Rome has no shortage of hotels, but Casa Monti operates on its own frequency. Boutique at 36 keys and quietly beautiful, it has earned a reputation as a creative hideaway. Its latest move is characteristically well-judged: a six-month residency with artist Michael McGregor, running until 15 October 2026, during which he has transformed one of the hotel’s suites into a liveable artwork, bringing his fine art sensibility to bear on the intimacy of a hospitality space.
The Art Suite at Casa Monti, Rome
Over the past decade, McGregor has lived and worked across Mexico City, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Greece and Italy, and now calls Athens home. A habitual traveller and frequenter of hotels, he has, since 2016, developed a practice of drawing on hotel stationery – a ritual that has since evolved into his visual signature: an expressive, instinctive language that blends impressionism with fauvism, playing on the tension between formal logotypes and loose, pastel-pencil gestures.
It is this itinerant practice, and his intimate familiarity with hotels as spaces of both transit and inspiration, that made McGregor a natural fit for Casa Monti. In his Roman residency, custom wall panels anchor the suite, while the artist’s exclusively designed patterns extend across upholstery and decorative elements. Drawings and paintings unfold across paper and textiles, woven into the fabric of the room: a bespoke backgammon set, for example, is adorned with his signature motifs, while personal art books and carefully placed objects lend the space an air of pleasing informality – as though the artist’s stationery sketches simply took on a life of their own, and the guest has stepped into McGregor’s private universe.
Debuting within the suite is ‘Roma Amor’, a new collection of drawings and sketches the artist created during a stay at the hotel in 2025, reflecting on visits to Centrale Montemartini, Villa Medici and Palazzo Venezia.
‘Casa Monti offers a rare opportunity to work beyond the walls of galleries and studios,’ says McGregor. ‘My aim is to craft moments of discovery through small gestures, playful details and subtle interventions that spark curiosity and invite personal engagement.’
The suite speaks to Casa Monti’s talent for creating spaces that feel curated yet uncontrived, and to McGregor’s ability to find meaning in the marginal and incidental. For those who find themselves in Rome between now and October, you know where to find the hottest room in the city.
Artist Michael McGregor
The Art Suite is available to book now, with rates starting from €1,200 per night based on double occupancy with breakfast included. Casa Monti is located at Via Panisperna, 210/212, 00184 Rome, Italy