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- Maybourne Riviera: The Hotel Perched Above Monaco That Feels Like the South of France Kept a Secret
Maybourne Riviera: The Hotel Perched Above Monaco That Feels Like the South of France Kept a Secret
Cliffside above Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Ten minutes from Monaco. And a view that makes everything you thought you knew about luxury hotels feel slightly ordinary.
There is a hotel sitting on the edge of a cliff above the French Riviera that looks directly down at Monaco, across to Italy, and out over the Mediterranean all at once.
It is called The Maybourne Riviera.
It opened in 2022, designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte with interiors by four separate studios including André Fu and Pierre Yovanovitch, each of whom drew inspiration from the artists who once lived along this coastline: Dalí, Picasso, Cocteau.
It sits in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, a commune tucked between Menton and Monaco, about 10 minutes from the Principality and a short distance from the Italian border. 69 rooms and suites, all facing the sea.
Rates start from approximately €1,500 per night in low season and rise to €2,500 and above for peak summer months, with suites considerably higher. This is not a hotel you stumble into. It is one you plan for.
The View and the Location 🌊🏔️
Arriving for the first time produces a specific feeling.
There is nowhere else on the Côte d'Azur where you look down at Monaco and out toward Italy at the same time
You drive up winding roads above the coast, and then suddenly the hotel appears: a contemporary cliff-edge structure with the Mediterranean spread out below and Monaco glittering in the distance.
As you walk through the doors, the deep blues of the sea blend seamlessly into the sky, with yachts dotting the horizon.
The hotel's design amplifies the seascape's natural beauty, ensuring that the view is the star no matter where you are.
The wraparound terrace is where this becomes visceral. Below lies the grandeur of Monaco, its customary streak of superyachts gliding in and out of Port Hercules.
To the left, beyond the terracotta rooftops of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the last few kilometers of France give way to the promise of Italy.
The Pool and Outdoor Experience 🏊☀️
The infinity pool is the centrepiece of the property and it earns that status completely.
Even though I have seen stunning hotel pools, this was by far something truly special.
Not only do you have a very welcoming breeze, but you are overlooking the world's most expensive place on earth: Monte-Carlo. When swimming at The Maybourne Riviera, you are looking down at the billionaires below.
Sun loungers circling the infinity pool are vibrant bursts of tangerine. The service poolside is attentive without being intrusive.
Champagne arrived soon after settling in and the pool service was always on-site when needed.
An infinity edge dissolving into the Mediterranean ☀️
The hotel also has an indoor pool for those rare overcast days, and gardens planted with lemon and olive trees that invite you to slow down between the water and the view.
Arrive early for front-row sunbeds. The pool earns its reputation and fills accordingly.
The Restaurants and Food 🍽️⭐
The dining program here is built around one name: Mauro Colagreco, the Italian-Argentine chef who led Mirazur (3* Michelin) in nearby Menton to the top of the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
At the Riviera Restaurant, Colagreco offers regional and accessible cuisine, where spaghetti alla Genovese is served alongside the famous tarte Tropézienne revisited by pastry chef Benoît Dutreige.
At the top of the hotel, ABC Kitchens takes the experience further. Colagreco emphasises his commitment to sustainable cuisine, taking you on a journey of reflection on fishing, with exceptional dishes in tune with the sea and its seasons.
La Piscine by Jean-Georges handles the more relaxed poolside dining. For evenings, the Piano Bar offers cocktails against the backdrop of Monaco's lights glittering below.
Each dish was a revelation: simple yet sophisticated, with flavors that made me fall in love with the region all over again.
The breeze from the sea, the twinkle of the lights from nearby Monaco, added to the magic.
The Rooms 🛏️🌅
All 69 rooms and suites face the sea. There are no compromise rooms here.
Room design is stunning and amenities are also excellent. Very bright with a fantastic spacious balcony, perfect to have your breakfast there, which makes you want to spend your entire day there.
The interiors reference the artists of the Riviera without becoming a museum. An ode to light and Mediterranean style, the rooms reveal an interior design inspired by the most emblematic artists who stayed on the Riviera, such as Dalí, Picasso, and Cocteau.
The spacious rooms, with their breathtaking views and products of exceptional quality, offer a cocoon of comfort and refinement. T
he decoration, imbued with style, creates a chic and contemporary atmosphere that seduces from the first glance.
Waking up to the Mediterranean from a private balcony with breakfast delivered is the version of the French Riviera that everyone imagines. Here it is exactly that.
The Staff 🤝✨
This is where The Maybourne Riviera earns the most consistent praise across every review written about it.
The Maybourne French Riviera offers a unique experience, characterized by the sincere and refined attention of the staff, where every detail matters.
Everyone working in the hotel is super polite and enthusiastic to serve you. Special mention to the valet team at the entrance: super nice and welcoming, always remembering your face.
The staff took incredible care throughout a four-night stay, making guests feel highly valued.
Small gestures, champagne on arrival for celebrations, tours of the property with genuine warmth, recalling preferences from the day before, are what elevate a great hotel into one people plan to return to.
That is the Maybourne Riviera in a sentence.
The Verdict
The Maybourne Riviera is one of those rare hotels that lives up to every version of itself you imagined before arriving.
The position alone would be enough. The architecture alone would be enough. The food alone would be enough.
But it is the combination of all of it, the cliff, the view, the pool dissolving into the sea, the two-Michelin-star chef running the kitchens, the staff who remember your name before you have even had a chance to introduce yourself properly, that makes this place genuinely difficult to leave.
People who stay here tend to come back. That says everything.
If you are going to do the French Riviera, do it here.
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