Life is busy, and in Monaco especially so: the principality hosts more than 500 international business, cultural, and sporting events a year. In the midst of all this activity, having a place to retreat, regroup and restore can be particularly welcome. Located in the center of Monte Carlo, just around the corner from the Casino and on a spectacular curve of the Mediterranean coast, the Hotel Hermitage Monte-Carlo has elevated rest and relaxation to a high art. The hotel's name comes from the French verb "hermiter," which means "to withdraw," and that is the experience the hotel promises to its worldly and well-traveled clientele. "For whatever reason they come to Monaco—and there are many—our goal is to make our guests feel that here, at the Hotel Hermitage, they are at home and can relax," says Louis Starck, the hotel's general manager.
The de-stressing begins as soon as you enter the hotel's Beaumarchais Lobby—sophisticated and discreet, with a soft color palette and ornate Belle Epoque moldings that would not be out of place in a French country chateau. Follow the inlaid tile floors past the elegant reception rooms, and be prepared to catch your breath: at the center of the hotel rises an interior courtyard covered by a wrought iron and glass cupola, built by Gustave Eiffel just a few years after he completed his tower on the banks of the Seine in Paris. Though magnificent, the courtyard is also homey, the perfect place to have a quiet morning coffee or afternoon tea.
Our goal is to make our guests feel that here, they are at home and can relax.
A true highlight of a stay at the Hotel Hermitage Monte-Carlo is the fabled Les Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo, Monaco's state-of-the art wellness and preventative health spa, which is directly accessible from the Hermitage's rooms by private internal entrance. "It is quite possible to check in, spend a day or several days at the spa, and never have to step outside the hotel—and that's precisely what many of our clients do," says Arnaud Bertrand, director of the hotel's rooms divisions. The Thermes Marins combine beauty, fitness, wellness, and pleasure in a full range of treatments, activities, and facilities, supported by an interdisciplinary team of experts who craft personalized programs to suit all tastes and goals.
The cozy, cosseted feeling at the Hotel Hermitage continues in the guestrooms, especially the Diamond Suites, whose private roof terraces feature jacuzzis and spectacular views of the sea. Panoramas are also a specialty at the Michelin-starred Vistamar restaurant, where chef Benoit Witz creates healthy and magical Mediterranean fare, and from the hotel's secluded garden terraces, where guests can enjoy the principality's nearly perfect year-round weather away from the hustle and bustle. "For being in the center of Monte Carlo, it is remarkably peaceful here," says Louis, pausing briefly to chat in the garden-like Limùn Lounge before continuing on his morning rounds. "Our guests appreciate that, and we work hard to keep it that way."