Regeneration in the Riviera

The French Riviera is constantly associated with luxury living and offers its exclusive residents and visitors a host of mods and cons. Luke Thomas finds out how 2019 will see the magnificent Riviera city-state of Monaco take it’s leisure offering to the next level.

A major real estate and urban planning project initiated in 2009, One Monte-Carlo will start a new chapter at the heart of Monaco in 2019, with a new ultra-modern district offering a full luxury experience, combining high-end accommodation, shopping, event spaces, gastronomy, culture and business in an exceptional setting.

Immediately adjacent to the famous Monte Carlo Casino and Place du Casino, with Hôtel de Paris and Hotel Hermitage, it is a haven of peace for both residents and the public with an emphasis on green spaces - where living, working or just ambling on the promenade is a joy.

Designed by British architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners – the company which designed One Hyde Park – comprises seven buildings, six contain luxury apartments, which developers hope will transform the area into a cool new district with the final oval-shaped building including offices and a ground floor restaurant.

Catering to an international clientele, the 37 luxury apartments range from 60m2 to 800m2 and will not be for sale – instead, they are rent only. The vast apartments range from two bedrooms to a six-bedroom triplex with a roof terrace and private pool. The floor to ceiling glass windows can be rolled aside, extending the living spaces on to terraces that have views of Place du Casino and gardens on one side, with the harbour on the other.

The varnished and polished new handrails are like those found on luxury boats. Expect parquet flooring, marble bathrooms in the finest spa tradition and ‘champagne’ tinted faucets and marquetry wooden entrance doors leading into the apartments, framed by wide sculpted marble arches. Tenants will be able to take advantage of the full hotel service and have access to Les Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo, the spa shared by Hotel de Paris and Hotel Hermitage, enjoy 24/7 car valet service and secure underground parking facility.

Everything in the new development is curved – with no sharp angles in sight – just like the superyachts moored in the harbour, everything is curved, including the 7m shopfront windows. The new promenade is dotted with 23 luxury boutiques including Chanel and Louis Vuitton. The new buildings cover more than 60,000sqm and are also comprised of a subterranean art gallery and underground conference centre that is a reproduction of the Salles des Arts, the centrepiece of the winter sporting complex which previously stood in its place.