Fairmont Monte Carlo – the hotel Formula 1 drives around

Fairmont Monte Carlo occupies one of the most singular addresses in sport and hospitality alike: its curved façade forms the outer wall of the Fairmont Hairpin, the tightest, slowest corner on the Formula One calendar, taken by Grand Prix cars at barely 50 km/h every May. Opened in August 1975 as the Loews Monte-Carlo and inaugurated by Princess Grace of Monaco, the hotel has carried three names and owners before becoming Fairmont in 2004. Today it is the Principality's largest hotel, with 596 rooms and suites that completed a full, property-wide renovation at the end of 2024 to mark the hotel's 50th anniversary. The MICHELIN Guide lists Fairmont Monte Carlo among its selected addresses. Rooftop restaurants Nobu and Amù, the seasonal Nikki Beach club, a spa offering Monaco's only 111Skin treatments and views stretching from the Rock of Monaco to the new Mareterra peninsula complete a hotel that feels as much a Riviera institution as the Casino it faces.

01The house

The hotel stands on ground with a very specific history: it was built by the real-estate developer Caroli Group on the site of Monaco's first railway station, and a section of the original station wall still survives, hidden inside one of the hotel's offices. Opened in August 1975, the hotel was originally opened by Princess Grace of Monaco as the Loews Monte-Carlo.

The building's fame extends well beyond hospitality circles. The tight bend it wraps around is recognised as the slowest corner on the Formula One calendar, and has changed its name with each change of hotel ownership – Station Hairpin, Loews Hairpin, Grand Hotel Hairpin and, since 2004, the Fairmont Hairpin. During Grand Prix week, some of the hotel's own Hairpin-view rooms are stripped of their beds and turned into corporate hospitality spaces overlooking the track. The hotel's scale is equally distinctive: at some 60,000 square metres it ranks among Europe's largest hotels and accounts for roughly 35% of all hotel beds in Monaco.

02Rooms and suites

All 596 rooms and suites were completely refurbished at the end of 2024, part of a property-wide transformation timed to the hotel's 50th anniversary in 2025. The new decoration favours a palette of cream and ocean blue, with marble bathrooms and Le Labo bath amenities throughout. Rooms start at 35 square metres and climb to a full 90 square metres for the Grand Prix Suite, which comes with three private terraces framing the Hairpin, the marina and the sea.

Insider tip

Near Casino Square, Grimaldi Forum and Larvotto Beach; Monaco-Monte Carlo station c. 10 minutes away.

Categories range from Fairmont Garden View and Hairpin City View rooms to Deluxe and Signature Sea View rooms, Junior Suites, the Riviera Suite, Garden Suite, Grand Prix Suite and the three-terrace Commodore Suite overlooking the Rock of Monaco. New family-oriented Resort Suites, with kitchens and expansive living areas, were introduced as part of the 2025 relaunch.

03Where to eat

Nobu Monte Carlo is the hotel's best-known table: Nobuyuki Matsuhisa's restaurant pairs Japanese technique with Peruvian spice, with Omakase tasting menus for guests who want the kitchen to choose. Its 2024–25 redesign brought oak wood and soft lighting to a dining room that looks straight out over the Mediterranean.

On the roof, Amù Monte Carlo debuted as part of the anniversary renovation, its name taken from the Monegasque word for love. The kitchen serves Riviera dishes that cross between France and Italy, among them salade niçoise, grilled sea bass and a house-made tarte tropézienne, all beneath open sea views. A more casual extension, Amù by the Pool, serves light dishes and cocktails from loungers above the city.

From April to October, Nikki Beach Monte Carlo takes over the rooftop with its trademark beach-club atmosphere, entering its tenth season in 2025 with themed parties on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and special nights timed to Monaco Race Week, Ferragosto and the Yacht Show. For an easier pace, the Lobby Lounge Restaurant & Bar serves classic international dishes around the clock, with Mediterranean views from the heart of the hotel.

04The bar

Nobu Bar sits beside the restaurant, an intimate lounge built for cocktails, wine and champagne rather than a full dinner. The 24-hour Lobby Lounge doubles as the hotel's all-day bar, its renovated interiors paired with an intriguing cocktail list and sweeping sea views, while Amù by the Pool keeps drinks flowing on the rooftop through the summer season.

05Spa and pools

Fairmont Spa Monte Carlo is built around facial and body rituals, massages, a hammam and sauna, and is the only spa in Monaco to offer treatments from the skincare house 111Skin. Eight treatment rooms include couples' suites with optional whirlpool baths. A heated rooftop pool overlooking the Mediterranean opened in 2023, complementing the existing pool used by Nikki Beach, so guests can choose a quieter swim or the beach-club scene depending on the day.

06The neighbourhood

The hotel sits in the heart of Monte Carlo near the Casino plaza, within easy reach of the Prince's Palace and Larvotto Beach, and close enough to the Grimaldi Forum to make it a natural base for conferences and festivals. Monaco-Monte Carlo train station, on the Marseille–Ventimiglia line, is around a ten-minute taxi or bus ride away. The view from the upper floors now also takes in Mareterra, Monaco's new waterfront district, which has altered some sightlines even as it reshapes the city immediately below the hotel.

07Making the most of a stay

Come for the Monaco Grand Prix in May and the hotel becomes part of the spectacle itself, with Hairpin-view rooms offering a grandstand view of the slowest corner in Formula One – book well ahead, as these rates and rooms move fast. Outside race week, the rooftop rhythm shifts with the seasons: Nikki Beach and the pool scene run April to October, while the Lobby Lounge and Nobu operate year-round. Valet parking is available for the hotel's 60 spaces, useful given Monaco's tight streets, and the hotel's central position means most of Monte Carlo's casino district and marina is within walking distance.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.