Le Méridien Beach Plaza Hotel Monte-Carlo

In the best of ways things can happen unexpectedly in the French Riviera.  A last minute invite by a friend to go meet with other friends at Port Hercule in Monaco for a couple of drinks…turns into a two-day adventure.

And this adventure just happened to start on the last day of the Monaco Yacht Show.  On arrival the atmosphere was one of laid-back sophistication and celebration, most likely in part to the beautiful people and surroundings.  Feeling no need to rush, a couple of drinks turned into one big party of meeting more and more new faces and stopping by nightclub after nightclub to take in all the festivities.

Naturally it got to that time of night (or morning) when we needed a place to crash, we did not want to put friends out by staying at their places in Monaco and since we didn’t previously book a hotel room for the night, we took a chance, jumped into a taxi and two minutes later we were at Le Méridien Beach Plaza Hotel in Monte-Carlo.

Le Meridien Monte Carlo

It was the middle of the night, but walking into Le Méridien Beach Plaza instantly felt like the perfect choice.  And although we were dressed very well, I’m sure we didn’t appear to be the most ‘on the ball’ people at that point of the evening, but we were still treated extremely well and fortunately for us there was still a room available.

Walking in to our hotel room, I remember the first words I said to my friend being, “Wow!”  Seriously, any photos you see here or elsewhere online of the rooms do not do justice to what you really get.  Our room was the best, wonderfully lit and felt instantly warm and cozy.  The size, design and layout of the room was brilliant, there was more than enough space for us to stumble around and not have to step over each other.

It was also good to be able to open the patio doors and take a moment or two to relax on our balcony, look at the views, chat and catch our breath before heading out to the parties again.

The bathroom in our room was spacious and luxurious in every way.  There was an abundance of towels, shampoo and other bathroom supplies necessary and it was extremely clean.  I know we must’ve looked a bit haggard since it was the middle of the night but you couldn’t tell or could easily fix whatever was happening as the lighting in our bathroom was ideal.

I must admit, after spending the rest of the evening discovering some of that hidden man to man magic, (with the help of Grindr) in Monte-Carlo, it was nice to come back to our hotel room again and crash, even if it was only for a few hours before continuing with our stay.  The bed felt deep and lush, the room service we had in the morning was top notch and the food was abundant.

In the brightness of the day, I could really see more of how this Le Méridien was laid out, the lobby is expansive, the entrance doors by way of 22 avenue Princesse Grace open wide and give you a direct line of vision to the other side of the hotel where the pool and beach area is at the water’s edge.  This looked like something out of a movie with the palm trees and seeing a massive yacht which happened to be anchored on the sea directly in line with the hotel.

Being another gorgeous day outside, we decided to invite local friends over to hang out by the large salt water pool as we replenished ourselves with occasional dips in the pool (I swam in my white bikini underwear having brought no extra clothes) and by drinking some rosé wine.  The lifeguards seemed amused and let us be as it’s not like we were really getting out of hand or anything.

It was all a fantastic way to enjoy the afternoon by the water and to make plans for the rest of our stay in Monaco.

Although the restaurants and fitness area of the hotel looked tempting and busy, we never got the chance to experience everything Le Méridien Beach Plaza has to offer but I know I will definitely be back again.

I highly recommend Le Méridien Beach Plaza, the hotel always seems to have the best deals available and even with our much unplanned schedule, we had a very enjoyable and at ease stay.