Hospitality Today Winter 2020 (#40) | Page 14

14 | Hospitality Today | Winter 2020 SBM offer “diner around” packages for delegates, whereby each person has a credit for meals and can choose the restaurant they prefer. In Monaco, everything is accessible by foot or quick transfer. For example, in just a few seconds, Hotel Hermitage residents can get to the Café de la Rotonde at the Monte- Carlo Casino (100 people for a cocktail) and in a few minutes get to Sporting Monte- Carlo and its Salle des Étoiles (up to 950 people for seated dinner). The Hotel de Paris, on Casino Square opposite the casino itself, is one of the world’s most celebrated ‘palace-hotels’, with a legendary three Michelin star restaurant – Alain Ducasse’s “Le Louis XV” off the lobby (with a terrace on Casino Square), as well as the famous “Le Grill” restaurant (with another Michelin star) on the roof of the hotel – part of whose own roof slides open in Summer. “Le Grill” was (according to legend) added to the hotel after opera star Maria Callas suggested to her lover, Greek shipping billionaire Aristottle Onassis (then a shareholder in SBM) that a restaurant on the roof could have views of three countries – France, Italy and Monaco. Today Le Grill is certainly the place to enjoy a soufflé Grand Marnier while watching the yachts in the harbour below. In the lobby of the hotel is a bronze equestrian figure; the raised knee of the horse is bright from the touch of countless guests and gamblers, who for generations have touched it “for luck” on their way to the gaming tables of the casino opposite. HT did not test the effectiveness of this gambit. Opened in 1864, the Hotel de Paris started a meticulous modernisation in 2014, to reflect SBM facts and figures: • Four hotels of 40 to 334 rooms suited to all types of business events. • A central contact person to advise and assist you in organising your event. • 40 meeting rooms accommodating between 10 and 950 persons in a total area of 5,300 sqm. • A range of outstanding rooms with natural lighting, most with a sea view. • Cutting-edge equipment and technology to facilitate your presentations and communications. • The largest banqueting offering in Monaco: from a quick lunch at the Café de Paris to welcome cocktails on the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel lagoon and a gala dinner in the spectacular Salle Empire. • A wide range of celebration venues. • As a bonus: you receive additional benefits through the Monte-Carlo Pass Card.