You are one street above the Place du Casino, in the few blocks of Monaco where most of the principality's serious tables sit, and no car is needed for any of this. The hotel itself has a two-star dining room, a Japanese room, a poolside Italian kitchen in summer and a lobby bar that runs all day, every day; the two restaurants keep short weeks worth knowing before you plan. Within eight minutes on foot, along the avenue des Spélugues and down towards Larvotto, is everything from a pizzeria that serves until 6 am to Alain Ducasse.
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. Thursday to Monday, dinner 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
On our shortlists
Pizza and burgers since 1938 · €
Monaco's late-night canteen, a hundred metres down the hill: Neapolitan pizzas from a naturally fermented dough at 18 to 27 euros and burgers at 22 to 23, on its own site's list. The hours are the reason to know it: Monday to Saturday from noon until 6 am, Sunday noon to midnight. When everything at the hotel has closed, this is where the principality eats.
Walk in11 avenue des Spélugues
Italian institution with starred table · €€€
The Italian dining room Monaco has used since 1946, open every day from noon to 10:30 pm on its own site, on the avenue des Spélugues two minutes from the hotel door. Inside it, La Table d'Antonio Salvatore holds one star in the 2026 Michelin selection and serves dinner only, 7 pm to 10 pm, Tuesday to Saturday, with its own reservations line. Two restaurants at one address, two minutes from the door.
Reserve ahead3 avenue des Spélugues
Brasserie on the casino square · €€
The brasserie on the square itself, open every day from 8 am to 1 am on its own page, with a terrace that faces the Casino and the Hôtel de Paris. The kitchen sticks to brasserie classics and it serves through the afternoon, which makes it the answer when the hotel's own restaurants are between services. It is also the nearest breakfast outside the hotel, three minutes downhill.
Reserve aheadPlace du Casino
Three stars, Alain Ducasse, jackets · €€€€
Three stars in the 2026 guide, in the Hôtel de Paris across the square, with Emmanuel Pilon running the kitchen under Ducasse. Its own page gives dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 7:30 pm to 9:15 pm, lunch Friday and Saturday only, 12:15 pm to 1:30 pm, and a jacket is mandatory at dinner all year. Four minutes on foot from the Métropole, and the one table in Monaco to book before the flight.
Book well ahead: tables go weeks outHôtel de Paris, Place du Casino
Genoese pesto house, piano bar · €€€
A Genoa name from 1939, now on rue du Portier seven minutes down towards Larvotto, and built around one dish: pesto Genovese with the house's handmade pasta. Its own site gives lunch every day 12 pm to 2:15 pm and dinner Sunday to Thursday 7 pm to 10:30 pm, Friday and Saturday to 11 pm, with a piano bar and a vinyl bar alongside. The Ligurian answer to the hotel's Italian kitchen, open in winter when Zia is not.
Reserve ahead11 rue du Portier
Contemporary Chinese by Riccardo Giraudi · €€€
Giraudi's Chinese dining room since 2014, on the avenue that runs down to Larvotto, in a Humbert & Poyet interior with a star-tiled floor. Its own site gives lunch every day 12 pm to 2:30 pm and dinner Sunday to Thursday 7:30 pm to 11 pm, Friday and Saturday to 11:30 pm. The 2026 Michelin selection lists it without a star. Eight minutes on foot, and the change of register a third night in the Carré d'Or needs.
Reserve ahead7 avenue Princesse Grace
The hotel does not price breakfast or say whether a given rate includes it, so check yours before you book. In summer, from April to September, Zia's colazione runs by the pool, and the Lobby Bar opens at 8 am every day for coffee under the glass roof. Nearest alternative outside the hotel: the Café de Paris on the square, open from 8 am, three minutes downhill.
The dining rooms around the square that sell the terrace first and the plate second. At Monaco prices the food has to justify itself without the view, and several of the addresses facing the Casino do not. Everything above was chosen because it does, and two of them are on the square anyway.
Ten hotels, each here for a different reason.
The intimate oneHôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo
Monte-Carlo · From about €400
The all-rounderHôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo
Monte-Carlo · From about €492
The iconHôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo
Monte-Carlo · From about €600
The romantic oneMonte-Carlo Beach
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin · From about €400
The resortMonte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort
Larvotto · From about €250
The smart moneyColumbus Hotel Monte-Carlo
Fontvieille · From about €180
The F1 oneFairmont Monte Carlo
Monte-Carlo · From about €250
The beach oneLe Méridien Beach Plaza
Larvotto · From about €220
The design oneThe Maybourne Riviera
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin · From about €700
The hideawayCap Estel
Èze · From about €650
Questions people ask
You are one street above the Place du Casino, in the few blocks of Monaco where most of the principality's serious tables sit, and no car is needed for any of this. The hotel itself has a two-star dining room, a Japanese room, a poolside Italian kitchen in summer and a lobby bar that runs all day, every day; the two restaurants keep short weeks worth knowing before you plan. Within eight minutes on foot, along the avenue des Spélugues and down towards Larvotto, is everything from a pizzeria that serves until 6 am to Alain Ducasse. Tip Top, 2 min walk. Rampoldi, 2 min walk. Café de Paris Monte-Carlo, 3 min walk.
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. Thursday to Monday, dinner only, which makes it easier to miss than it should be. Note that Yoshi, the hotel's Japanese room, lost its star in 2025.
Our verdict
The most personal of Monaco's grand hotels and the one with the best pool terrace, for couples who prefer discretion to display.
Last checked: September 2026
