Cheap hotels in Monaco, or the closest thing to them

Let me be straight with you from the start. Monaco has no cheap hotels in the sense you’d expect in most European cities. What it does have is a handful of simple, well-placed hotels that cost far less than the palaces on Casino Square, and the way to choose between them isn’t just the room rate. It’s adding up what each one includes and what it saves you in getting around.

What’s the simplest hotel in Monaco?

The Hôtel de France. The tourist office lists it as the Principality’s only 2-star, and the hotel’s own website says so in its data. It has 26 refurbished rooms at 6 rue de la Turbie in La Condamine, 24-hour reception, a revamped lobby with a small bar and breakfast area, and free luggage storage on the day you arrive and the day you leave. If you’re driving, it hands out discount coupons for the Parking de la Colle, 200 metres away.

The hotel reckons on a 15-minute walk to the Casino, and the Palace is one hill away. It doesn’t publish prices, so I can’t give you any. What I will say is that the location beats that of plenty of expensive hotels.

The 3-stars, one by one

One step up are three hotels whose websites confirm 3 stars. The Hotel Ambassador, on avenue Prince Pierre, was the only one publishing a price, its Standard room from €150 on 25 September 2026, and it includes buffet breakfast. Its basic rooms are small at 14 m², with the Classic at 20.

The Novotel, on boulevard Princesse Charlotte, plays a different card. It’s three minutes on foot from the station, has an outdoor pool, and its rooms are 25 m². For a trip that starts and ends on the train, you’ll struggle to find anything easier. Over in Fontvieille is the Columbus, with a pool and terraces in two thirds of its rooms, though further from the trains.

On the harbour there’s a special case, the Hotel Miramar, with 14 rooms facing the water and breakfast on the roof. It publishes neither a category nor a price, so I include it with caution, because in size and services it belongs in this group.

What the room rate doesn’t show

This is where many people compare badly. A hotel that includes breakfast, like the Ambassador, can’t be weighed like-for-like against one that charges for it. The same goes for parking. The Miramar sells a pass for €20, the Columbus charges €30 to €40 per 24 hours depending on the season and Le Méridien €65 a day. If you travel with a dog, the Ambassador charges a one-off €15 for cleaning and the Columbus €20 every night.

Then there’s the tourist tax. The Société des Bains de Mer charges it at its hotels, €7 per adult per day in its two Casino-side palaces and €5 at the Monte-Carlo Bay, but I haven’t found the general rule or what each small hotel applies. Ask when you book. And if a card terminal suggests billing you in pounds, say no and pay in euros, as I explain in money and payments in Monaco.

Sleeping by the station is a saving too

Monaco is small but very steep, and since September 2026 every taxi ride inside the Principality has been a fixed €18. So for me, a hotel next to the station saves real money, especially if you’re doing day trips along the coast. The Ambassador and the Novotel are minutes from the platform, and the Miramar five minutes’ walk via the harbour exit. Each exit is covered in my guide to Monaco’s railway station.

Is Nice or Beausoleil worth it?

It’s the most common choice, and it stands or falls on the train. Visit Monaco reckons on about 60 departures a day from Nice, each a 23-minute ride, and the Pass Sud Azur gives unlimited train, bus and tram travel for €35 over three days. A word of caution, though. No official figures I’ve read prove that Nice, Beausoleil or Cap-d’Ail work out cheaper, so I’m not promising that. There’s more choice, though, and more choice makes it easier to find something that fits your budget.

Beausoleil has one quirk. It’s France, but it runs right up against Monte-Carlo, and a taxi there from Monaco is a fixed €25. For families, the aparthotel with kitchens by the station is reviewed in Aparthotel Adagio Monaco Monte Cristo. The train and bus from Nice are covered in Nice to Monaco, and the other free or cheap parts of the trip are in Monaco on a budget.

When I wouldn’t bother hunting for a bargain

Grand Prix week. No hotel publishes its rate for those days and everything books up months ahead, so looking for a deal inside the Principality seems a waste of time to me. That week I’d head straight for Nice and the train, or book very early. If that’s you, start with choosing a hotel for Monaco’s Grand Prix. The full picture, from palaces to the smallest places, is in where to stay in Monaco.