Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo

Anyone hoping for a hip little boutique hotel in Monte-Carlo is missing the point, and badly. The only way to do this town properly is to leave your taste for minimalism at home, and check into one of the over-the-top Belle Époque palaces.

Like the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, for a start. This impossibly opulent century-old grand hotel is in the top tier of Monte-Carlo lodging, and makes good on the boast of its name; it’s ever so slightly off the beaten path, on a cliff overlooking the harbor, close enough to the casino but out of the reach of the heaviest traffic.

A thorough renovation has left the Hermitage in fine form, and not a whit more modern — some fifty-odd rooms have been added, but all are traditional and elegant in style, in diffused Mediterranean colors, many with balconies facing the sea. Standard rooms are rather large, and suites are exceedingly so, perfect for living out your high-roller fantasies.

Attached to the Hermitage is Les Thermes Marins, a lavishly equipped spa and fitness complex, offering all manner of treatments and workouts, as well as a huge seawater swimming pool. Of special note is the restaurant, Le Vistamar, which is quite what it sounds: a restaurant serving fresh Mediterranean seafood accompanied by jaw-dropping sea views.