The welcome
I arrive using the minivan shuttle service that runs between the Monte Carlo SBM’s four hotels every 20 minutes. Travelling from the five-star Hermitage, with its old-world beauty dating from 1900, to the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, a four-star, 10-storey structure opened in 2005, is less jarring than expected – the newer hotel is both inviting and more laid-back. Check-in is done quickly and my bags reach my room swiftly.
The neighbourhood
The 334-room hotel occupies a prime piece of reclaimed coastal land at the easternmost part of the principality of Monaco. Sitting at this boundary of Monaco and France gives it an excellent vantage point in two directions, between the built-up Monaco Bay area, with its high-rise apartments and hotels, and the more-relaxed, quieter slice of France between Monaco and Italy. Within easy walking distance are public beaches in both Monaco and France, the Monaco Bay waterfront, the Grimaldi arts centre and the historic Nouveau Musée de Monaco. Sporting Monaco, an events space, is next door.
The scene
Despite its size, the hotel feels quite exclusive. It has a resort-like feel to it, with four bars and restaurants, landscaped gardens, an indoor-outdoor swimming pool, a sand-bottomed artificial lagoon, Cinq Mondes spa and fitness centre. Later this year, a sea-bathing facility will be added. A casino is attached to the hotel. Most of the guests are French, and split between the business and leisure markets (in summer, leisure dominates, and Gulf travellers make up 10 per cent of guests). The average age is about 40, with most travelling in families, couples or groups of couples.
The room
My room is a standard room on the eighth floor, with a great view of the Monaco Bay. It’s 40 square metres, with a large private balcony. Everything works and is simple to operate, from the lighting to the shower fittings.
The service
Most of the staff are French or Italian, and are well-mannered and helpful. They tend to speak to you in French, before switching to English. Housekeeping is very quick to bring requested items; the front desk is sometimes engaged on other calls. Generally, the hotel seems very well-staffed.
The food
The buffet breakfast at Blue Bay (€36 [Dh145]) consists of freshly baked breads and pastries, yogurts, cheeses and salads, hot items including tomatoes and eggs, and a selection of fresh juices. At night, the same venue is a Michelin-starred restaurant under chef Marcel Ravin, from Martinique. The food mixes styles, spiralising papaya into a pasta-like dish, pairing foie gras with cherries and making fish soup dark and spicy. Beetroot is mixed into fruit sorbet and olive oil is infused with turmeric, and there’s a bread made from cassava flour. Set dinner menus cost from €88 (Dh353) per person.
Loved
The location, the haven-like room and good service.
Hated
There must be some maintenance going on in the hotel because I can hear drilling from my room during daylight hours. Sitting outside at Blue Bay restaurant, I was bothered by the cigarette smoke from other diners and a nearby terrace.
The verdict
A surprisingly good hotel with a restful, holiday atmosphere.
The bottom line
Double rooms at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort (www.montecarlobay.com) cost from €168 (Dh674) per night in low season, excluding breakfast.
This review was done at the invitation of the hotel.
rbehan@thenational.ae
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
RACECARD
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (PA) $50,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
6.35pm: Festival City Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
7.10pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic – Listed (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.45pm: Jumeirah Classic Trial – Conditions (TB) $150,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,600m
8.55pm: Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Dubai Dash – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,000m
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
J%20Street%20Polling%20Results
%3Cp%3E97%25%20of%20Jewish-Americans%20are%20concerned%20about%20the%20rise%20in%20anti-Semitism%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E76%25%20of%20US%20Jewish%20voters%20believe%20Donald%20Trump%20and%20his%20allies%20in%20the%20Republican%20Party%20are%20responsible%20for%20a%20rise%20in%20anti-Semitism%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E74%25%20of%20American%20Jews%20agreed%20that%20%E2%80%9CTrump%20and%20the%20Maga%20movement%20are%20a%20threat%20to%20Jews%20in%20America%22%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
