a refuge in Rome’s hipster quarter

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What’s the buzz? Casa Monti is the first Italian foray for Leitmotiv, the family-owned group behind Cœur de Megève in the French Alps and La Fantaisie in Paris. The knowingly bougie tone is set by a very desirable ancient Fiat 500 with battered luggage strapped to its back, parked outside to indicate you’ve found the right place.

Location, location, location Finally, a moment’s peace. Casa Monti is a true bolt-hole in a neighbourhood that is more bohemian than the areas around the Piazza del Popolo or Spanish Steps, where the grand formal hotels come complete with tourist chaos and junior oligarch clientele. If matching Gucci everything is your thing, you know where to head, but this is the antidote to glitz in an area less thronging but still central enough to make the most of the historical and mercantile delights. The Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain are short strolls away and the Roman Forum looms large overhead to remind you where you are.

Many eras back, Monti was something of a slum, an ancient red-light district, but the seediness has long been buffed by artists and hipsters. A weekend market features young designers and crafts — an influence evident in Casa Monti’s artisanal ceramics, including painted espresso cups that will undoubtedly end up on its guests’ Insta stories. 

The hotel opened this summer (finishing touches were still being made every time an area was vacated during our stay), so it gleams with recency, quite the contrast to the crumbling civilisations outside. Impressive mosaics to celebrate its Roman heritage are used to great effect, but the real joy is the hand-painted wallpaper on the staircases which, with a light irony, depicts Roman figures in repeated patterns as if they were Egyptian hieroglyphics. Why take the lift when you could be selfie-ing next to a detail from the second floor? Don’t miss some visual innuendo in the carpet, which is unlikely to be accidental. 

Designer Laura Gonzalez has successfully woven art into the hotel’s concept without it becoming overwhelming. Each of the 26 rooms and 10 suites has a different feel, but the overall vibe is “artist’s residence”. Guests are meant to be inspired by the Italian notion of sprezzatura — relaxed ease and effortless elegance — but I can confirm that is not nearly as oppressive as it sounds.

Rooms focus on comfort and space, and post-city-streets recovery remedies include a mineral-water spray to refresh your stressed face, silk sleep masks and sachets of gummies laced with melatonin and CBD to encourage a restful night. My fashionista companion was rendered delirious with joy by a handheld clothes steamer in the room.

The Roman Suite, at the top of the hotel, is a full apartment with a sitting room and vast private terrace with outdoor dining table and sunbeds. This is “held back” for the very elite, so as to remain special (its €2,000 per night starting rate indicates how elite you will need to be).

What about the food? The Casa Monti Ristorante aims to evoke a trattoria and feel homely, an effect slightly undermined by overzealous lighting at dinner time. The food is largely traditional Roman fare and executed well — a twist on vitello tonnato featuring beef carpaccio and anchovy sauce is especially memorable — but is up against stiff competition elsewhere in the city. An internal atrium with a small fountain seems to reach into the sky and is perhaps a more atmospheric place to end your meal. Breakfast, in the same room, is generous and buffet-style, with a vast array of everything. Nespresso machines in your room will ensure you arrive well caffeinated.

The hotel is rightly proud of its rooftop bar, which is tiny yet buzzy and already feels like Rome’s best-kept secret, with views over all that history and pine trees pointing up into the hills. The carabinieri sirens are far enough below to be evocative yet soothing and you can breathe, far from the tour groups and backpackers marching relentlessly from century to century below. It’s fun and gorgeous, grown-up and peaceful.

What to do? You’re in Rome! But you might need the odd rest from basilica bothering, art appreciation or Prada purchasing, and Casa Monti has a rooftop spa by the voguish Susanne Kaufmann offering natural treatments, stunning mosaics and an enviable whirlpool. You might technically be able to see Rome while also soothing your aching lower back from all that cultural enrichment. 

Other guests? Smart, glamorous and hipper than at the more famous hotels. Dolce vita, but with plenty of vita left to live. 

The damage Double rooms start from €450 including breakfast.

Janine Gibson was a guest of Casa Monti (casamontiroma.com)

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