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What many of those selfie-snapping tourists outside may not realize is that the former home of late fashion designer Gianni Versace isn't a museum or private home, but a hotel. If you’re coming to the property for lunch or dinner, you’re probably wondering what to wear. The dress code for the Versace mansion is typically cocktail attire for dinner and business casual for brunch. No ripped jeans, flip flops or beachwear attire is allowed–this is the former residence of a fashion icon after all. Staying here allows you to explore freely, sit at the pool while others are dining, and of course, take a dip in the famous 24-karat gold-tiled pool.
Staying at the Versace Mansion in Miami
There’s a fine line between being strong and being undrinkable, and this was teetering on the line. But on the other hand, no one wants to buy a $25 drink and feel like they’ve ordered a lemonade. My friend and I had ordered a pomegranate drink by the pool earlier in the day and it was nearly undrinkable. One of those drinks knocked my friend out and she napped by the pool while the lunch crowd came in. This was included with our room stay and was a fairly standard, but good breakfast. It was quieter for breakfast since there aren’t many rooms and therefore, not that many people staying there.
The history of the Versace mansion, now known as Casa Casuarina
When she’s not traveling, she spends her free time in her hometown–New York City–where there is no shortage of new places to shop, eat, drink, see and explore. The 2013 buyer was a hotel group that set up a boutique hotel called The Villa Casa Casuarina. The hotel still has many of the unique touches Versace added, from mosaics and frescoes to double-king beds. It had been built in 1930, so a historic designation limited the changes he could make. However, its construction had been inspired by Alcazar de Colon, a 16th-century palatial residence in Santo Domingo that had been built by Christopher Columbus' son, so it had a solid architectural foundation.
The True Story of the Versace Mansion - Vanity Fair
The True Story of the Versace Mansion.
Posted: Wed, 17 Jan 2018 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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In 1993, Versace bought the Hotel Revere, located next door, for almost $4 million which he tore down to make a pool, garden and south wing area for his house. Along with the initial costs of purchase, Versace invested an additional $32 million into renovations over the course of three years. He turned what was once a 24-apartment complex into a grand estate the world would come to know as the Versace Mansion, complete with 10 suites and an additional two suites in the south wing.
What to Wear at the Versace Mansion
The hotel’s intricate wall art has been maintained for years by an artist on staff that works to keep up and carefully restore the many murals on the property. The historic mansion was built in 1930 by Alden Freeman, a philanthropist bachelor who was heir to The Standard Oil fortune, who modeled the Mediterranean Revival palace after the Alcazar de Colon in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Alcazar de Colon, a 16th century palatial residence, had been built by Christopher Columbus’ son. If a $1,000 plus a night hotel room is out of reach, the public can dine in the villa’s Baroque grandeur with a reservation at Gianni’s.
Reservations are required for dinner, but guests can walk into the bar for drinks.
He asked a cab driver to show him something “fancy and fun.” They drove past the Art Deco buildings along Ocean Drive, and then, when he saw the home, Versace demanded they stop. He decided right there he’d buy the place, even though it wasn’t for sale. He paid $2.95 million, more than twice what the owner had spent on it just three years prior.
Around it cropped up a South Beach stew of all-night coke-powered discotheques, sleepy buildings for pensioners, and touristy shops hawking crass-slogan T-shirts. The tourists passing by on always-crowded Ocean Drive ask her “all day, every day,” to point out the final resting spot of Gianni Versace. But the steps and what awaits inside the home are only for those dining at the restaurant or staying the night.
Everything You Need To Know About the Versace Mansion
According to Casa Casuarina's history of the property, it was originally built by Alden Freeman, heir to Standard Oil Trust, the Rockefeller's company. Freeman retired at the age of 27 to travel and made his way to Florida and the Dominican Republic, where he fell in love with the Alcazar De Colon in Santo Domingo, built by Christopher Columbus' son, Diego. Jacques Amsterdam acquired the house for $100,000 and converted it into a 24-unit apartment building, naming it The Amsterdam Palace. It changed hands several times and was renamed as the Christopher Columbus Apartments, in commemoration of its architectural features referring to Mediterranean style. Some contents of when Versace lived here were auctioned in New York City in April of 2001 for a reported $28 million.
Inside Gianni Versace's Mansion and What It Revealed About the Late Fashion Designer
Alden was also a descendent of the Mayflower on his mother’s side and felt a very strong tie to history. Alden was so inspired by the house that he decided to build his own home in Miami Beach as homage to the Alcazar De Colon and bought back 2 bricks from the house. Alden dreamed of living in a bohemian society with all of his friends from local areas such as Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. In addition, on his many trips abroad he would meet fascinating people and always invite them to hang out in his beautiful home here in Miami Beach. On the days following Gianni’s assassination, numerous people visited the scene on Ocean Drive to leave flowers and pay their respects to the late fashion designer Gianni Versace.
Once America's Most Expensive Home, Miami's Versace Mansion Fetches $41.5 Million At Auction - Forbes
Once America's Most Expensive Home, Miami's Versace Mansion Fetches $41.5 Million At Auction.
Posted: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Versace was able to tear the Revere down to make space for a pool, garden, and south wing of his house. Casa Casuarina, also known as the Versace Mansion, is an American property built in 1930, renowned for being owned by and the place of the murder of the Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace; he lived there from 1992 until his death in 1997. It is located at 1116 Ocean Drive in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, in the Miami Beach Architectural District.
Donatella Versace’s room, in particular, was the grandest of all the family suites, boasting a whopping 1,500 square feet and featuring the only double balcony that overlooked the garden. The ceiling featured a mosaic of white roses, painted in Milan by artist Fontana Decorazioni and imported to Miami specifically for her suite. Some massively famous names once wined and dined with Versace at this home – including friends Princess Diana, Elton John, and Madonna. In fact, close friends of Gianni were assigned their own specific rooms when they decided to stay the night. Yeah, we’re talking about THAT Versace, as in one of the biggest fashion empires in the world with a massive collection that includes everything from apparel and accessories to fragrances, cosmetics, and even home furnishings.
As he told House & Garden at the time, “My house reflects a great love for classicism and a strong attraction to certain old English mansion that transmit a sense of safeness. It is full of collections I am fond of, and to me it is a home in a very deep sense.” Following his death, the palazzo was passed on to Donatella, who gave a tour to Vogue in the space in 2018. One of the most famous parts of the house is the pool made of Italian mosaic tiles.
The tables of the restaurant are either on the balcony outside overlooking the garden or right on the lawn itself. You can take pictures of the pool at dinner but you won’t be able to see much more of the house. He bought it for $2.95 million and then proceeded to do a whopping $32 million in renovations.
It was the success of the Versace fashion house that enabled Versace to create his unique Miami mansion, and links to his label were included all over the property. Versace's new pool drew design inspiration from a scarf in his "Marine Vanuras" collection. Much of the furniture inside was upholstered in Versace designs; a sitting room for his brother had furniture covered in Versace velvet. Murals were commissioned for walls and ceilings, stained glass was placed in windows, a marble floor was added, and a $10,000 marble toilet with a seat covered in 24-karat gold was installed.
Much like her brother, Donatella Versace has quite the eye for real estate – in August 2019 she purchased an incredible historic Italian lakefront villa for $5.6 million. The 50-room vacation home is located in Northern Italy and was previously owned by Italian publisher, Arnoldo Mondadori, who purchased the breathtaking property in the 1920s. Many famous figures have spent time at the villa, including Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Mann, Walt Disney, and George Simenon. It’s incredible to think this guy went from working as an apprentice at his mother’s sewing business to founding one of the largest and most famous fashion houses in the globe. Even after his death in 1997, Gianni Versace’s name, as well as his brand, continue to live on.
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