Fairmont Monte Carlo. Monaco

Hello eventprofs! Today when I’m writing this post I just came back from the first day of the Social Media Week London. Events are happening from morning until the late evening around the city, and not only in London, but in 11 other different cities. I went to two events today and got back totally inspired and motivated. One word that the speakers repeated over and over again today is ‘experience’. Customers don’t want facts, but they want experiences and stories. I was one of the only ones who were there from the events industry, but I thought to myself, I’m in the industry where we create experiences for our clients, it’s all about inspiration, creativity and innovation.

If we use business term to describe experience, then we talk about ‘meeting design’. Many elements come into the equation, such as the location, venue, food and so on. If we have the right meeting design, we’ll achieve the necessary ROI and our objectives. I’m sure my previous posts from Monaco have given you already some of this inspiration and I definitely try to transfer to you what it’s like to experience it all and bring you the small tips and hints you can use to plan your future meetings at the destination. Something that will make you and your clients to have a full experience of this magical destination.

Since I came back from the fam/press trip to Monaco, I was just thrown into the busy September month and had to catch up on all the daily work and believe it or not, new projects(!). I still have some incredible venues to share with you so here we go with this gem of a hotel – the Fairmont Monte Carlo.

There is no more central hotel than the Fairmont. Not only it belongs to one of the worlds leading hotel chains, but it also has a very favourable location as it overlooks the famous F1 circuit. On my third night in Monaco I had the pleasure to be hosted by Fairmont and had a chance to explore their MICE offer. On that day I finished all my meetings at 5pm so that allowed me enough time to get some sun by the pool. If you stay at the Fairmont you are in the center of everything happening in Monte Carlo. You’re just minutes’ walk from the Casino, Grimaldi Forum and have a wide choice of bars and restaurants, both in the hotel and outside. You’ll be surprised but that’s only a four star hotel.

In total, the hotel has 602 rooms (including 26 suites), three restaurants and bars, a casino, a pool, a Willow Stream spa and its Fitness Centre, a hair salon, shopping arcade and 18 conference and meeting rooms.

My room had a stunning sea view, but if you stay at the Fairmont during the Grand Prix F1 race maybe you’ll be more excited to stay in a room facing the city, though be aware that the prices start from about €8,000 for the weekend ;). Though the rooms facing the road will be transformed into hospitality suites, every hotel guest will have the opportunity to watch it from the rooftop. In total the hotel has four Grand Prix Suites, one of them is named after the world-renowned British racing legend “Sir Stirling Moss” who won 3 times the Monaco F1 Grand Prix: in 1956, 1960 and 1961.

The pool area and the gym are open until 10pm which is very practical and even if you have a hectic day until 7pm or so, you can still have a short training session at the gym and spa.

My room

View from my room, 6.30am

The pool

Sir Stirling Moss suite facing the F1 circuit

Event space

At the Fairmont you can have events from 7 people in the smallest room, Festival I, and up to 1000 for cocktail and 900 seated in the biggest room, Salle d’Or. The capacity chart gives a clear overview of all the possibilities.

When the hotel accommodates a group (or several groups) they will set up a separate group check-in in one of the conference rooms to accelerate the process and provide you the comfort and flexibility.

Separate check-in reception for groups

Dining

Nobu: Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa, is a highly influential celebrity Chef and runs his restaurants in 21 different cities around the world. The restaurant is open every day for dinner but can be privatised for breakfast and lunch for groups.

Horizon deck: is where the breakfast was served as well as it’s open for lunch and dinner. Make sure to take enough time in the morning to enjoy the breakfast and not only you have the large buffet but also the view is stunning.

Le Saphir 24: is a Bistro Lounge & Bar which offers a 24/7 traditional French cuisine dining.

My choice for the evening was to stay at the hotel bar by the pool. That’s how I imagined my stay at the Fairmont before coming there 🙂

Breakfast buffet, remember to allocate enough time for it

Nobu restaurant, can be privatised for breakfast and lunch

Nobu nights, DJ and drinks by the pool

Business Centre

The hotel has a small business center with all the necessary equipment you might need to prepare for your event.

Last but not least, the Fairmont has won several awards in the past years, among others in the MICE sector which include:

– Pinnacle Award – Successful Meetings: voted as “Best European Hotel ” by decision makers for planning meetings, events, conferences, and incentive programs for 2 consecutive years 2013 and 2014.

– Meeting & Incentive Travel: Gold Award as “Best Overseas Hotel” 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013; Silver Award as “Best Overseas Hotel” 2014, based on readers’ opinions.

– Conference & Incentive Travel magazine: Bronze trophy for the “Best Overseas Conference Hotel” category 2011.

Clients remember events as an experience while for event planners and the major stakeholders they are measured as ROI. Venue plays one of the most important elements, and if your clients get this experience thanks to the venue, such as at the Fairmont, you already achieved most of your ROI.

If you have questions about the venues or would like to share your experience, please don’t hesitate to share it in the comment section below.