Grand-hotel standards, a more private feel, and a pool terrace that people book it for.
€€€€From about €400 a night
Grand luxury with a more intimate design-led feel.
Monte-Carlo, MonacoThe Métropole is what you book when you want Monte-Carlo's grand-hotel standards without the Monte-Carlo pageantry. It sits a couple of minutes above the casino square behind its own gates, an 1886 building reworked inside by Jacques Garcia into something warmer and more intimate: velvet, dark wood, low light, a lobby that feels like a private club rather than a station concourse.
Two things come up again and again in guest feedback. The first is service, described as personal and unhurried in a way the bigger houses cannot always manage. The second is the Odyssey pool terrace, designed by Karl Lagerfeld, which gives you a proper pool and restaurant in the sun at the hotel, something the Hermitage cannot offer. Add the Guerlain spa, Les Ambassadeurs and the Japanese restaurant Yoshi, and you rarely need to leave.
It suits couples, and anyone who finds the casino-square hotels a little corporate. The compromise is location: it is on the Avenue de la Madone rather than on the square, and the sea is a view from certain rooms rather than a walk from the door.
The Métropole is a city palace, not a sea-view hotel: nothing below suite level looks at the water. So spend the money on space, 32 to 44 m² against 23 to 33 in a Deluxe. If you must have the sea, go straight to a Deluxe Sea View Suite.
The tables at this hotel that are a reason to come, and how hard they are to get.
Cussac spent two decades beside Joël Robuchon in this building and now has the room to himself, with two stars retained in 2026. Wednesday to Saturday only, which makes it easier to miss than it should be. Note that Yoshi, the hotel's Japanese room, lost its star in 2025.
Book well ahead: tables go weeks out
What guests keep saying
Recurring themes in recent guest reviews, in our words. No quotes, no scores.
Praised again and again
The recurring complaint
Read the reviews yourself before you book.
Questions people ask
The most personal of Monaco's grand hotels and the one with the best pool terrace. A very close second to the Hermitage. The warmest of the grand addresses, with a design-led interior, a real pool terrace and a spa people cross town for. It trades harbour views for intimacy.
It has an outdoor pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.
It is in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, about 0.1 km from Place du Casino and around 40 minutes by car from NCE airport.
Entry rooms typically start from about €400 a night outside peak dates. We show typical rates, never live prices or invented discounts.
Prestige Room. The Métropole is a city palace, not a sea-view hotel: nothing below suite level looks at the water. So spend the money on space, 32 to 44 m² against 23 to 33 in a Deluxe. If you must have the sea, go straight to a Deluxe Sea View Suite. A higher floor facing the Casino gardens rather than the street, and ask what is being renovated that week.
Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac. Cussac spent two decades beside Joël Robuchon in this building and now has the room to himself, with two stars retained in 2026. Wednesday to Saturday only, which makes it easier to miss than it should be. Note that Yoshi, the hotel's Japanese room, lost its star in 2025.
No, but it suits couples more than families.
Our verdict
The most personal of Monaco's grand hotels and the one with the best pool terrace. A very close second to the Hermitage.
€€€€From about €400 a night
If you book through our links we may earn a commission from Expedia. It never affects which hotels we include. Hotels cannot pay to be here. · Last checked: September 2026
Image credits: Expedia Group Creator Toolbox
