The 150-year-old Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer is a significant player in Europe’s luxury tourism based on its foundation of excellence in hospitality, entertainment, haute cuisine, luxury shopping, wellness and real estate. It owns the most prestigious venues in Monaco: four casinos, including the legendary Casino de Monte-Carlo, 33 restaurants including four that have earned six prestigious Michelin stars between them. It also owns four prestigious hotels: Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monte-Carlo Beach, Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort and Hotel Hermitage Monte-Carlo.
Hotel Hermitage can best be described as a 19th-century urban palace, embellished in belle époque splendour while also offering the convenience of a resort. Located conveniently in the middle of Monaco’s prestigious Carré d’Or district, just a minute’s walk from the main square known for its iconic casino and opera as well as its fine-dine restaurants and designer shops. Adjacent to the hotel is a quaint little garden called Square Beaumarchais. Being close to the harbour, its upper outward facing rooms offer guests views of Monaco’s harbour and the Mediterranean sea.
The interior space is the epitome of luxury and old world charm, where marble and glass are used generously from the stained-glass atrium to the winter garden and the Crystal Bar. There are ornate mantle clocks and urns. The 278 guest rooms are individually decorated with period furnishings, rich and colourful fabrics, and luxurious bathrooms.
Hotel Hermitage offers its guests free access to the Casino de Monte-Carlo, the Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo wellness complex, and Monte-Carlo Beach Club, all connected by shuttle services for transfers within the resort. The hotel also offers preferential rates for the Monte-Carlo Golf Club and the Monte-Carlo Country Club. All guest rooms offer free wifi.
Hermitage’s well-appointed rooms range from the Superior Queen room at 18 square metres to the Exclusive room at 37 square metres. The latter offers sea views with a terrace. The rooms are ideal for two or three persons. The wide range of suite options start with the one-bedroom Junior Suites ranging between 40 and 90 square metres. They are suitable for three persons or a small family. Some have terraces while the largest one even has a jacuzzi on its sea-facing terrace.
The Diamond suites are the hotel’s premium class of accommodations starting with the one-bedroom Diamond Suite – Pagnol. At 240 square metres, it offers a fitted kitchen and outdoor seating on the terrace. At the top of the pile is the Diamond Suite – Princely, a three-bedroom, 330 square metre luxury accommodation with three terraces and a separate seating area. Diamond Suite guests get privileged contact with the hotel’s Guest Relations Manager, in-suite check-in, assistance with unpacking and packing bags along with a whole host of other services and amenities.
Any review of a Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer property would be incomplete without looking into its centrepiece; the world-renowned Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo wellness and fitness centre. With expertise built over 150 years, Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo combines innovation and savoir-faire in a 6,600 square-metres facility dedicated to wellness, fitness and preventive health. It is a haven of calm and relaxation in the midst of Monte-Carlo.
The wellness centre is designed to maximise the benefits of the sea and the Mediterranean climate; from the seawater pool heated to 29°C, to the cold bath and ice fountain, the outdoor solarium and jacuzzi overlooking the Mediterranean, sauna, and hammam. The panoramic fitness room is equipped with Technogym exercise machines. A team of multidisciplinary experts assess and providing a holistic solution in the way of personalised treatments and protocols.
For the ultimate Mediterranean terrace dining experience, the Hermitage offers the Michelin-starred restaurant – the Vistamar. Chef Benoit Witz has concocted a menu with refined, authentic Mediterranean flavours whose colours shift with the changing seasons. The venue is an ideal setting for a business lunch or a meal with friends in a relaxed, airy setting with views of the famous rock. For a late afternoon treat, Le Limùn Bar offers British-style tea-time formulas accompanied by pastries, scones and finger sandwiches.
