Fairmont Monte Carlo, sleeping above the Grand Prix hairpin

There’s one hotel in Monaco with a Formula 1 corner named after it, and this is it. The Fairmont Monte Carlo stands at 12 avenue des Spélugues, below Casino Square and hard against the sea, and the Grand Prix circuit swings round right outside its front door. The Principality’s tourist board calls the bend the virage du Fairmont. If you’re looking the hotel up, chances are the race is part of the reason, so that’s where I’ll start.

The hairpin, seen from above

Monaco’s street circuit is 3.337 km long with 19 corners, and the Fairmont’s is one of the most photographed. The cars come down from the Casino area, turn in front of the hotel and carry on towards the tunnel. The hotel makes the most of it. Its Hairpin City View rooms have a private terrace over the corner, and the Grand Prix Suite adds the harbour and the sea to that view.

On any other day of the year the hairpin is just another street, and you can walk it. I explain how in the Monaco circuit on foot. Few sights in the Principality gain as much once you know what you’re looking at.

Staying here for the Grand Prix

The 2027 race, the 84th, is set for 3 to 6 June and brings the sprint format to Monaco for the first time. The hotel sells packages for it and for other fixtures in the calendar, such as the tennis and the yacht show. I’m not going to give you a price for that week, because I haven’t found any official source publishing how much hotels go up, and any figure without a date would be made up.

What I do know is what happens around it. On race weekends roads are closed and the circuit takes months to build, so I’d arrive by train and get about on foot. Tickets, grandstands and the official 2027 prices are in the Monaco Grand Prix guide.

What’s inside

The hotel describes itself as a landmark in the heart of the Principality that has hosted events for 50 years. It has three named restaurants, Nobu, Nikki Beach and Amù; two pools, one of them on the roof beside the restaurant; a spa and a gym. The rooms have been refurbished and almost all of those shown on its website come with a terrace, looking over the sea, the inner garden or the corner.

Going through the room list calmly, what I’d ask for depends on the trip. For a couple who love the racing, a Hairpin City View, which is the whole point of the place. To watch the sun come up over the Mediterranean, the Signature Sea View rooms on the upper floors. For a family of four, the Junior Suite Garden View, which face the inner garden and are quieter. And with no ceiling on the budget, the Commodore Suite, with three terraces over the sea and the Rock. The bathrooms stock Le Labo toiletries, a detail the website highlights on nearly every room page.

With children in July and August, the Kids Club is free for guests aged 4 to 12. There’s paid parking with 60 spaces and a valet, and an adapted 35 m² room with a terrace onto the garden.

What happened to the casino at the Fairmont?

This question comes up a lot. For years the hotel had its own casino, the Sun Casino, which closed on 14 March 2020, as lockdown began, and never reopened. Its space is now Le Grand Salon, an events room of 1,465 m². If you want a flutter, the place to go is the Monte-Carlo Casino, on the square above.

Four stars at luxury prices

The Fairmont calls itself a 4-star luxury hotel, and that’s the category I’d take at face value. It isn’t a palace like the ones on Casino Square, and it doesn’t pretend to be. What it offers is different, views and a spot between the Casino and the sea. Its advance rate knocks up to 20% off the flexible price if you pay upfront with no refund, for bookings made until 31 December 2026, and ALL Accor members get another 5%. If your dates are fixed, that’s the clearest way to save here. Just remember the bill is in euros, so turn down any offer to pay in pounds at the terminal.

My verdict, depending on why you’re going

A clear yes for the Formula 1 fan who wants to sleep above the track, in race week or any other. Also for someone who wants a rooftop pool and dinner at Nobu without leaving the building.

Not for anyone after Monte-Carlo’s Belle Époque charm, which you’ll find at the Hôtel Métropole or the Hôtel de Paris, nor for someone counting every euro. For that trip, the simple options in La Condamine and the ones over the French border are compared in my Monaco hotels guide.