Columbus Monte-Carlo

Positives + Excellent location in Fountville (land fill created area with high rise condos, gardens, walking paths, and marina)  5 minute walk to stairs & escalator to shopping center with Carrefour and to main street; 10- 15 min walk to Le Rocher old town with palace & restaurants and parks; 10-15 min walk to main commercial area with shops and restaurants; 20 – 25 min walk to Monte Carlo with casino and Hotel de Paris and luxury shopping. Also, 5 – 10 minute walk from hotel to marina with restaurants; to pier with walking path and outdoor gym. + small gym with one treadmill, bike and a few weights + room is very clean Negatives - Check in was extremely slow - Hotel policy is one card key per ROOM, not per guest. We protested – how can each person get in and out on different schedules if there is only one key? The desk person explained that the policy reflects their commitment to “go green” and minimize plastic. A card key? Seriously? This creates extreme inconvenience for guests who have different schedules – who is glued at the hip with the other person all the time? How does issuing only one plastic card key “save the planet” vs. the use of the little plastic shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. bottles put in all the rooms? The desk person was sympathetic and told us that she wished she could give us two card keys but that she would get in trouble. This is nonsense. For the price of the room, the inconvenience this policy causes is unbelievable and stupid and extreme. This policy must be terminated. - No space to put things – and this is a SUITE. There are NO luggage racks for suitcases, which is a serious mistake and again which causes extreme inconvenience. There is one bench upon one suitcase can be placed, but the TV is wall mounted right above it so when you open the suitcase and flip up the lid, it hits the TV. We were very concerned about damaging the TV so moved the bench (which was heavy) a bit aside but there was very little space. There is not enough space at all for two suitcases, two carryons, and personal items. There is a desk with pull out shelves underneath, but those were cluttered with coffee station items (a total waste of space that people really need – so many times I ask the hotel to remove the coffee station junk as I need the storage space) and a frig that is full and has the motion detection so we could not store any of our own water. - The room has an oval glass topped coffee table in front of the couch with metal legs that protrude so we were constantly kicking the hard metal legs by mistake and stubbing toes into them. There is NO space in this room to get around or to store anything. And this is a SUITE. - The bathroom has no towel racks or hooks for either dry or wet towels. - The breakfast is very small and costs 25 euros. If you eat it on the outdoor terrace, aggressive pigeons attack your plates of food. - There are NO gyms in the area that are open and available for guest day passes. There are several gyms; however, each one told us that they are private with long waiting lists and the gym attached to the Marriott charges 100 euros per day. So use the outdoor gym set up on the pier near the hotel; you have an incredible view of the Mediterranean and the church where Grace and Rainier were married. - Beware of trying to take a taxi anywhere. We asked the concierge and front desk to call us a taxi to go to a nearby town. After a very long wait, the concierge told us that since taxi medallions cost 1 million euros, taxi drivers will only take long trips to make it worth their while.

Nice hotel but customer services needs to improve, we had to wait 15/20mins to check it as both receptionist were dealing with one other client and no acknowledgment given we were waiting. Another customer was getting very irate in reception due to the lack of customer service. This was repeated in the morning at breakfast when no explanations of how the breakfast worked, cooked area, cold meats etc for a 4 star this should be a given! …… and not value for money when you pay 25€ each for a cooked breakfast with scrambled eggs but the hotel want to charge another 6€ per person if you want a fried or poached egg - really!!! Lastly it was 40€ per day to park the car but when we asked for our keys no one actually asked us for proof of payment or ownership of the vehicle ??

Travelled with work to this hotel. Very nice indeed lovely big rooms ours had a balcony which looked out over a local park. Marina just around the corner and easy walking distance to all local sights. Some good bars just around the corner on the quayside. Has a pool looked ok - a little to early in the season. Breakfast was good but beware some things are extra.