When planning a trip to Monaco, it’s easy to imagine it’s all glitz and glitter: yachts, baccarat, backless gowns. But just a few minutes from the center of it all, the Monte-Carlo Beach is a stunning seasonal hotel that offers something quieter even more refined, which is an intimate Riviera escape that still knows how to dazzle. The iconic Monte-Carlo Beach, a Relais & Châteaux property from the 1930s redesigned by India Mahdavi, is set on its own secluded stretch of coast just outside Monaco proper. It has been reimagined into a low-slung, lemon-scented dream: forty rooms and suites, all shades of white and sea, with an Olympic saltwater pool and a private beach lined with striped cabanas. The Monte-Carlo Beach is the kind of place where you could stay for three days, never leave the property, and feel you’ve done it right – which is more or less what a friend and I did when we checked in earlier this summer.

First, a word about the decor. When we first pulled up, the first thing we noticed were the hotel’s stunning interiors, by designer India Mahdavi, which are are elegant yet easy. Rooms are layered in pale wood, coral and seafoam accents, terrazzo floors, and curved, Art Deco lines that echo the hotel’s 1930s origins while still being wholly fresh, peaceful, and contemporary. There’s a softness to everything – the light, the colors, the way the balconies open onto the water – that makes the Monte Carlo Beach feel quietly cinematic. Rattan chairs, striped awnings, and sunlit hallways anchor it in a Riviera world that feels composed yet unforced. Many rooms – like ours – have private terraces overlooking the sea, with built-in banquettes, mirrored vanities, lacquered rattan headboards, and curved furniture that makes them feel as much like a very elegant yacht cabin as a hotel. You feel yourself on the water almost as much as you would on one of the very luxurious yachts docked out in the sea. 

After checking in, our first order of business was food. One could be forgiven for staying at the Monte Carlo Beach and not leaving the property for a single meal. The hotel has an abundance of food options, each in a distinct and beautiful setting with different cuisine. On our first afternoon, we had lunch at Le Deck, a laid back and family-friendly brasserie with nostalgic Riviera charm by designer Dorothée Delaye. The seasonal menu centers around incredibly fresh seafood, from Breton lobster to catch-of-the-day specials, meant for sharing. And that night – after an afternoon in town visiting Monaco’s famous aquarium and partaking in some world-class shopping – we headed back to Monte Carlo Beach for a truly unforgettable dinner. Dinner was at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant Elsa. Chef Marcel Ravin’s tasting menu was inventive, fresh, daring, and exquisite all in one. Centered around the Mediterranean’s marine and botanical life, everything was perfectly paired; and the panoramic views of Monaco from our perch on the terrace were second to none, as all the lights blinked on in the towers along the coastline and the sea lapped gently along the beach. 

The next morning, we took up residence in a cabana at the historic saltwater pool, which the photographer Helmut Newton once memorialized on film. The pool itself is Olympic-sized and carved into the rocks, with seawater that rises and falls with the tide. From the cabana, we could see straight out to the horizon, past the red-and-white buoys bobbing in the bay. There’s poolside service from Le Deck, which means that you don’t have to move far for a Niçoise salad or an iced espresso. It’s the kind of setup that makes it hard to leave, so we didn’t until a late lunch. At lunch, we made our way next door to Maona, a celebrated beach club which somehow felt like being in Greece and on the Riviera at the same time. The waiters handed us a traditional Greek shot the moment we sat down, and everything after that went on to keep the mood just high – fresh, delicious Greek food, a DJ spinning just loud enough, and a lazy, sunlit atmosphere by the water that helped us completely forget the time. 

That afternoon, we made our way to the Monte-Carlo Beach Club, where Jacquemus has taken over the pier and Pool Café for the summer with a full redesign drawn from his La Croisière collection. The sunbeds and parasols are done in banana yellow or black-and-white coconut-milk stripes, a palette that somehow makes the Riviera feel even more like itself. There are two Jacquemus boutiques just off the beach, styled like a Provençal house—Matisse on the walls, linen everywhere—but we stayed on the dock, listening to the waves and jumping in when it got too hot.

On our last night, we made it a few minutes outside the hotel down to COYA, a festive restaurant with seriously good food that also looks out over the water. We had dinner on the terrace, which was festive, open-air, and full of color and music The food is Latin American with a Peruvian base, but the main event is the atmosphere: sea views, good energy, people clearly starting their night. You could easily come with a group and stay until late, or do what we did – eat, drink, and then move on just as things really get going.

And move on we did, to Monte Carlo’s famous casino, where it is impossible not to have fun. The building itself is stunning, full of 19th-century grandeur and soft lighting, with people dressed up and no phones allowed inside, which only adds to the feeling that you’ve slipped back in time. Take whatever you’re willing to lose from an ATM, and affix yourself, as we did, to anyone who can teach you the basics of roulette, before repairing gratefully to the Monte Carlo Beach’s feather soft beds. 

The next morning, we sadly checked out and said goodbye to the staff, who took impeccable and generous care of us throughout our visit, going out of their way to get us set up on our beach chairs, recommending wine to pair with dinner, and arranging transport to Nice the morning of our departure. The hotel’s people are perhaps the finest of its very fine qualities, and the consideration they extended us seems embedded in the hotel’s ethos, which is also evident in its Green Globe-certified practices. We returned home already nostalgic for the sun-soaked beauty of our time at Monte Carlo Beach, and looking forward to many happy returns. 

Elsa

The Monte Carlo Beach pool

Le Deck