustling live jazz venue after dark. The famous venue unveiled a fresh new look in June 2018, with interiors by David Collins Studio with a new terrace that opens onto the sea and Place du Casino.
Shortly after that unveiling, the hotel debuted the new Monte-Carlo Suite. At the heart of the property, the spacious suite nods to the luxe gaming experience that is so synonymous with SBM and provides a space for gamers to meet with utmost discretion with an incredibly personalised service. Gaming is so key to the hotel, in fact, that the only guests who stayed during the bulk of the four-year hotel overhaul were the casino-goers too superstitious to stay anywhere else.
Special dispensation was made for the regular high rollers but some may now choose to break tradition if they win big enough to afford the capacious $48,000 per night Princess Grace Suite, replete with artworks loaned from the royals and various safes for all your prized possessions – including a watch compartment with mechanisms that keep your kinetic timepieces up to speed. The suite also has a large pool and Jacuzzi with views over the bay from two sides, and a designer foosball table to keep you occupied while you wait for Lewis Hamilton to fly by.
Gourmands now have an even greater choice of world-class fine dining. The famed XV – Alain Ducasse à l’Hôtel de Paris restaurant has regained its original position next to Place du Casino with golden décor, intricate frescoes and hangings restored to their former glory. On the heels of the thrice Michelin-starred venue, Ducasse opened ÔMER earlier this year on the ground floor of the Rotunda Wing.
Casino Square is a hive of action from breakfast till the small hours, with a cocktail of supercars wedged into every conceivable space
Designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon, the restaurant evokes a boat and doubles as a breakfast venue, overlooking the stunning gardens. The eclectic pan-Mediterranean menu puts a twist on dishes from Barcelona to Beirut, with flavours from the likes Greece, Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia. It’s certainly a Mediterranean restaurant, but perhaps not as you know it.
When you’re taking a break from Michelin-starred dining and rolling the dice, Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo is a must-visit venue to feel as refreshed as the hotel itself and is accessible from your suite via a dedicated tunnel network – simply don your robe and make your way. The haven of calm is an expansive multi-tiered facility sprawled over 6,600sqm, dedicated to wellness, fitness and preventive health, featuring a heated pool, outdoor Jacuzzi, solarium, hammam, sauna & panoramic fitness room.
A team of multidisciplinary experts are on hand to assess every goal or ailment, with holistic solutions and all the latest gear. Apparently the Monaco football team are often sighted making use of the cryotherapy facilitie – the lower level ice box is a real experience for those wanting to replenish their muscles and burn a pile of calories while shivering in extremely low temperatures (below -100C) for a few minutes at a time. So while you take a trip back in time at the historic building, you may leave looking and feeling years younger.
