Columbus Monaco Hotel, Monte Carlo

Background:

The Columbus Hotel is located within the principality of Monaco which is a small area nestled between France and Italy, no longer than 3 miles across!

The hotel features 9 floors of cool, contemporary rooms and suites and was constructed in 2003 and is part owned by world renowned racing car driver David Coulthard. The hotel is located in the newly reclaimed area (from the sea!) Font Vielle and is approximately ...
...well as stereo with a Columbus hotel compilation CD (available for purchase in the gift shop) as well as a desk, and seating area complete with comfy sofa and chairs. The bedroom was large with an oversized king bed and a clutter free because of the other rooms! You also have a well-stocked mini bar and international TV channels.

The bathroom had a large bathtub big enough for two, as well as a huge shower that featured a normal shower ... more

Background:

The Columbus Hotel is located within the principality of Monaco which is a small area nestled between France and Italy, no longer than 3 miles across!

The hotel features 9 floors of cool, contemporary rooms and suites and was constructed in 2003 and is part owned by world renowned racing car driver David Coulthard. The hotel is located in the newly reclaimed area (from the sea!) Font Vielle and is approximately a 15 minute walk into Monte Carlo. The whole around the hotel is clean and new and it is less than a two minute walk to the beach and in under 5 minutes you will have walked to the fashionable Cap D'ail in France.

The location:

Surrounded by residential apartments the hotel is quiet without much passing traffic and you do get a sense of seeming some local colour and community a this hotel as one either side are private apartments and the swimming pool is shared with the apartments so you can meet some of the local characters!

Within close walking distance to many parts of Monaco (and about 15 minutes walk away from Monte Carlo), the hotel feels pretty well located. Very close by is the Princess Grace Rose Garden which is ideal to sit and read or just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. You are also very close to the sports stadium as well as within close walking distance of the stamp museum, zoo and the national car museum. Less than 5 minutes away is a shopping centre that features clothes shops, restaurants as well as a large branch of the French supermarket Carrefour ideal for stocking up on those essentials like water etc. Oh and of course there's a McDonalds restaurant in the same complex!

Getting to the hotel:

Transfer from Nice Airport takes approx 30 minutes by taxi and costs approx 80Euros and allows you to take in the spectacular countryside as you acclimatise!

Arriving in style by helicopter costs approximately 90Euros per person and takes 6 minutes. You are then bussed from the heli pad to the hotel which takes under two minutes. The whole process is very smooth as the helicopter company take control of your luggage which we then didn't see until we arrived in our hotel room!

You can also get the train from Nice airport to Nice station and then the train into Monaco. It would then be a five minute drive away by taxi to the hotel or 15 minute walk. The train journey costs approximately 20Euros per person and although we didn't use the trains very much they were relatively easy to use, clean and efficient.

Parking
There is some secure parking available in the hotel's underground car park although I understand that this cost over 30 Euros per day. As far as I understand there are no other options for parking such as leaving your car on the street; best to leave the car at home as it is easy to walk everywhere.

Dining:

Breakfast is included with many accommodation deals here and serves the most wonderful selection of breads, meets and cheeses as well as scrambled eggs and bacon. You can chose to sit inside and out and we tried both for a variety of experiences. To pay for breakfast costs 25 Euros per person and this is the same price as for the room service selection.

Lunch is a fun affair with a range of salads, sandwiches and local meals. Dinner is a great variety of local produce juxtaposed against international favourites with a good wine selection starting around 20 + Euros. Also try the bar for it's chic atmosphere and the chocolate martini drink is a must.

Shopping

The hotel features a small boutique shop that is located on the same level as the lobby (on the right hand side). Featuring items that have been used to decorate the hotel you will find light fittings as well as unusual items for the home in addition to a wide selection of toiletry items and clothing. The shop is quite small but well stocked to find some unusual gifts; the staff are friendly and helpful and not all overbearing. We were pleasantly surprised by the prices as the soaps gift sets (similar to those found in the rooms) were well under 5 Euros and a very nice souvenir of our stay.

Relaxation facilities

The hotel features an outdoor pool that isn't huge bus is set within a nice courtyard. We visited the hotel in October of this year when the weather was in the low 70s and although the pool is shared with the adjoining apartment complexes, it was always very quiet with lots of space on the sun loungers. The pool appeared to be unsupervised but was very clean and immaculately maintained.

The hotel also features q sizeable gym which like all other parts of the hotel is immaculately maintained and features all of the latest mod cons. Unless you are very, very keen on maintaining your fitness levels whilst you are away on holiday I would give the gym a miss as there are too many other things to see in Monaco and you will get a work out with all the steps!

Booking:

As with booking most hotels these days, the internet tends to be the source of the most competitive rates! I shopped around quite a lot before booking and found that as the hotel is independent the Utell booking site seemed to offer the most competitive rates.

Room rates tend to very as follows:
The cheapest is for a 'standard room' (no balcony) on a room only basis with the best deals being from around 160Euros.

Deluxe rooms with a balcony cost from around 180 Euros with breakfast inclusive deals also being available for around 200 + Euros

My experience of looking seems to show that the best deals are available if you book several months in advance and are flexible on date. There are some great weekend and out of season (i.e. not Grand Prix or June-August time) rates that will be sure to tempt you!

We paid 215Europs per night for our 4 days stay in October and were lucky enough to be upgraded to a suite upon arrival!

The rooms:

Although the rooms all have a common cool and contemporary flair the individual styling does vary according to the room. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a suite on the top floor upon arrival. Our amazing suite featured a large walk in wardrobe complete with safe, miles of hanging space and drawers, full length mirror as well as a hairdryer and iron and ironing board.

The sitting room was featured a large TV, play station as well as stereo with a Columbus hotel compilation CD (available for purchase in the gift shop) as well as a desk, and seating area complete with comfy sofa and chairs. The bedroom was large with an oversized king bed and a clutter free because of the other rooms! You also have a well-stocked mini bar and international TV channels.

The bathroom had a large bathtub big enough for two, as well as a huge shower that featured a normal shower and rain forest shower head. Combined with the lovely hotel bath products, huge fluffy towels this made for a very cleansing and relaxing bathroom experience!

The room was very clean and maintained and the maid service so discreet that we didn't see the morning or evening maid! A nightly turn down service included lighting tea light candles and romantic music.

The staff and overall experience and ambiance…

One item that must deserve a particular mention is the staff of the hotel Columbus. When we arrived at the hotel the chief concierge spent 10 minutes talking to us about the hotel and our needs, in a very non-pushy way and provided us with all the information that we needed to make the most out of our time at the hotel and in Monaco.

All other staff were discreet, friendly and efficient without ever being over bearing. All in all, the staff helped to make the whole experience a wonderful one and I cannot recommend the Columbus highly enough!

The hotel is ideal for people travelling on business or pleasure as well as couples who want a romantic getaway. There also seem to be families around as well giving the hotel an eclectic clientele mix.

The whole ethos of the hotel is cool and calm and the hotel is decorated in claming beiges and an almost nautical theme but without being too harsh or plain. The hotel is immaculate and exceptionally clean and offers a feeling of real luxury and comfort. The one hugely surprising fact about the hotel is that it is not a five star hotel, nor is it a four, star it is in fact a three star hotel.

I have to say though that it beats every four and five star hotel that I have ever stayed at…

 

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