Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review: Luxury Literary Hotel in Paris

Hotel Monte Cristo in Paris has been one of my bucket list hotels for a long time. When the opportunity came around to stay there for an Instagram collaboration I was doing, I jumped at the chance.

A luxury literary hotel in Paris with a pool and all?

Count me in!

Disclosure: I stayed at Hotel Monte Cristo on a complimentary basis as part of an Instagram campaign with a hotel booking website. This review is in no way affiliated with the hotel, I was under no obligation to write it.

If you’re new here, hi! I’m Laura – a self-confessed francophile who fell head over heels for Paris years ago. I studied French literature at Oxford University and spent a year living in the city, wandering its cobbled streets, eating croissants and browsing old bookshops. Paris has never stopped feeling like magic to me, and I return as often as I can. Here, you’ll find my favourite places and experiences in the city that will always have my heart.

Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review - Reception Area

Hotel Monte Cristo was inspired by none other than Alexandre Dumas, one of the most famous French writers of all time.

He wrote The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers and many other French classics.

But more than just a writer, he was a politician, a traveller, an adventurer, a playwright and more.

The decor is in keeping with Alexandre Dumas’ home and is strongly influenced by his love of the Orient. As soon as you walk through its glass front doors, you’ll be faced with a cabinet filled with stuffed exotic birds.

A large portrait of Dumas himself hands in the reception area and there are tropical plants everywhere.

Stay at Hotel Monte Cristo

Each of the rooms in the hotel is decorated in a unique, Oriental style and you can get a simple double chambre or go all out with an ornate suite. I

stayed in the most basic room on offer, a classic double room, which is still pretty luxurious.

It contained a velvet sofa, large oriental lanterns for bedside lights and a beautifully modern bathroom that I really wanted to take home with me.

Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review - Bathroom

Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review - Oriental Bedroom

If you’re feeling fancy, check yourself into one of the three suites at Hotel Monte Cristo. They are each named after a character in Dumas’ most famous work, The Count of Monte Cristo: Mércedès, Haydée and Edmond.

Edmond Dantès, aka the Count of Monte Cristo, is the main character with Mércedès being his fiancée and Haydée his slave.

The Mércedès Suite costs €315 per night on average and the Haydée €333.

The latter is quite a bit larger than the former, but the Mercedes Suite does boast a roll top bath, whilst the Haydée has a double shower. Choices, choices.

The Edmond Suite is the most lavish of the lot and costs €495 on average. The decor is bold with lots of large tropical plants and painted scenes line the walls.

It has got several velvet armchairs and sofas and is the ultimate relaxation pad for luxury travellers. What’s more, this suite doesn’t come with an ordinary bathroom but its own hammam. Yes, a hammam!

Find the best deals for Hotel Monte Cristo here now

Booking.com

Eat at Hotel Monte Cristo

Breakfast

Breakfast costs €16 pp and you get to choose whether to have this brought to your room in the morning or to venture down to the stunning dining room.

Of course, I opted to have it brought to my room – breakfast in bed is the dream!

You’re given a checklist of items the night before and you’re free to tick as many of them as you wish.

That’s basically unlimited breakfast.

Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review - Girl Eating Croissant

Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review - French Breakfast

That means I had both pancakes and crepes for breakfast. There was also a pastry basket full of pain au chocolats and croissants.

Oh, and there was fresh fruit and yoghurt and a choice of fresh grapefruit juice or OJ and hot drinks too. What a spread!

€16 may seem a little pricey but considering just how much you’re getting, it’s really quite reasonable. I didn’t even order any of the hot food options like scrambled eggs.

This is the perfect breakfast to fill you up before a big day of exploring Paris so I’d highly recommend making the most of the room service!

Dinner

For dinner, you can again opt for either room service or to book a table in the oriental dining space.

If you’re dining in the hotel, then I’d highly recommend choosing the latter so you get to take advantage of this beautiful setting at least once during your stay.

The menu isn’t extensive, so if you’re a big foodie and want to try the best of Pari,s then I’d suggest going elsewhere.

Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review - Club 1802 Dining Room

However, if you’re here for a staycation or just looking for some nourishment at the end of a long day, the dining room here is perfect.

The menu here isn’t particularly French and there are around three options for each of the starters, mains and desserts. Mains include a curry and a mushroom risotto, which did tempt me!

Find the best deals for Hotel Monte Cristo here now

Drink at Club 1802

Club 1802 is the name for the sumptuous downstairs dining area of Hotel Monte Cristo and is inspired by parties that Alexandre Dumas used to throw in nineteenth-century Paris. It’s a rum bar and there are a tonne of different rum-based cocktails to choose from.

You can get these ordered directly from your room if you wish as each room comes with a Club 1802 menu.

However, personally, I wouldn’t waste the opportunity to sip on cocktails in the beautiful dining room, where you can also speak to the bartenders yourself and soak up the atmosphere.

Smoking room and gourmet room coming soon in May 2019!

Relax at the Spa

What makes Hotel Monte Cristo unique for a hotel in the centre of Paris is that it houses a spa in its basement with a sauna and a pool, featuring a small waterfall!

Access to the spa is included in the price of your room, and you’re free to use it whenever you want between 7am and 10pm during your stay.

There’s no need to book ahead but you can call reception around 15 minutes before you want to use the facilities so they can get the sauna room warmed up and ready for you.

Massages are available in your room by reservation but you’ll have to pay extra for these!

Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review - Swimming Pool

The pool is 15 metres long, which is a decent enough length for you to get some real exercise in.

You’ll need to come early if you want to do some laps as the waterfall halfway down the pool means that there’s only really one lane if you want to go up and down.

Most people seem to just enjoy floating in the pool and relaxing down here.

The swimming pool is lined with exotic plants in keeping with the Asia-inspired decor of the entire hotel. No detail is spared!

There are plenty of chairs and sofas for you to relax in around the pool so if you don’t want to go for a swim you can enjoy a good book along the edge instead.

There are some bike machines on the side of the pool, but honestly, these are rather unstable and pretty useless.

You won’t be able to get much of a workout done on these, and you’re much better off doing laps in the pool.

–

All in all, I had a wonderful stay at Hotel Monte Cristo and can’t recommend it enough for some literary luxury.

What’s more, the hotel staff are very friendly and all perfectly fluent in English. Expect doors to be opened for you and impeccable service!

And if you’re looking for more luxury literary locations in Paris, don’t miss Les Deux Magots, one of the most famous cafés in Paris, which is also on the Left Bank.