Slain designer’s manse now hotel dripping with style
Atrue crime show covering Gianni Versace’s life and death has sparked renewed intrigue surrounding the famed fashion designer. One of the stars of the FX anthology series, called “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” is the show’s backdrop, the Italian icon’s estate.
Nestled between art deco buildings along Ocean Drive in South Beach, Miami, Versace’s former home is now a luxe retreat called Villa Casa Casuarina (vmmiamibeach. com).
The three-story Versace Mansion serves as a 10-suite hotel, complete with an Italian restaurant called Gianni’s.
“You can experience this,” says Chauncey Copeland, general manager of Villa Casa Casuarina. “Guests have access to the entire facility. Anywhere from the mosaic pool all the way to the observatory.”
The stunning mansion catches the eye of anyone strolling pedestrian-friendly Ocean Drive. It’s on that side of the stunning estate that Versace was gunned down just outside the gates by a serial killer in 1997.
Versace, 50, was returning from a coffee shop/news stand down the road before his murder.
Following his death, the designer’s sister Donatella sold the property in 2000. From 2001 to 2009, it served as a members-only club, hotel, and private event space. But then the property was bought at auction in 2013 by a company that owns the Hotel Victor, next door to the mansion, and it became a luxury boutique hotel.
Anyone is welcome to purchase cocktails or bites at the estate’s Onyx Bar, which serves up dishes like Lump Blue Crab Salad ($24).
To dine at Gianni’s or to stay here, you’ll need a reservation. Guests here can try Versace’s favorite Italian dish — Branzino — crafted by Chef Thomas Stewart.
“People make a special trip just for it,” Stewart said of the $49 dish made with whole grilled loup de mer, Bayaldi-style veggies, tomato confit and lemon. “It flies out the door daily.”
Of the menu, Stewart says: “We set our own trends just like Gianni Versace set his