The Belle Époque exterior of the Hermitage, Monte Carlo

From the Monaco F1, to small dogs and a tycoon-worthy breakfast, Darius Sanai recounts his stay at the ultra-luxury Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, Monaco.

From our balcony at the Hermitage, we had one of the most satisfyingly iconic views in the world. The sweep of Monte-Carlo’s harbour, with the Norman Foster-designed Yacht Club to the left, yachts moored in peace in the middle, the royal palace to the right and, above it all, the mountainsides of the Alpes-Maritimes. You could trace the route of the Monaco F1 race with your finger, from right to left and back again in a loop.

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The Hermitage is perched on a rock, as most of Monaco’s institutions are, just across from Casino Square. You walk in through a sweep of ladies with extremely small designer dogs eating even smaller cakes, down a marble corridor and, interestingly, down a grand staircase (or lift) to your room, which is when you realise the Belle Époque-era hotel was carved into a rock face.

The Café de Paris restaurant bar

Another marble corridor leads to the spa and pool at the Thermes Marins, where we dodged the same ladies, now sans-chiens, doing their daily laps in the big, oval, indoor saltwater pool. The terrace outside is sufficiently sheltered to allow sunbathing year all round in this sunniest corner of the French Riviera (technically, of course, Monaco is its own country, but in practice it’s a node in the wealth hub of the Riviera). Very relaxing.

Read more: The intimate grandeur of the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat

Even more relaxing was chilling on the rooftop terrace during a breakfast rich enough for any tycoon. Here you can pick from Chinese, Arabic or European specialities – and order from an eye-watering array of health dishes, essential for your longevity, which is a key topic for any Monaco resident – no point in having all that wealth if you don’t live in good health long enough to enjoy it. A lazy day could consist of moving from enjoying the morning sun at the breakfast terrace, to a swim, to enjoying the evening sun on your massive balcony along with some champagne from room service.

The view of the sea from the Hermitage terrace

Then you could head across the road, dodging the procession of Ferraris and Lamborghinis, for a light supper at Taera, in the neighbouring Hôtel de Paris. This is a funky, artful pop-up serving light and bright dishes like our delicious marinated seafood with coconut milk, coriander and cucumber. After Taera, we headed back to the Hermitage for a drink in the piano bar, a marvellous contrast of old-world formality – all dark colours, soft lighting and a chap having a drink with his niece on the banquette opposite. The Hermitage is this combination of old and new, the best of Monte-Carlo, and an experience and a vacation in itself.

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The view of the Villa Clair Soleil makes you feel like a guest at a private villa, rather than a Four Seasons Grand Hotel

Is it a private villa or Grand Hotel? An editor at LUX tells us why the Four Seasons Grand Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat should be the first stop on your Grand Tour itinerary

The Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, one of the world’s most celebrated hotels, is not really grand at all. Not in the sense of being huge and generic. Although it’s deceptive. Viewed from your yacht, this white cruise ship-shaped edifice at the tip of the headland containing the most exclusive real estate in Europe, if not the world, seems to have “grand” written all over it.

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But when you arrive, you are let through a guarded gate and up a drive more akin to that of a private villa. The feeling continues if, as we did, you decide on a game of tennis after checking in. Here you might expect an array of tennis courts of various surfaces, and a tennis school, perhaps. Instead, you get one exquisite tennis court in the gardens, surrounded by flowerbeds and trees, with a backdrop of the hotel and that Mediterranean sky. Very private house. And we saw almost nobody else using it; once there was a solitary local teenage girl finishing a lesson with the hotel’s resident tennis coach, who looked like he had been there for decades.

The breathtaking sea view from the Pool Suite

The hotel’s legendary swimming coach, Pierre Gruneberg, meanwhile, really was at the hotel for decades before passing away last year aged 92. Among the guests he counted as his pupils were Charlie Chaplin, Somerset Maugham, Aristotle Onassis, Tina Turner, Brigitte Bardot, David Niven, Elizabeth Taylor, Bono – and LUX’s Editor-in-Chief. The pool is at the tip of the peninsula, beyond the main gardens, where the rocks drop to the sea. It is accompanied by the Club Dauphin restaurant, where we sipped on some sparkling Provence rosé (delicious in a dry, low-dosage way), while watching putative celebrities and honeymooners dunk themselves in the celebrated pool.

Read more: The best of the old and new: Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo

The palace nature of the hotel is evident in the lobby, with its Art Deco marble floors and walls. So perhaps it is a palace, but it always feels like a private one, for just you and your friends. That extends to the bedrooms: our suite looked over the lawns and flowerbeds to the sea. It felt as if a butler would knock on the door and tell us the house party was beginning at any moment. Although there were no house parties while we were there, this is a hotel with one of the most famous terraces in the world, overlooking the lawns and overhung by jasmine and bougainvillea.

The Terrasse Palace Sea View Suite at the Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat

With a jazz band playing in the gardens, dinner at the Michelin-starred Le Cap was magical, the cuisine as vibrant and elegant as the place: razor clams and cockles au naturel with fresh seaweed, citrus fruits and fennel bavaroise was a dish for the ages. A delicious hotel and an experience unrepeatable anywhere else in the world.

fourseasons.com/capferrat

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Close up image of swimming pool with white sun umbrellas reflected in the water and the ocean in the distance
large grand mansion building nestled into lush green trees

Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat by Four Seasons sits perched high on the cliff edge with stunning views of the Mediterranean

Club Dauphin at Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat by Four Seasons feels more like a private island than one of the most famous poolsides in the Cote d’Azur, says LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai

It’s high summer, and you are almost certain to be suffering from one of two types of holiday envy right now. Either you’re sitting in your office swiping through Instagram posts from people in exotic locations, wondering why you’re not there; or, worse, you’re on holiday in an exotic location, swiping through the same Instagram posts – and you’re still envious. Because, just as there’s always going to be someone richer or more successful than you (unless you’re Bill Gates or Nelson Mandela), there’s always a better place to be than where you’re at.

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Luxury swimming pool area with large swimming pool surrounded by white umbrellas and sunbeds

Club Dauphin’s infinity pool surrounded by sun loungers facing out towards the ocean

Unless you’re sitting poolside at Club Dauphin at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, sipping a glass of rosé (poured by the cute bartender from a magnum, as is the current fashion), with a little tartlet by your side – a tartlet of the pâtissier kind (before you get any ideas – we’re not that type of magazine) created by the pastry chef as a special summer délice.

Close up image of swimming pool with white sun umbrellas reflected in the water and the ocean in the distance

The Club Dauphin is the swimming pool area at the Grand-Hôtel, itself a dramatic creation at the very tip of the most exclusive spot on the Cote d’Azur, surrounded by the Mediterranean on three sides and avenues of stone pines shrouding hundred million euro Belle Epoque villas on the other. To get to the Club from the hotel, you wander along the lawn and down through a tropical garden sloping down a cliffside, which reveals a deep blue pool lined by sun loungers on two sides, rocks crashing into the sea on another, and a poolside restaurant/terrace. It is entirely private, more like being on a private island than in the heart of the Cote d’Azur, one of the world’s busiest and most beautiful holiday destinations, in high summer.

Read more: Co-founder & CEO of Spring Francesco Costa on creative co-working

dining table in front of infinity pool with white sun umbrellas and the ocean in the distance

Open-air dining by the poolside

And that’s the beauty of the Grand-Hôtel. It’s rather like being on a yacht, except without the seasickness and the feeling of being hemmed in with other guests and their kids. You are surrounded by sea, but when you stand on the sea-side edge of the pool and look back, you see the dramatic backdrop of the Alpes Maritimes and the Corniche leading to Monaco, just 10 minutes drive away. You can visit Michelin-starred restaurants, drop by the Casino, wander the ancient streets of Eze or Saint-Paul de Vence, and then disappear back into the Club Dauphin for silence and another glass of rosé, please.

It’s so good, you’ll forget all about Instagram.

For more information on Club Dauphin and Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat by Four Seasons visit: fourseasons.com/capferrat

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