Monaco is one of those places where legend and truth seem to mingle a little better than they do anywhere else. It's not just the fairytale wedding of Princess Grace, either. "Even if people don't know much about Monaco, it conjures up images of wealth, something not attainable on one's own," says Cindy Hoddeson, director of meeting and incentive sales, for the Monaco Government Tourist Office. "After all of these years, people still think of the princely family, they think of James Bond, and they think of some movies that they've seen Monaco in," such as Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief.
There is, she adds, some truth to the clichés: "The cars that you might see on the street -- Aston Martins, Bugattis," she says. "Our September yacht show has become the largest super-yacht show in the world." Which probably explains why it remains such a popular and steady incentive destination.
Created by Monte-Carlo SBM in 1863, Monaco's original grand hotel, the 182-room Hôtel de Paris, is located next to the Casino de Monte-Carlo, and will embark on a major renovation and restructuring in October. While work is scheduled to last four years, the hotel will only be closed from Oct. 6 through mid-December. After reopening briefly for the holiday season, it will shut down in sections through Sept. 2018. Major changes will include the creation of a central garden courtyard and extensive new use of the roof, where a new fitness, spa, and pool area will open. Several suites and a rooftop villa with a private garden and pool will be added. Work will not affect the hotel's three-Michelin-Star Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse restaurant, gilt-and-marble-encrusted Salle Empire ballroom, or the façade and lobby.
Meanwhile, another one of Monte-Carlo SBM's historic properties, the Thermes Marin Monte-Carlo spa connected to the Hôtel Hermitage, will reopen in October after a renovation that enabled the 70,000-square-foot facility to offer more personalized treatments while adding innovative technologies. It has a capacity of 50 people per half day.
When taking an incentive group to Monaco, helicopter transfers from nearby Nice Airport are practically de rigeur. But now the firms' hangars can play a part in a program between the arrival and departure, as aviation companies Monicair and HELI AIR MONACO are making their highly customizable, seaview hangers available to groups of up to 300, or 200 for dinner.
European nightlife impresario Flavio Briatore has opened a new nightspot in the heart of Monte Carlo, overlooking the coast. Twiga Monte Carlo is a lounge, hookah bar, Italian and raw-fish restaurant, and hot nightclub, which can host private dinners or cocktail receptions for up to 230.
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This article appears in the September 2014 issue of Successful Meetings.