Riviera Marriott La Porte de Monaco, the Monaco Marriott that's in France

The Riviera Marriott Hotel La Porte de Monaco has “Monaco” in its name and in its web address, but it’s in France. It sits on the marina at Cap-d’Ail, right beside Fontvieille, and that invisible border explains almost everything good and bad about it. I’ve read it through archived copies of its official page, because Marriott’s website blocks automated reading, and here’s who I think it suits.

A Marriott at Monaco’s door, but in France

The address is Port de Cap d’Ail, in the French commune of Cap-d’Ail, which begins exactly where Fontvieille ends. From the hotel you look over the Cap-d’Ail marina, and Marriott says 80% of its rooms have sea views and a balcony. In 2025 it was marking its 30th anniversary, and it has held the Green Key label since 2014.

There’s an oddity worth knowing before you book. On the same page Marriott calls it a 5-star hotel in one paragraph and a 4-star in another. As I haven’t found another source that settles it, I wouldn’t take either for granted. What is certain is that it isn’t one of the SBM’s palaces, and that it has a ballroom and conference rooms as well as family rooms.

Who is this hotel a good idea for?

For me, two kinds of traveller. The first is anyone driving. Hotel parking costs €1.50 an hour or €25 a day, subject to availability and with EV charging, and parking in Monaco for several days works out dearer, as I explain in parking in Monaco. The second is a family of four. The family room has two double beds and a sofa bed for under-12s, with a sea view, and there are connecting suites with a separate living area.

For anyone arriving by train I’m less convinced. The hotel’s own page says the useful stop is Monaco Monte-Carlo, not Cap-d’Ail, so you’ll either ask for the shuttle or take a taxi. If your trip is all trains and walking, a hotel by the station such as the Novotel Monte-Carlo makes life simpler.

Rooms, pool and restaurant

Rooms have parquet floors, most have a balcony, and the sea-view ones come with an espresso machine. The Prestige sea-view room sleeps three, and right at the top is the panoramic suite with two sun terraces. There are also business rooms, king or twin, set up for working.

The outdoor pool, ringed by cabanas and palm trees above the marina, opens from mid-April to mid-October, 08:00 to 20:00, with towels provided. The gym runs 24 hours and is free. Bolinas restaurant serves French cooking with a bohemian feel, breakfast 07:00 to 11:00, lunch 12:00 to 14:30 and dinner 18:00 to 22:00, and its pool bar opens 11:00 to 23:00. Wi-Fi is free for Marriott Bonvoy members who book direct.

Nearby, the hotel lists A’Trego and the Naos Beach Club a few hundred metres away and the Beefbar in Fontvieille at just over a kilometre. Plage Marquet, where the Cap-d’Ail coastal path begins, is a step away.

Is it worth it compared with staying inside Monaco?

That depends on how you travel. Inside the Principality everything is on foot or by public lift, and that’s something the Marriott can’t give you, because here you rely on the shuttle, a taxi or your own legs. In exchange you get French-priced parking, a pool over the marina and sea-view family rooms for four. I can’t give you comparable rates, as Marriott publishes no fixed price, so I’d put the same dates into its website and into a Fontvieille hotel’s before deciding. If the Marriott comes out similar, for a road trip I’d take it; for a trip on foot, I’d stay inside. For British visitors driving down through France, that parking alone can tip the balance, as you avoid threading the car through Monaco’s tunnels and car parks every evening.

Getting around from the hotel

The big plus is the free shuttle to Monaco, Fontvieille and Monte-Carlo, booked at reception. On foot, Fontvieille starts right next door, with Stade Louis II among its buildings, and I cover the district in Fontvieille. Monaco cabs drop you here for a flat €25, but you can’t call one for the return, and the hotel also mentions a water taxi to Port Hercule.

For Nice airport, 25 km away, there’s no hotel shuttle, so that journey means the train to Monaco, a taxi or a pre-booked transfer. And one practical point I’d stress. At the hotel you’re in France and in the EU; cross into Fontvieille and you’re not. For every other option inside and outside the Principality, see my comparison of where to stay in Monaco, and the village around the hotel is covered in Cap-d’Ail.