Monaco’s impressive tourism credentials easily wow even the best-travelled visitor, as PA Life Editor Colette Doyle discovers. Built on a hill with a palace perched on top, and home to a romantic love story involving Hollywood royalty and a dashing prince, Monaco is a real-life fairytale destination. The principality may be small in size, but it’s big on glamour. The name alone evokes images of sun-drenched beaches, the unforgettable beauty of Princess Grace and the allure of the thrilling race that is the Grand Prix.
The tourist board lists dozens of fascinating attractions for visitors to enjoy, including the aquarium, Prince Rainier’s private collection of vintage cars and a stamp and coin museum, but the hotels here are opulent landmarks in their own right.
The decidedly upmarket Société des Bains de Mer operates 46 properties in the principality, including casinos, nightclubs, restaurants, bars and spas, plus beach and golf clubs; among these is the splendid Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort and the Hôtel Hermitage. The former offers a choice of four dining outlets, and with more than 300 days of sunshine a year, eating outside at lunchtime at L’Orange Verte is possible even as late on in the season as October. Here you can try such signature dishes as duck foie gras and locally cultivated oysters, “perles de Monaco”, grown on the outside edge of the Fontvieille harbour.
Meanwhile, Hôtel Hermitage is a spectacular property that features the stunning Salle Belle Époque with its crystal chandeliers and pink marble columns, which is classed as a historic monument. The room is able to host cocktail parties for up to 300 people and your guests cannot fail to be impressed by the gorgeous adjoining terrace that overlooks the Port of Monaco, offering breathtaking sea views. Meanwhile, the Winter Garden features a dazzling glass and steel dome designed by none other than Gustave Eiffel.
Renowned interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, the man behind such legendary hospitality institutions as the George V in Paris, has weaved his magic here and it shows in the timelessly elegant style. The Michelin-starred Le Vistamar serves up an enticing array of seafood specialities, including Dublin Bay prawns, lobster, turbot, scallops and sea bass, as well as a mouthwatering selection of soufflés available in tangerine, chocolate and vanilla flavours.
In a move away from Monaco’s traditional image of ostentatious luxury, which may be considered inappropriate by some in these recessionary times, the local Convention Bureau has launched a new campaign that positions the principality as a destination of choice for corporate meetings and events.
Using the tagline “In Monaco…” and slogans such as “Technology doesn’t only drive Formula 1 cars”, or “Don’t just pack your high heels”, the promotion seeks to broaden meeting organisers’ horizons when it comes to choosing Monaco by highlighting lesser-known aspects of the principality. These include its often overlooked affordability, the wide variety of industry sectors represented here and the ample choice of group activities on offer, with particular emphasis on the fact that this is not limited to casinos and swanky eateries.
Perfectly in keeping with the bureau’s bid to showcase the principality’s more down-to-earth side, the Columbus is that rare beast: a budget hotel (by Monaco standards, that is) with real class. This charming boutique property overlooks the Princess Grace memorial garden and has dedicated a cocktail in honour of Monaco’s first lady that blends candied rose petals and rose liqueur with champagne to delicious effect.
The 181-room hotel exudes a laid-back sophistication that belies its three-star status, while its contemporary style makes for a welcoming atmosphere. The funky bar area is suffused by pretty candlelight and has an Asian-inspired menu with nibbles that include shrimp tempura and mini skewers of chicken with pineapple. It also holds its own on the business front, with a choice of four meeting rooms, all providing natural daylight, two of which have the added bonus of access to a private terrace.
Monaco’s primary events venue is the Grimaldi Forum on the Avenue Princesse Grace, named after the country’s most famous residents. Its stunning seafront location can easily accommodate up to 3,000 guests for a cocktail party in its largest space, the Ravel Hall, and its commitment to preserving the environment is evident in its ISO 14001 certification, testimony to its green credentials. The striking glass-domed venue can also lay claim to having won the Meetings & Incentive Travel award for Best Overseas Convention Bureau, voted for by UK meeting planners, no fewer than 10 years running.
In the end, Monaco is the kind of place where you can easily run out of superlatives. After all, the best way to access the principality is by helicopter transfer with Heli-Air, ensuring leisure visitors and meetings delegates alike experience a glamorous James Bond-style entrance. With its gourmet cuisine, deluxe hotel properties and sophisticated nightlife, Monaco remains the ultimate destination for bon viveurs.
Living the high life
Colette Doyle stayed at the Hôtel Métropole and the Fairmont. A member of Leading Hotels of the World, the Métropole is discreetly located just off the stylish Place du Casino in Monte-Carlo (one of the principality’s four districts and the one most synonymous with its glamorous reputation). Inaugurated in 1886, the property later underwent a complete refurbishment under the guidance of Jacques Garcia (the designer behind internationally renowned property La Mamounia in Marrakech, where the cast of the Sex And The City sequel is rumoured to have stayed) before reopening its doors in 2004 to the likes of celebrity A-listers such as Jennifer Lopez and Leonardo Di Caprio.
Other high-profile names associated with the hotel include Joël Robuchon and Karl Lagerfeld. As the most decorated chef in the world, Robuchon’s culinary empire extends from Hong Kong to Las Vegas and his eponymous restaurant at the Métropole serves up a delectable range of dishes, including quail stuffed with foie gras, langoustine with basil leaves and calf sweetbreads with pan-fried mushrooms. Whatever main course you choose, you must make room for dessert; the incredible sweet trolley is laden down with all manner of completely irresistible Gallic-inspired cakes and puddings.
Lagerfeld, meanwhile, is the famous face behind Odyssey, described as a “dual concept destination”. For lesser mortals, this translates as a swimming pool offering posh nosh, but you can forget any comparison with your local lido – that has about as much in common with this pool as the average school disco does with Studio 54. The area features a Grecian mural designed by Lagerfeld, while Robuchon obliges with the food. At night, there’s a bar serving up cocktails and the pool shimmers with underwater lighting. Find out more at metropole.com/en/home.
Situated on the most famous bend of the F1 Grand Prix circuit, the Hairpin, the Fairmont Monte-Carlo puts you in mind of an ocean-going liner – grand, imposing and run with expert precision. The comparison is no idle one as demonstrated by its slogan, “If luxury is a journey, welcome aboard”.
A staggering €46 million (£38.5m) was spent on a four-year renovation of the 602-room property and it lacks for nothing, featuring a rooftop pool that offers scenic views of the coastline and local landmarks, an in-house casino and 18 meeting rooms, plus a magnificent spa that spans 900m² and offers an amazing choice of treatments, including the Ritual of Romance, highly recommended for loved-up couples.
There’s also an impressive array of boutiques that includes a jeweller’s, an haute couture clothing store and an upmarket perfumery.
The property’s dining outlets include the expansive Saphir 24, which, as the name suggests, is open all day, and then there’s the panoramic Horizon Deck, Restaurant and Bar on the seventh floor. Here you can sip a glass of champagne – you’ll be spoilt for choice with 40 different vintages – as you watch sailing boats go by, like white flecks on the powder-blue sea. These existing F&B options were recently complemented by the opening of a branch of Nobu, a perfect fit for a property of this calibre.
For further details and room rates, visit fairmont.com/monte-carlo.
