Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Monte-Carlo SBM
Monte-Carlo SBM hotels
Grand hotels, sea bathing and the casino form a shared world of Riviera leisure.
Monte-Carlo SBM brings Monaco’s grand-hotel tradition together through Hôtel de Paris, Hôtel Hermitage, Monte-Carlo Bay, and Monte-Carlo Beach. Founded by royal decree in 1863, the company helped shape Monte Carlo around hotels, sea bathing, and the casino, a history that still gives these four very different stays a shared setting.
4 Monte-Carlo SBM hotels in 1 country on the Luxury Hotels Atlas, each placed on the six LHA Tiers.
- Owned by the Société des Bains de Mer
- Worldwide: Deliberately confined to Monaco and its immediate French border — 4 hotels, 0 international expansion. This is a brand defined by geographic exclusivity rather than global footprint: SBM has never franchised or exported the Monte-Carlo name to another city.
- On the atlas: 1 Apex Luxury, 2 Grand Luxury, 1 High Luxury
History
SBM’s four hotels mark different chapters in Monaco’s development. Hôtel de Paris began with the resort’s founding vision, Hermitage joined as an established grand hotel, and Monte-Carlo Beach brought the Riviera’s interwar leisure culture to the collection. Monte-Carlo Bay later gave guests a more contemporary resort setting while the historic houses continued to be restored.
Timeline
- 1863 — Société des Bains de Mer founded by royal decree of Prince Charles III, with concessionaires François and Marie Blanc, to operate sea-bathing, gaming, and hotel facilities on the undeveloped Plateau des Spélugues.
- 1864 — Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo opens as the centerpiece of the new district.
- 1866 — Prince Charles III decrees the plateau will be named "Monte Carlo.".
- 1877 — François Blanc dies; his widow, Marie Blanc, takes over management and commissions the Hôtel de Paris's first great wine cellars.
- 1896 — Hôtel Hermitage opens, built independently by architect Jean Marquet, with a glass-domed winter garden designed by Gustave Eiffel's workshop.
- 1928 — SBM buys the Hermitage outright, partly to keep it from becoming too strong a rival to the Hôtel de Paris, bringing it fully under the SBM roof for the first time.
- 1929 — Monte-Carlo Beach opens across the French border in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, an Art Deco seaside villa designed by Roger Seassal, launched with a party hosted by socialite Elsa Maxwell.
- 1966–67 — A power struggle between Prince Rainier III and shareholder Aristotle Onassis over SBM's direction ends with Onassis selling his stake to the Monegasque state for US$9.5 million, cementing state control of the company.
- 2005 — Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort opens on four hectares of Larvotto peninsula land reclaimed from the sea, SBM's newest hotel and its only true resort, with a 4,000 m² sand-bottomed lagoon.
- 2006 — The historic Hôtel Balmoral closes after a century of operation. The building, owned by SBM since the early 2000s, is later demolished and replaced by the residential Résidence Balmoral in 2012.
- 2012 — SBM takes over the operating lease of Le Méridien Beach Plaza from the Starwood/Starman group, operated for SBM's account but kept under the Le Méridien flag, never rebadged SBM.
- 2014–2019 — A four-year, €280 million renovation of the Hôtel de Paris modernizes every room while preserving the Belle Époque shell, adding a new rooftop spa level and exceptional suites.
- 2020 — The rebuilt Place du Casino is inaugurated on 2 June, in the presence of Monaco's royal family, amid the Covid-19 crisis.
- 2024 — SBM launches a new multi-year renovation program at Hôtel Hermitage.
- 2025 — Monte-Carlo Beach begins a multi-year transformation timed to culminate at its 2029 centenary; Hôtel de Paris is named to The World's 50 Best Hotels 2025 at #36.
- 2026 — Hôtel Hermitage unveils redesigned Diamond Suites and the new Gustave bar beneath the Eiffel dome, as its renovation program continues into a further phase planned for spring 2027.
The houses to know
- Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monte Carlo, Monaco — The founding Monte-Carlo palace opened in 1864 as the district took shape.
- Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, Monte Carlo, Monaco — Built independently in 1896, absorbed by SBM in 1928 to protect the Hôtel de Paris, its Eiffel-designed glass dome remains one of the Riviera's great Belle Époque interiors.
- Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, Monaco, Monaco — The four-hectare resort stands on land reclaimed from the sea, with a sand-bottomed lagoon pool.
- Monte-Carlo Beach, Monte Carlo, Monaco — The Riviera's original Jazz Age beach club, Art Deco, "Riviera Red," and a century of A-list guests, now mid-transformation toward its 2029 centenary.
Newest openings
- No new SBM hotel had opened in the preceding 24 months at the time of review. Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, opened in 2005, remains the group’s latest hotel addition. The One Monte-Carlo development, inaugurated in 2019, contains shops, offices, and residences.
Opening next
- No new SBM hotel construction or acquisition has been publicly announced as of mid-2026. SBM's stated strategy is continued reinvestment in its existing four hotels rather than geographic or portfolio expansion.
Every Monte-Carlo SBM hotel on the atlas
Monaco
- Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo — Monte Carlo · Apex Luxury
- Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo — Monte Carlo · Grand Luxury
- Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort — Monaco · Grand Luxury
- Monte-Carlo Beach — Monte Carlo · High Luxury
Open The Maison in the atlas for Monte-Carlo SBM's full dossier, with prices and maps.