Hotel Miramar, fourteen rooms on the edge of Port Hercule

The Miramar is one of those hotels you’d walk straight past, and yet once inside it has what a lot of visitors want from Monaco. Fourteen rooms, Port Hercule in front, the Palace across the water and a rooftop where breakfast is served. It sits at 1 avenue J.F. Kennedy, right on the quay between the Rock and Monte-Carlo. To me it’s the simple, and therefore honest, way to sleep on the harbour.

A tiny hotel with the water in front

The hotel describes itself as sitting on Port Hercule, right on the water, and here that’s literally true. Most of what you’ll want to see is within walking distance, and buses stop by the door. Its 14 rooms have just been refurbished with a nautical look, and all have air conditioning, TV, a desk and a shower room.

The website doesn’t give a category, in its text or anywhere in its data, so I won’t give it stars. What I can tell you is the view, because it looks over the harbour and the Palace. The stroll along the quays, past the pool and the Grand Prix area, is in my Port Hercule guide.

Which room at the Miramar would I book?

There are three types and the difference is outdoor space. The double with a sea view, 15 to 17 m², has no terrace. The double with a balcony is 17 to 21 m² and adds exactly that over the harbour. The studio with a terrace, 21 to 24 m², has a larger shower room and is adapted for guests with disabilities. Nine of the fourteen rooms have a private terrace or balcony.

I’d go for the balcony or the studio. Paying to sleep opposite Monaco’s harbour and not being able to step out and look at it seems a waste. One important limit, though. No room takes more than two people, a baby aside, and there are no extra beds.

A rooftop to start the day

Breakfast is continental and served every day from 07:00 to 10:30 on the rooftop, or inside if the weather isn’t playing along. That terrace is the best spot in the building, and it can also be hired for meetings, weddings and birthdays. The website doesn’t mention a restaurant for lunch or dinner, so I’d plan to eat out, and where to eat in Monaco has my shortlist.

The rest fits a small, practical hotel. A 24-hour front desk, luggage storage, check-in by mobile or at a kiosk, free Wi-Fi, a bottle of water on arrival and free coffee at reception.

From the station to the hotel and up to the Palace

Getting here is easy. According to the hotel, the platforms are five minutes away on foot via the Parvis Sainte-Dévote exit, the one facing the harbour. If you’re driving, it sells a parking pass for €20, which for Monaco strikes me as fair. What the station is like inside, and which exit suits where, is in Monaco’s underground station and its exits.

From here it’s a short walk up to the Rock, and across the harbour you have Monte-Carlo and Casino Square. Monaco is small but steep, and the public lifts help.

What about the big harbour events?

Port Hercule is the stage for the Grand Prix and the Monaco Yacht Show, and the Miramar is on the front row. The website doesn’t say the rooms overlook the circuit, so I won’t claim it. One more detail, in 2026 its street was shut to cars on all three racing weekends, so on those dates I’d arrive on foot. If you’re travelling for Formula 1, my race-weekend picks are in hotels for the Grand Prix weekend.

The Miramar or the Port Palace?

On the same avenue is the Port Palace, with 50 larger rooms, suites for four and a restaurant on the sixth floor. As a couple after a simple base with the harbour in front, the Miramar is enough for me. If there are more of you, you need space or you want dinner without going out, the Port Palace. And if you’re after the lowest spend inside the Principality, my shortlist is in cheap hotels in Monaco.