tour versace mansion miami

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Versace Mansion: An In-Depth Tour of Gianni Versace House in Miami

Gianni 's house photos.

Updated on April 20, 2021

Unless you’ve been living under a rock your entire life, you’ve at some point heard the name of fashion designer Gianni Versace or Versace Mansion, or seen a star or two strolling down the red carpet flashing one of his brand’s exceptionally crafted Versace dresses that probably cost more than your car. 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.

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. Much like his designs, Gianni Versace’s former mansion in Miami is every bit the spectacle of pure decadence that you’d expect from the fashion giant. Join us as we take an inside look at Gianni Versace’s life, his career, and his lavished mansion.

Gianni Versace Mansion Miami

Gianni Versace’s mansion in the sunshine state stands out as a prime example of what a fashion designer’s home should be. Built in 1930 as an apartment complex by Standard Oil heir Alden Freeman, the Spanish Colonial-style structure originally featured 24 apartments that Alden used to facilitate friends and other visitors. In 1937, following Freeman’s death from illness, the property was purchased for $100,000 by Jacques Amsterdam and renamed Amsterdam Apartments.

It would continue to change hands and exist as apartments until 1992, when Gianni, enamored with Miami at the time, noticed the bronze statue of Greek goddess Aphrodite that decorated the front entrance of the property (a statue that was commissioned by Freeman and had resided on the property since he had ownership) and decided he had to purchase it. Versace nabbed the complex for a meager $2.95 million along with the Revere Hotel next door for $3.7 million.

After throwing down a staggering $32 million on renovations and expansions which included actually knocking down the neighboring hotel to make way for a garden, pool, and south wing, Gianni Versace’s 23,000 square foot Miami palace was finally beginning to take shape. The 24 units in the building were converted into 10 spacious suites; additionally, the finished home featured a library, a bar, 10 bathrooms, 3 living rooms, 2 kitchens, and a swimming pool with 24-karat gold mosaic tiles.

Versace home also featured some of the most exotic, beautiful artwork and furnishings available at the time – all commissioned (and some even designed) by Gianni himself. The exterior of the property, protected by a black wrought-iron gate trimmed in gold, was home to a lush, tropical garden with a large medusa head mosaic built at the very center. On the third story of the home, Versace even installed a rooftop observatory painted navy blue with gold stars.

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.

All suites were outfitted with only the finest décor, but it was Gianni’s master suite that really stole the show – which not only had a private balcony overlooking the front of the property but also a lavished drawing room attached to his bedroom – all of which was decorated with vibrantly colored fabrics and extravagant artwork.

For his family, Gianni designed special rooms for his closest relatives that suited their taste – the “Azure Suite” was designed in light powder blue for his nephew Daniel, the “Signature Suite” was designed for his brother Santo, the “Aviary Suite” was for his niece Allegra, and finally the “Venus Suite” was created especially for his beloved sister Donatella.

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.

The Versace mansion where Gianni lived and was tragically murdered is located at 1116 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139. The building is part of the Art Deco historic district in South Beach.

Who owns the Versace mansion?

After Gianni’s death in 1997, the Casa Casuarina was left to the Versace family, who would go on to sell the home in 2000 for $19 million to Peter Loftin, a wealthy entrepreneur. Loftin transformed the property into a luxury boutique hotel and restaurant. After some financial troubles, however, Loftin was forced to go bankrupt, and the Casa Casuarina was sold at auction in 2013 to VM South Beach, LLC, for $41.5 million, a number that many were disappointed with since the original asking price for the mansion was set at $125 million.

Donatella Versace House

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 believed one of the reasons that Donatella decided to purchase the home, in addition to it being gorgeous, was the fact that it is located not far from her late brother’s villa on Lake Como. Donatella’s estate features over 15,000 square feet of living space as well as a stunning view of Lake Maggiore. The home has four floors and boasts 20 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a study & library, and a massive fireplace that holds the signatures of all the estate’s guests, including Hemingway and Disney.

Donatella Versace Home Milan

Once the home of her brother Gianni, Donatella’s home in Milan is extraordinary. Little is known about the size and value, but she gave Vogue an exclusive tour during her episode of their hit series 73 Questions . Check it out below.

Versace Hotel Miami

In its present incarnation, what was once Gianni Versace’s dream mansion is now open for all to enjoy as a luxury hotel!

Villa Casa Casuarina

Like anything Versace, you’re gonna have to be prepared to dish out some serious cash to stay at this perfect slice of opulence – since it appears booking a room at Villa Casa Casuarina can cost you anywhere between $750 to $1100 a night (depending on the room you stay in). But when you consider that you’ll be staying in a place that has played host to both Hollywood royalty as well as actual royalty, the price of a room at the villa makes sense.

The hotel offers guests the chance to stay in any one of the luxury suites in the mansion, including Gianni’s suite. So, if you’ve always wanted to see how this fashion icon lived, you can book a stay at his former home and experience the extreme lavishness that is Villa Casa Casuarina for yourself.

Versace Mansion Dinner

Another popular hotspot at the Villa Casa Casuarina hotel is Gianni’s, a restaurant that offers a night of fine wining and even finer dining! This is an absolute must for anyone staying at the hotel – seriously they say the food there is amazing!

Casa Casuarina Restaurant

Gianni’s offers guests a delicious selection of Italian Mediterranean dishes and fine wines. Guests can choose to enjoy their meal in the decadent dining room or near Gianni Versace’s famous gold-tiled swimming pool. Whether you want to try the Tuna Tartar from the lunch menu, the prime filet mignon for dinner, or simply try out the truffle fries on the Bar Bites menu, you’re guaranteed a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience at Gianni’s (hungry after all this food talk? You’re not alone).

Versace Mansion Tour

Though the mansion used to provide guided tours in the mid-2000s, it appears that this is no longer an option as of 2019. If you want to explore the interior of Casa Versace Miami, there are two ways to do so – either you can reserve a table at Gianni’s or book a night at the hotel.

Gianni Versace Net Worth

Considering that Gianni was a 50% stakeholder in the company, which is now worth $1.7 billion, his net worth as of 2019 would have reached a staggering $800 million!

Some reports suggest he was worth $1.4 billion at the time of his death, but those predictions are unsubstantiated as far as we can tell. Who cares, though – he was rich by any measure!

100% of the Versace family shares were recently sold to the American fashion label, Michael Kors Limited, for $2 billion.

Gianni Versace Death

So, what happened to Versace? On July 15 th , 1997, at 50 years of age, Gianni Versace was shot twice on the steps of his Miami, FL home upon returning from his morning stroll down Ocean Drive. On most days, Gianni would have his assistant get his coffee and morning paper for him, but his decision to walk to the shop on his own that day would prove to be fatal.

The man who committed the murder was serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who was reportedly obsessed with Gianni Versace and frequently boasted that he was close friends with the fashion designer, although this was simply a delusion of grandeur, and he was known to claim he had met and befriended other celebrities in the past.

What is believed, according to the FBI, is that Cunanan and Versace had met in San Francisco in 1990, but details surrounding exactly what their relationship remained a mystery. A 2008 article published in Vanity Fair suggested that perhaps the two had met on several occasions during those times since both parties allegedly mingled in sex-for-hire circles throughout San Francisco and Miami, but the Versace family has always denied that Cunanan and Versace knew each other, or even met, for that matter.

Andrew Cunanan was unemployed and frequently worked his way into the lives of wealthy older men so that he could spend their money. He went on to murder 5 people within 3 months, Versace included, until finally shooting himself on a houseboat in Miami Beach. He committed suicide with the same .40-caliber gun he shot and killed Gianni with as well as his other victim, former boyfriend David Madson.

The days leading up to Versace’s murder are depicted in the second season of the FX series American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace .

Versace Death Photos

The photos of the crime scene where Gianni Versace was murdered are gruesome and tragic. In those old photos, dried blood can be seen along the steps leading up to the Versace Mansion, the scene grotesquely displayed in the morning sun and framed with police tape as homicide detectives analyzed the site of the murder.

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.

What happened to Versace after his death?

Gianni Versace’s remains were cremated and returned to the Versace estate near Cernobbio, Italy. The ashes were buried in the family’s vault located at Moltrasio cemetery, not far from Lake Como. His funeral, which was held at Milan Cathedral, had over 2,000 attendees, including Sting, Giorgio Armani, Elton John, and Princess Diana.

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https://www.crimeonline.com/2018/02/20/gianni-versace-crime-scene-photos/

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Sarah has written and edited for numerous media outlets in a variety of different niches – though entertainment is her all-time favorite topic to cover. When she is not hard at work researching and writing about Hollywood’s top talents for Velvet Ropes, Sarah enjoys working on her fiction novels, developing her blog, and gaming. You can follow Sarah on Twitter at: Twitter.com/tuspock91

Tour Inside Gianni Versace's Mansion in South Beach

The former miami beach home of fashion designer gianni versace.

World-famous Ocean Drive is one of the most photographed stretches of Miami Beach. Here we find, nestled among low-rise Art Deco hotels, Villa Casa Casuarina – better known as the Versace Mansion. The Versace mansion is the third most photographed house in the United States behind Elvis’ Graceland and the White House.

On a trip to Miami, Gianni Versace fell in love with a rundown apartment building that he would transform into an over-the-top mansion. He called it Casa Casuarina, the original name from when the building had been constructed in 1930. The name translates to “house of the Australian pine”.

The Mediterranean Revival style palace, lined with the designer’s signature Greek mythology Medusa logo in gold bas relief, has been the subject of fascination for locals and tourists alike on Ocean Drive ever since Gianni Versace’s untimely murder on its front steps in 1997 at age 50.

You can stay at Villa Casa Casuarina

The mansion is not open to the public for tours or a look inside lending to the home’s mystique about the lavish world that exists beyond those wrought iron gates.

Luxury Versace Style

The most impressive sight is the elaborate Mediterranean-style Mosaic Garden courtyard with an enormous Medusa medallion inlaid on the floor that leads to the 54-foot long Thousand Mosaic swimming pool.

The pool is made from more than one million mosaic tiles and lined with thousands of 24-karat gold pieces. Versace’s pool drew inspiration from a scarf in his “Marine Vanuras” collection.

His fashion label was reflected throughout Versace’s Miami home

Versace appreciated Greek and Roman mythology, as demonstrated in his label’s logo of a snaked-adorned Medusa head. He placed this logo throughout his property: in the poolside mosaic garden, on gates and railings, and on shower drains.

These mosaics were crafted in Versace’s home town of Reggio Calabria in Italy, and then taken apart and shipped to Miami Beach in pieces where they were reassembled.

Statues around the pool are from a French chateau. 

Eight-Person Turkish Hamman

Versace built 11 custom bedrooms in the mansion, originally designed for his famous friends and guests which included Cher, Madonna, Elton John, Princess Diana and Versace’s sister, Donatella. 

The designer’s former 1,174 square-foot Villa Suite bedroom is available to guests for a truly intimate peek into Versace’s life. The room like the rest of the mansion’s interiors is an over-the-top glitz and glamour.

Elaborate Gilded Wooden Headboards

No longer on show is Versace’s $10,000 marble toilet with 24-karat gold-plated seat – one of the items auctioned off by Donatella after her brother’s death.

Versace’s mansion was luxurious but it was also a home

The Miami mansion was luxurious and filled with works of art such as Picassos but it wasn’t a museum-like space. He made it a comfortable place to live with his partner, Antonio D’Amico. 

Ways to Explore Inside

Book a table at the restaurant Gianni’s for lunch or dinner in the courtyard by the pool or in the dining room served on Versace-designed Rosenthal china.

Reserve a room. 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.

The Mansion is also available for corporate events  and weddings. 

Versace mansion history.

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 16 th century palatial residence, had been built by Christopher Columbus’ son.

Many of the architectural details of the house, including an observatory, key lime coral flooring and about 100 medallions of notable figures installed on the walls - Cleopatra, Gandhi, Rockefeller, Mussolini and Lenin – date to Freeman’s time in the house.

It was purchased by Versace for $2.95 million in 1992. At that time, Ocean Drive was still an odd collection of small hotels, modeling agencies and senior citizen’s homes. 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.

Versace then spent $32 million in renovations over three years to transform the historic property into a mansion fit for a king and a celebrity destination.

Versace’s presence on Ocean Drive and the flashy celebrity parties at his mansion were in part responsible for South Beach’s renaissance during that era.

The property’s current owner is the Nakash family of Jordache Enterprises who purchased it at auction for $41.5 million in 2013.

Mansion mysteries

As with many famous buildings, Casa Casuarina has its share of mystery. The villa has several secret doors and hidden passageways throughout the mansion that Versace’s celebrity friends would use to get about the property unbothered. 

Secret PASSAGES

It is believed that the home’s original owner, Alden Freeman, put a time capsule in the house when it was built in 1930. The item was never uncovered during Versace’s renovations of the home but it is thought to be hidden in the building’s cornerstone, which was left untouched during the remodel.

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.

It is also said that Versace maintained a pigeon coop beneath the rooftop observatory and would use the messenger pigeons to send notes to friends.

The best-known property on Ocean Drive

The opulence of Casa Casuarina made it a location for filming the TV series “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”, which premiered in 2018 and tells the story of the designer’s life and death, and his most infamous home. 

Versace found inspiration in Miami

In one interview, Versace shared his appreciation for Miami, noting, “I wake up and I work. I’m very serene here.” Miami influences, such as pastel colors and palm tree prints, showed up in his collections.

It was one of the only private residences on Ocean Drive so he could quickly walk to his favorite nearby News Café every morning.

Unfortunately, this was where he was returning from on July 15, 1997, when he was shot and killed on the steps of his beloved home.

Paola Bortolin

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by Eric Barton | February 25, 2019

The house that versace built: inside the villa casa casuarina, the story behind miami’s most famous mansion, now a boutique hotel for those who want to spend a night among its opulence.

The staircase takes a sharp left. Moroccan inlays along the bottom of the wall lead the way. A low slung ceiling requires a near acrobatic contortion to fit. A hand-painted tile promises what’s to follow: “Observatory.”

At the top of the stairs awaits a fairytale, a daydream of an artist. In a tight space no bigger than a walk-in closet, a porthole window not far off the floor lets in morning sun reflected off the ocean. A curved bench seat holds cushions in neon blue velour and throw pillows the color of moonlight. From the bench, the walls of the domed room are finished first in brick. Above that begins an arched ceiling, azure blue, dotted with twinkling gold stars between vertical stripes bringing your gaze upward.

It’s here that Gianni Versace would spend his evenings. The founder of the Italian fashion house that bore his name would direct a telescope through the opening of his observatory and take in the moon and the stars. It’s not hard to picture him, maybe adorned in a housecoat and slippers of his own design, escaping into his imagination in the sky above his Miami Beach mansion, on Ocean Drive. The Villa Casa Casuarina, it’s now officially called. And for a steep price, you can be among the few to take in the heavens just like Versace.

A GRAND HOME AND A GUNSHOT

Perhaps it’s the coquina steps out front that you picture first when thinking about Versace’s home. It’s there, where he was slain in 1997, that has become the most famed section of what might be among the world’s most photographed residences.

That’s not just because of the macabre fascination of the murder; the manhunt for Versace’s killer Andrew Cunanan, who slayed five people in a spree that ended with Versace; or the pop culture references to it that just seem to continue, including last year’s appearance in FX’s American Crime Story , which recently won a Golden Globe for best television limited series. It’s likely the home’s most photographed spot because few are allowed to continue past the threshold of the high gated entry.

On the day of my visit, a woman in a dress with a slit tracing the line up one leg stood sentry, a hand on her hip, as if ready to be placed in a centerfold. It is her job, quite simply, to tell people no.

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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. They ask if they can have their photograph taken where he fell. Or maybe they could come in for a look around. But the steps and what awaits inside the home are only for those dining at the restaurant or staying the night.

Before we walk inside, though, first understand the background of the grand home Versace once occupied. The house was built in 1930 by Alden Freeman, who retired at just 27 thanks to a vast inheritance of Standard Oil money from his father. They say the design took inspiration from the Alcázar De Colón, the Dominican Republic home of the son of Christopher Columbus. It’s hard to see the resemblance now between the Alcázar’s simple rectangle of unfinished bricks and arches and Casa Casuarina’s Mediterranean Revival–style façade.

After Freeman died in the home in 1937, it would eventually become, like most of the squat structures that surrounded it, a low-rent building of 24 apartments, named, almost ironically, the Amsterdam Palace. It sat there for decades, like a tarnished silver tea set in a secondhand store. 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 way Versace told it, he found the home by chance. He had arrived in Miami on the way to Cuba in 1992. 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.

Having apprenticed as a boy in his mother’s Italian dressmaking business, Versace opened his first store in Milan in 1978. Unlike many designers in the industry, Versace took control of every facet of the company, from the lines to store layouts. He defined himself through vibrant colors, animal prints and tropical patterns, challenging previously understated Italian style. Vogue editor Anna Wintour once famously explained, “Armani dresses the wife, Versace dresses the mistress.” In an era of neon t-shirts under pastel jackets, Versace embraced Miami Beach style, recalls Melissa Sardinia. She had a franchise agreement to run the Versace stores in South Florida back then and often hosted him when he came to town. She recalls being caught off guard when he declared his intention to buy his home. “I remember the day when Gianni said, ‘I’m buying that house on Ocean Drive,’ and I’m like, ‘What house?’”

The Versace store Sardinia operated in South Beach was a pioneer, adding high fashion to a neighborhood otherwise in hard times. Sardinia recalls showing up in the mornings to find the entrance littered with needles and homeless Marielitos, the hard-up refugees arriving from Cuba during the Mariel boatlift, sleeping in the doorway.

In addition to the mansion, Versace bought the building next door and leveled it. It allowed him to build a new wing onto the home and the grand “mosaic garden,” with more than a million tiles and stones and Versace’s Medusa logo in the center. Twenty-four-karat gold mosaics line the pool.

He didn’t restore the home as much as he remade it, in a rethinking of the place to match the designer’s extravagant style. In all, Versace spent $33 million on the work, ending up with a 23,000-square-foot home with 10 bedrooms and 11 baths.

He owned it just five years before Cunanan, who had rented a room nearby for $36 a night, gunned 50-year-old Versace down on the front steps at 9 a.m. on July 15, 1997.

At that moment, Italian expat Paolo Buonfante was in his Miami Beach office, on the phone with Versace’s sister and business partner Donatella. Buonfante is a modeling agent and was working out the details of an upcoming show, Piazza di Spagna in Rome. One of his models, Elsa Benítez, was scheduled to walk the runway wearing Versace. Buonfante had the radio on in the background and heard vaguely that Versace had been shot. He told Donatella that there had been an accident at the mansion. Not sure if he should deliver the news, he told her to hang up and call the authorities. “She asked me if I was serious, and I repeated that I heard that there was an accident. I didn’t know what to say.”

The murder didn’t just take out a fashion legend, but it also set back South Beach’s status in the industry. Speaking from his office at DAS Model Management on Miami Beach, Buonfante recalls how the international media’s coverage of the shooting painted Miami as a crime-ridden cesspool overrun by drug wars and vagrants. It’s undoubtedly true that the beach, and Miami overall, have always struggled with crime. Reporting there in the 1990s, Rick Bragg wrote that “crime in Miami, the city where a man once was arrested walking down the street carrying a human head, seems more spectacular, more threatening.” Still, today, Miami Beach crime rates are some of the highest in the state and the nation overall.

After Versace’s death, the attention brought to Miami Beach’s crime problems crippled the fashion industry, Buonfante says. Fashion shoots began moving elsewhere, and with them, the models, photographers and agents. Many of the tropical photo shoots that might have taken place in Miami moved to Capetown. While the industry has seen growth in recent years in South Beach, Buonfante says he imagines the long hit it took after the murder is something that would have troubled Versace. “He loved the vibe in Miami, like a lot of Italians, just like I did 30 years ago.”

Donatella took over the company after her brother’s death, but her reign would be marked by ups and downs; by 2004, sales had fallen in four of the past seven years, despite price cuts and a renewed effort on products that could sell. That year, Donatella’s daughter Allegra turned 18 and, under the terms of her uncle’s will, inherited half of the company. The company returned to profit in 2011 and three years later sold a 20 percent stake to private equity firm Blackstone to fund an expansion. This September, the Versace family sold the company to design conglomerate Michael Kors, which was renamed Capri Holdings, for $2.12 billion.

The recent sale signals a new era of expansion for the iconic brand, which Gianni made more sought after by Americans when he moved to Miami in the ’90s.

After the murder, the home sat empty for three years until the Versace family sold it to telecom millionaire Peter Loftin for $19 million in 2000; he used it as a space for special events and, later, a restaurant. He brought in interior designer Katia Bates to restore the property to how Versace first imagined it. But in 2013 Loftin filed for bankruptcy. The famed property landed on the auction block. It was then, though, that the grand mansion finally got a new life.

INSIDE THE MIND OF VERSACE

Chauncey Copeland waits inside the central courtyard of Casa Casuarina with his hands clasped in front of him, wearing a gray Lacoste cotton button-up, blue slacks and the sensible black shoes of a man on his feet all day. Despite being the general manager of the Versace mansion, he owns just one item of Versace clothing: a tie, which he just happened to wear to a party the night before.

Copeland has spent four decades in the hotel industry, and when he took over the property four years ago, it was his job to finally make a successful business out of the place.“Oh, it’s a money-making operation now,” Copeland says with unbridled pride.

“Once word had gotten out, profits increased 247 percent over the last two years.”

A native New Yorker, Copeland first moved to Miami—coincidentally—just months before Versace. Copeland had a friend who lived on the third floor of the apartments that occupied the home back then, and he can vaguely remember the simpler appearance of the place.

Copeland works for Victor Hotels, a South Beach-based company specializing in boutique properties. It’s a family company, which began its life when brothers Joe, Ralph and Avi Nakash started the Jordache jeans empire in New York in 1969. They’ve since branched out into shipping, an airline, and especially real estate. At auction in 2013, they scooped up Casa Casuarina for $41.5 million, outbidding suitors including Donald Trump. On South Beach, the Nakash family also owns the Hotel Victor, the Breakwater, Ocean Hotel and the Casa Victoria Orchid on Espanola Way. In 2014, they laid down $90 million for the 40-story Setai hotel, which they’ve turned into a jewel of the island, earning awards and accolades that include a spot on Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best” list in 2018.

Here, though, the Versace mansion holds just 10 suites, starting at $474 during the offseason and running into the thousand-dollar-range per night November through April. There’s also a restaurant, Gianni’s, with tables dispersed along the front steps, the courtyard, a formal dining room and a patio overlooking the grotto. It boasts a continental menu, rooftop lounge and the promise of access to a portion of the property. The first-floor common areas also host yearly parties during Art Basel, including last year’s Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Finale, hosted by actress Tessa Thompson, star of  Thor: Ragnarok .

To gain access to the swimming pool, the upstairs, the observatory and elsewhere, you must rent a room. Copeland explains that the guests are a mix of those for whom this is an extravagance and those who simply expect this level of opulence. “We get a lot of celebrities staying here. There’s that,” he explains. “It’s also people crossing off their bucket list.”

There’s also those fascinated by the ghoulish. They take selfies at the spot of the murder and want to sleep where Versace’s ghost may roam. But Copeland says those are rare. “Just this week I had someone ask me about it,” he says of the murder. “First time in a long time.”

Armando Carcani, the hotel’s food and beverage manager, say he gets asked about the killing far more often. “On a daily basis,” he says. Carcani is a native of Bologna and former manager of nearby Caffe Milano. The hotel hired him two years ago with the aim of raising the dining experience at Gianni’s “to the next level.” He’s sitting at a linen-covered table in the courtyard before lunch begins, his legs artfully crossed, smelling vaguely of cigarettes and cologne and wearing a robin’s egg shirt and a navy suit with exposed stitching and a pink handkerchief in the breast pocket. He considers the few Versace items he owns among his prized possessions. Yes, he says, his guests ask him about the murder. “But then every three days or so a man goes down on his knee and proposes right there at the pool.”

Looking up from the courtyard, Copeland points out some details. They are many, and, for first-timers like me, they are overwhelming. He explains that Versace didn’t want a home that simply matched one style. Just like his clothing line, which often blended designs rarely seen together, his home combines centuries and cultures. The banisters running along the open walkways above are Victorian, while arched cutouts in the plaster are Moorish. The exterior and terra cotta roof are decidedly Mediterranean Revival. The tiles and the little flourishes here and there are a mix of Italian, Moroccan, Spanish and probably a dozen other styles. The company maintains an artist on-site to preserve it all.

If the courtyard is heavy on design elements, the bedrooms are far more ornate. In the Venus Suite, a bed the size of your average kitchen sits below a ceiling painted like a floral trellis, with a bronze headboard adorned with an intricate leaf-painted stencil pattern. A giant marble diamond leads the way to the bathroom’s vestibule, with a circular crimson chaise offering a sitting area below a gold-and-black Greek-style statue, floral designs painted on the wall and a gold chandelier above. It’s conceivable to find the antique furniture, Victorian-style paintings and ornate frescoes on nearly every wall both gaudy and lovely at the same time. Still, the place is undoubtedly captivating, a journey into the mind of a designer who cared not for tradition and instead embraced abundance.

“The thing about the design,” Copeland points out, “is that the more you look, the more you see.”

The tour concludes in the circular observatory that lords over the mansion from the far end of the central courtyard. Sardinia, who used to franchise the local stores for Versace, recalls nights spent up there with him. There’s a common belief that Versace used the mansion to host parties and house guests—famously including the likes of Madonna, Princess Diana and Elton John. But mostly he saw this house as his tranquil respite, Sardinia says, and he escaped to the observatory most nights.

Now, Copeland says guests often use it for something special, and a few have proposed or been married in the center of the room, where a speaking voice echoes pleasantly.

It’s calming to linger for a moment, the stars on the domed ceiling twinkling. The porthole window requires one to bend down to peer out. But it’s impossible to take in the view of the mansion’s courtyard below or the sand beyond it, as the morning sun gleaming off the ocean hides everything in its glare. Taking a step back, the room is dark again, with only the twinkling stars catching the light. Maybe, like me, you’ll imagine Versace there, staring up into the stars. Like the mansion itself, the room is an intimate voyage into the mind of Gianni Versace.

SUSHI IN THE SUITE

An exclusive speakeasy-style dining experience awaits..

Boca Raton-raised chef David Bouhadana and his partners came up with a concept like no other when they began plopping tiny sushi restaurants in New York City hotel rooms. SUSHI BY BOU now has four locations in the city. Early this year, Sushi by Bou launched at Villa Casa Casuarina, the Miami Beach mansion once owned by the late Gianni Versace. For $125, diners get a key card to access Gianni’s 500-square-foot suite, which is converted into a speakeasy-style four-seat sushi bar. The hour-long omakase-style experience includes sea urchin and scallop topped with charcoal salt, cocktails and $30 sake in a self-service vending machine. sushibybou.com

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The villa casa casuarina.

The former Miami Beach home of fashion designer Gianni Versace

The wrought iron gates of the Versace Mansion, lined with the designer’s signature Greek key pattern and Medusa logo in gold bas relief, have been a fixture of fascination for passersby on Ocean Drive ever since Gianni Versace’s untimely murder on its steps in 1997 at age 50.

With a velvet rope and stern security guard ever present at the entrance, curiosity about the lavish world that exists beyond those gilded gates lends the home its mystique. It’s not open to the public for tours or a look inside.

Ultra Luxury, Versace-style

The digs beyond the gate are certainly lavish. The most impressive sight is the famed Mosaic Garden courtyard with an enormous pebbled Medusa inlaid in the deck leading to the 54-foot-long Thousand Mosaic swimming pool , which is lined in 24-karat gold and designed by Versace, himself.

With custom bedrooms originally designed for Versace’s friends and frequent guests, including Madonna, Elton John, Princess Diana and Versace’s sister, Donatella, the original artwork and flourishes are a feast for the eyes.

Palm fronds are painted on ceilings with twinkling chandeliers hanging from the center. Elaborate gilded wooden headboards adorn double-king-sized beds, and tapestries are layered on top of marble floors in an array of detailed Baroque patterns.

The effect is excessively luxurious, bordering on gaudy (Donatella’s room is covered in animal print on every surface imaginable). But with so many opulent details, including a storm drain adorned by a tiny Medusa head, you’re never at a loss for a new discovery.

The designer’s former 1,174 square-foot Villa Suite bedroom is even available to guests for a truly intimate peek into the man’s life.

Ways to Explore Inside

So how does one get beyond the gates to see the inside of this iconic home and sumptuous world created by Versace? Access can be gained one of three ways:

• Reserve a room
• Book a table for dinner at Gianni's for an evening in the courtyard by the pool or in the dining room feasting on lobster served on Versace-designed Rosenthal china.
• The mansion is also available for buyouts, often catering to corporate events and weddings.

Versace Mansion History

The historic mansion was built in 1930 by Alden Freeman, who modeled the Mediterranean Revival marvel after the Alcazar de Colon in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was purchased by the fashion designer in 1992.

Versace’s presence on Ocean Drive and the flashy celebrity parties at his mansion were a hallmark of South Beach’s glittery resurgence in that era.

While the property has changed hands a few times since Versace’s death, its most recent acquisition was by the Nakash family of Jordache Enterprises for $41.5 million in October 2013. The family also purchased the Hotel Victor South Beach next door.

August 15, 2022 | Shayne Benowitz

Michelin Guide's Point of View

MICHELIN Selected: a high quality stay

The old Versace mansion is back, this time as a luxury boutique hotel, under a new name: The Villa. This patchwork Italian-style palace is still every inch a monument to excess; the difference being that these days it’s open to the public — or at least ten suites' worth of the public.

General Amenities

All-Suite Hotel

One of our Miami Boutique Hotels... An exceptional Miami Beach experience awaits at The Villa, inside the former Versace Mansion, where unparalleled service and elegant style are sure to please the most discriminating travelers. Luxuriate in one of the Villa's 10 custom guest suites featuring king sized beds or custom double king beds, custom Italian marble oversized bathrooms with two shower heads, expansive closet space, separate living rooms or sitting areas and balconies or patios. Amenities at The Villa include Frette linens and WiFi throughout the property. Guests can find respite inside the walls of the 19,000-square-foot Villa or venture steps from the property to enjoy fine dining, shopping and entertainment. The Villa is an oasis in South Beach.

Meeting and Event Space

Meeting Space: 450.00

Meeting Rooms: 1

Sleeping Rooms: 10

Located at Venue

Gianni’s At The Villa

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See Inside Gianni Versace's Mansion, Now a Luxury Hotel in Miami Beach

Rates start at $749 per night.

But not only can tourists (and fans of FX's upcoming American Crime Story miniseries, which focuses on the murder ) photograph the house, they can stay there overnight. Scroll down for a look inside the boutique luxury hotel known as the Villa Casa Casuarina.

The three-story building was originally built as an apartment complex by Mayflower descendant and Standard Oil heir Alden Freeman in 1930.

In 1992, Versace purchased the original house for $2.95 million and the Revere Hotel next door for $3.7 million. He spent an astonishing $32 million on renovations that included demolishing the Revere to make way for a pool, garden, and new south wing of the home.

Versace turned the 24 apartments into 10 large suites in the original house.

The designer built an additional two suites in the south wing.

He lined the pool with 24-karat gold tiles.

The Victor Hotels group paid $41.5 million for the property at a 2013 auction. (Donald Trump reportedly put in a bid, too.)

In addition to the guestrooms, it operates the restaurant Gianni's, which " offers a delicious blend of Italian and Mediterranean food and wine selections ." Decadent dishes include gnocchi di granchio, with New Orleans blue crab, vermouth wine, shallots, parmigiano-reggiano, truffles, and filetto di manzo rossini, with eight-ounce Wagyu filet mignon, pomme confit, grilled asparagus, pan-seared foie gras, and Bordelaise jus.

Reservations are required for dinner, but guests can walk into the bar for drinks.

American Crime Story was filmed over the course of about a month at the hotel.

Producer Ryan Murphy told the New York Post he couldn’t believe that he received permission to shoot the series there . "I don’t think I could have made the show if I couldn’t have gotten that house,” he said. “There was no way you could build [a set] of it. Two of the rooms were made out of seashells. [Gianni Versace’s sister] Donatella [Versace] took all the furniture and the art when she sold the house, but through pictures we were able to recreate them."

A resident artist maintains the artwork that Versace commissioned for the property.

"We actually have preserved what Versace created here and just augmented it with some modern touches for the convenience of our hotel guests and restaurant patrons," Chauncey Copeland, the hotel’s general manager, told the Associated Press .

They include this mosaic of Versace's signature Medusa head.

The Villa Suite is the designer's former room.

The Venus Suite was where his sister Donatella Versace stayed.

Rates for one-bedroom suites start at $1,199 per night .

The hotel is on Ocean Drive, a few steps away from the Atlantic Ocean.

The blue-and-cream-colored Azure Suite includes a king bed and two full-sized beds/sitting alcoves.

Rates for a Superior Suite, like this one, start at $749 a night.

What are you waiting for?

Sam Dangremond is a Contributing Digital Editor at Town & Country, where he covers men's style, cocktails, travel, and the social scene.

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Miami - Dade

Miami Beach

• South Beach

Gianni's at the Former Versace Mansion

• Good for special occasions

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Private dining.

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Additional information

• Dining style Fine Dining
• Price $31 to $50
• Cuisines Italian, Mediterranean
• Hours of operation Lunch Daily 11:00 am–3:30 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 5:30 pm–10:30 pm Fri–Sun 5:30 pm–11:00 pm
• Phone number (786) 485-2200
• Website https://vmmiamibeach.com/giannis/
• Payment options AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
• Dress code Business Casual
• Executive chef Chef Valter Mancini
• Catering Catered Events can be organized to suit any occasion in the historic atmosphere of The Villa Casa Casuarina, the former Versace Mansion, for up to 300 persons.
• Private party facilities With private dining options for groups from 18 to 40, the former Versace Mansion provides Miami's most elegant surroundings for private dining, whether a corporate gathering, a celebration or a romantic dinner for two. Menu starts at. $79++
• Private party contact Diana Mahrouk: (786) 485-2200
• Location 1116 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
• Neighborhood South Beach
• Cross street Between 11th and 12th Streets on Ocean Drive
• Parking details Valet parking. There is also street parking and garages in the immediate area.
• Public transit Several bus stops one block west on Collins Avenue.
• Entertainment Live entertainment on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings during Dinner service.
• Additional Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Featured in

100 miami / southeast florida restaurants to love this valentine's day, the 12 most beautiful miami restaurants perfect for mother's day, popular dishes, truffle gnocchi.

Home-Made Potato Gnocchi White Truffle Sauce Pecorino Romano with Freshly Shaved Truffle

Fried Shrimp

Tempura Fried Served with Spicy Mayo

Cacio e Pepe

Spaghetti Served in a Pecorino Cheese Wheel

We proudly serve top quality, additive free products

Kobe Beef Carpaccio* $28.00

Thinly Sliced Raw Kobe Beef, Mushroom, Arugula, Shaved Pecorino Romano, Carpiccio Sauce

Gianni's Salmon Carpaccio* $24.00

White & Yellow Chopped Egg, Black Caviar, Red Onion, Parsley and Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Capers

Kusshi Oyster*

Served on Half-Shell over ice with Traditional Mignonette

• Half Dozen $21.00
• Dozen $39.00

Tuna Carpaccio* $29.00

Yellowfin tuna thinly sliced, frisee salad

Fried Shrimp, Calamari and Zucchini $28.00

Served with Pomodoro Sauce

Octopus Carpaccio $26.00

Thinly Sliced Octopus, Cherry Tomatoes, Red Onion, Potatoes, Lemon Vinaigrette

Tuna Crudo $26.00

Sashimi Grade Tuna Spicy Jalapeno

Shrimp Puttanesca $18.00

Shrimp, Cherry Tomato, Red Sauce, Capers

Burrata $24.00

Tomato, Basil and Olive Oil

Mansion Board $29.00

Chef's Selection of Cured Meats and Cheeses Served with Traditional Accoutrement

Eggplant Tortino $19.00

Crispy Eggplant Layers with Tomato Sauce, Basil and Parmesan Cheese

Artichoke a la Romana $17.00

Artichoke, Sauteed Garlic, Mint, Parseley, White Wine

Soup & Salad

Lentil soup $16.00.

Slow Cooked Lentil and Potatoes Soup

Artichoke Salad $18.00

Baby Arugula, Shaved Parmesan, Lemon Dressing

Caesar Salad $18.00

Baby Gem Lettuce, Croutons, Parmesan Cheese

Gianni's Salad $18.00

Baby Arugula, Cherry Tomato, Avocado, Onions, Cucumber, Lemon Dressing, and Shaved Parmesan Cheese

Greek Salad $18.00

Fresh Tomatoes, Bell Pepper, Onions, Cucumber, Kalamata Olives and Feta cheese

Featured Items

Osetra caviar $250.00.

Creme Fraiche, Blinis and Traditional Accoutrement

Champagne by the Bottle $180.00

Veuve Cliquot Brut "Yellow Label", Reims, NV

From the Sea

Whole branzino $42.00.

Grilled Mediterranean Whole Branzino served with Baby Vegetables

Faroe Island Wild Salmon $36.00

Pan Seared Wild Salmon served with Baby Vegetables

Pan Seared Sea Scallops $34.00

served with Black Truffle Sauce

Dover Sole $68.00

Lemon, Parsley, Brown Butter, Baby Vegetables

Chilean Sea Bass $46.00

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass served with Sautéed Spinach

Grilled Jumbo Tiger Prawn $54.00

served with organic "Misticanza" Salad

Signature Quality Meats

All our steaks are served with roasted garlic

Prime Filet Mignon

• 6 oz $45.00
• 8 oz $59.00

New York Steak

• 12 oz $65.00

Prime Bone-In Ribeye

• 20 oz $72.00

T-Bone Porterhouse

Served with Roasted Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables; Serves Two

• 32 oz $120.00

Australian Lamb Chops $48.00

Served with Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

Chicken a la Rotisserie $35.00

Oven Roasted Chicken, Demi Glaze and Roasted Potatoes

Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli $32.00

Home-Made Pasta, Ricotta, Spinach, Sage, Brown Butter

Truffle Gnocchi $39.00

Home-Made Potato Gnocchi, White Truffle Sauce, Pecorino Romano with Freshly Shaved Truffle

Home Made Rigatoni $32.00

Lamb, Wild Mushroom and Crispy Onion

Lobster Spaghetti $52.00

Home-Made Pasta, Whole Lobster, Cherry Tomato and Basil

Gianni's Spaghetti Pomodoro $24.00

Home-Made Pasta, San Marzano, Tomato, Basil, Olive Oil

Cacio e Pepe $32.00

Mushroom risotto $35.00.

With Shaved Parmesan

Seasoned Asparagus $12.00

Sautéed broccolini & baby carrots $12.00, roasted potatoes $10.00, truffle potato purée $12.00, sautéed spinach $10.00, what 14,689 people are saying, overall ratings and reviews.

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• 4.5 Service
• 4.7 Ambience

Noise • Moderate

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How is Gianni's at the Former Versace Mansion restaurant rated?

Gianni's at the Former Versace Mansion is rated 4.5 stars by 14689 OpenTable diners.

Is Gianni's at the Former Versace Mansion currently accepting reservations?

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

1116 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139

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About the Villa

Home » About the Villa

The Villa Casa Casuarina

History of the property.

Casa Casuarina  was built in 1930 by Alden Freeman.  Alden Freeman’s father, Joel Freeman was Treasurer of  The Standard Oil Trust (also known as Rockefeller’s Company) and left Alden a fabulous wealth when he passed away. That gave the young and wealthy Alden the opportunity to retire at the age of 27 from being an architect and travel all over the world. Alden was also a descendent of the Mayflower on his mother’s side and felt a very strong tie to history. Freeman, always well-travelled and very intelligent, loved the adventurous spirit of Christopher Columbus and on one of his many trips around the world, went to visit the  Alcazar De Colon  in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) which was built by Diego Columbus (Christopher Columbus’s Son) and is known for being the oldest residence in the western hemisphere. 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. One sits to the right hand side of the main entrance and one sits in his former house in the city of Santa Barbara, California (named the “Montarioso” estate, which was later donated to the city and was then restored and studied by the Pearl Chase Society of Santa Barbara). 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.

The Hubbell & Hubbell Company was the contractor responsible for the construction of Casa Casuarina. If you look down, you will see that the ground is original key lime coral, which was part of the original house designed by noted 1920s interior designer Addison Mizner who virtually created West Palm Beach.

The property had a total of 24 apartments. Freeman lived in the top-floor-front apartment on the southeast corner. The remaining 23 apartments in the building were available for rent and to house many of Freeman’s friends that visited Miami Beach.

Alden Freeman died at Casa Casuarina on December 29, 1937 following a prolonged illness. The house was then sold to Jacque Amsterdam for $100k, who continued to run the house as an apartment complex that he named the “Amsterdam Palace. In April 1939, Amsterdam did a small renovation of the house in which he installed an elevator shaft (where the current bell is located), replaced the lily pond in the Courtyard with terrazzo flooring and moved the kneeling Aphrodite statue to the front terrace. Rooms were rented for $600/month during winter season and $30/month in the summer.

In the ensuing years, Amsterdam Palace passed through the hands of several owners and hundreds of tenants. For a short time in the 1980’s, the house was called Christopher Columbus Apartments. After a while, the building gradually felt into disrepair, but miraculously, most of the original fittings and artworks survived.

In 1992, while on vacation with his family in Miami Beach, Versace took a walk down Ocean Drive and was immediately attracted to the house by the “Kneeling Aphrodite” statue and fell in love with the unique Spanish architecture of the property. Obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, Versace purchased the original house built by Freeman for $2.95 million and the lot next door, an old art deco hotel called the Hotel Revere. Although this neighborhood was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and despite strong opposition from the Miami Design Preservation League, Versace bought the Revere Hotel next door for $3.7 million in order to demolish it and put in the Garden, Swimming pool and South Wing.

Versace invested an additional $32 million in renovations in which he added the south wing, the pool and garden and turned the 24 apartments into 10 large suites in the original house and an additional 2 new suites in the south wing. He also removed the elevator shaft in the Courtyard, replaced the fountain and reconstructed the observatory, including a new copper dome. Versace had planned to buy the then-vacant lot next door to the north in order to put in a second garden, but when his death intervened it became part of the Victor Hotel.

The renovations took almost 3 years to complete and in July 15, 1997, only 5 yrs after purchasing the home, Versace was killed on the front steps of the house on his usual morning walk home from News Cafe.

In addition to Gianni Versace, the house was also used by his many close friends and family members. His brother Santo’s bedroom is now called the Venus room, his sister Donatella’s bedroom is the Signature suite.

Some contents of when Versace lived here were auctioned in New York City in April of 2001 for a reported $28 million. What still remains here from the Versace era are the richly decorated walls, floors, ceilings, and windows, as well as the pool, garden, and the entire south wing.

The house sat empty for about 3 years and in September of 2000, Donatella finally sold the property to Peter Loftin, a telecommunications magnate from Raleigh, N.C. for $19 million. Loftin used this house as a private residence as well as a hotel, membership club and private events venue from 2001 to the end of 2009.

In December of 2009, Events impresario and restaurateur Barton G. Weiss leased the property and took over the Mansion, imprinting his own signature style on the storied house and reopened as The Villa by Barton G. In September 2013 Florida business connected to Jordache Enterprises bought the Mansion at auction with a winning bid of $41.5 million.

Legend maintains that Casa Casuarina was the original name given to the house when it was built in 1930 as homage to the only remaining tree in the lot after the 1926 hurricane that hit South Florida. Freeman was forced to cut down the tree in order to make room for the construction of his new house.  Casuarina esquisetifolia  is the botanical name of the tropical tree popularly known as the “Australian Pine”.

HISTORICAL ITEMS

Bronze statue: The Kneeling Aphrodite (the Greek goddess of love) is a very special statue to the house and has been here since the house was built. It was sculpted in 1928 by a relatively unknown Yugoslavian sculptor named Vuk Vuchinich (Vukinich).

 Vuchinich was one of Freeman’s protégés and was listed in Who’s who in American Art when this statue was first seen in a Sculpture exhibit in San Francisco in 1929. 

The kneeling Aphrodite sat in the courtyard until Jacque Amsterdam moved it to the front of the house to welcome people with love. Walking into the Courtyard: On the left wall of the staircase, you will see a circle with a medusa in it. The medallion is meant to symbolize the shield of Perseus, who be-headed Medusa and put it on his shield to protect him when he went into battle. He later gave this shield as a gift to Athena, the goddess of all the gods to keep her protected from evil spirits. 

The Fountain: The fountain in the Courtyard was purchased by Peter Loftin. The base was created in 2004, when Peter made some changes to the house but the fountain itself was an antique, purchased in France and restored in the US. It’s an amazing fountain that combines all the different and unique aspects of the house. 

The 4 White Pillars: These 4 white pillars that surround the courtyard are called the “pillars of democracy” and were designed by Ulric Henry Ellerhusen. 

These 4 pillars represent the 4 continents along with the 4 characters that Freeman felt most influenced the new world: 

• Europe (Columbus), Asia (Confucius), Africa (Frederick Douglass) America (Pocahontas). The Bell: A mission bell from California also decorated the Courtyard when Freeman lived in the property. The original bell was later replaced by a different bell made in Philadelphia in 1851 during Versace’s renovations.

 Portrait Medallions: Approximately 130 mostly disc-shaped decorative medallions line the upper story of the Courtyard. Approximately 85 identical or similar plaques still exist at Freeman’s “Montarioso” house in Santa Barbara. 

Their subject matter is very eclectic, ranging for portraits of Cleopatra, Mussolini, Gandhi, Lenin and John D. Rockefeller. Essentially, they portray people, places, and historical events that intrigued Alden Freeman, including many of his own personal friends, his own ancestors, and their accomplishments.

 Mosaic Garden: As you walk down to the base of the stairs please note that everything past the white wall is all part of the “New Wing” Versace built in 1992. You will also notice that the new wing is almost completely made up of small mosaic tiles. 

At the base of the stairs you have Neptune, the God of water and sea. The Medusa in the pool garden is the largest in the whole house. This Medusa was done in Versace’s home town of Calabria Italy, broken apart and then shipped to Miami Beach in numbered segments. The Medusa in the pool garden is also his logo which is the Medusa surrounded by the Greek key which represents an infinite pattern. When used in a circle can also mean Infiniti which is how Versace used it. 

The Pool AKA the “Million Mosaic Pool”: The pool was inspired by Versace’s “Marine Vanitas” collection and contains thousands of 24k gold tiles. The main character of the pool is Poseidon, the God of the Sea. 

The 4 Large Urns on both sides of the pool were designed by Versace and have another sometimes sing to people and gods and enchant them; distracting them from their work and causing them to walk off the deck or run their ships aground. 

Other stories have them squeezing the life out of drowning men while attempting to rescue them. If you look around the pool, you will see the same symbolism Versace loved (circles, squares and triangles). 

Open Rotunda: Rotundas are widely used all over Europe, especially in Greece and Rome for their natural air-conditioning benefits. The large rug that is hanging on the wall was purchased by Versace and framed in beautiful stone. 

The rug depicts the village of the gods welcoming home Aphrodite-Goddess of Love and even shows a woman getting a little cupid ready for Aphrodite. 

On the top right, you can see the Temple of the Gods with Athena and Zeus as well as Poseidon, who is sitting with his Triton. The floor is a pattern of triangle and diamonds within circles around the shells and pearls in the center.

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How to Visit the Versace Mansion in Miami Beach, Florida

You don't have to be a millionaire.

Miami Beach: Art Deco, beautiful people, golden sand – and Versace.

If you're an American Crime story nerd you've probably watched the excellent Netflix show (featuring Darren Criss) that was filmed inside this lavish personal palace. Luckily, the Versace mansion folks learned that not everyone can afford a $1,000 a night (minimum) hotel stay. So they've opened up a magnificent restaurant on the mansion's patio: Gianni's At The Former Versace Mansion .

$29 Lunch Special

If you're going for dinner, plan to spend at least $200. However, the mansion offers a $29 dollar lunch special that includes a three-course meal. This was my ticket in!

Book in Advance, and Book Early.

My travel partner and I booked our reservation right when they open their doors at 12:00 PM. We arrived about 15 minutes early and were the second ones there. Because we were early, we were seated on the iconic patio. Folks who arrived on time for their reservation ended up being seated inside of the mansion. Just because you make a reservation does not guarantee you will be seated on the patio – and that's why we all go.

3-Course Meal

I'll be honest with you – the food is overrated and overpriced. My $29 lunch plus one glass of wine and tip quickly became $60. The menu rotates, but you have your choice of salads, meat lovers and vegetarian-friendly entrees, and desserts. The food is not worth it. But the patio seating is. The outdoor pool is so beautiful that the one hour I spent for lunch at the Versace Mansion was sincerely my favorite moment of my entire Miami and Miami Beach trip .

There is something completely stunning about the beauty of the mansion that transports you to a different world. Did I mention that Versace had this pool deconstructed and brought over from his home in Italy? I'd say this was a “bit extra” if it wasn't for his 24-karat-gold-encrusted mosaic windows. Plan to overspend on your lunch, but the ambiance is worth a stop on your Miami Beach getaway.

Quick Stats:

• Service: 4/5
• Location: 5/5
• Dress code: Business Casual
• Overall Experience: 4/5

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I stayed in the Versace Mansion's $800/night suite that has access to a rooftop deck and a pool with 24-karat gold tiles. Take a look inside.

• I booked one night at the former Versace Mansion-turned-hotel in Miami's South Beach neighborhood.
• For $864, I stayed in the Villa Casa Casuarina's Aurora Suite , the cheapest option when I booked.
• My stay included a lavish room with the best shower I've ever been in and access to a gilded pool.

I recently booked the cheapest room available at the Villa Casa Casuarina, a luxury boutique hotel known as the Versace Mansion, for $864. (For full disclosure, Insider paid for the suite, in accordance with our reporting standards.)

Fashion designer Gianni Versace transformed the 1930s mansion in 1992, creating 12 lavish suites to accommodate his family and friends, which included Princess Diana and Elton John, Vanity Fair reports.

Source:  Vanity Fair

Several years after Versace's death, the mansion was transformed into a luxury hotel, and the Villa Casa Casuarina hotel now caters to celebrities like the Kardashians, according to People magazine.

Source:  People

I stayed in the Aurora Suite on the third floor, one of just 10 you can book and one of the cheapest, with rates starting at $750, according to the hotel website.

When I checked in, I was given a golden key with a tiny replica of the hotel's mission bell attached to a keychain rather than a key card.

As soon as I walked inside, I was in awe of the size and decor of my room.

A four-poster king-size bed topped with swans was the centerpiece. The bed was soft, but firm — the perfect combination, in my opinion.

There was a mounted TV and coffee machine in front of the bed.

On the other side was a large mirror tall enough to see your whole outfit including your shoes. It seemed fitting for a former fashion designer's home.

The main source of lighting came from lamps on the nightstands ...

... and from the natural light pouring through stained glass windows.

The suite had window seating with a view overlooking the pool and a glass table in front of it. It was a great spot to do work or order room service.

To the right of the sitting area was a closet with two thick, cozy robes, and a door leading to the spacious bathroom.

The weight of the robe made me feel like I was being cuddled as I walked around my suite.

The shower was my favorite part of the whole suite. With decorative tiling, shower heads on either side, and an additional handheld shower head, it was the best shower I've ever stepped into.

There were also luxury Italian soaps and lotions that left my skin feeling clean and soft.

Staying in the hotel also gave me access to all the mansion's floors and amenities.

I got to swim in the Thousand Mosaic Pool, which, according to the hotel's website, is made up of thousands of 24-karat gold tiles.

Source: The Villa Casa Casuarina

It was the most beautiful pool I had ever seen, and I had it all to myself.

Upstairs, I had access to the rooftop deck, which was also empty during my stay.

The deck had views of the pool, beach, and the street below.

Above the deck, stairs led to an observatory, which I found peaceful and calming. It felt worlds apart from the famous South Beach party scene below.

That night I slept like a baby and woke up to a breakfast of bacon, buttery pastries, and orange juice, which was included in my stay.

I felt as regal as the A-listers who often stay at the hotel during my visit. Because the staff was so attentive and the communal areas were empty, I felt like I was the only person staying there.

To me, that feeling made it worth the price tag.

Read more: I stayed at the $800-a-night Versace Mansion, and I can see why it's the Kardashians' go-to hotel in Miami

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Jetset Jansen

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Staying at the Versace Mansion in Miami

By Ashley   |    Updated On: March 9, 2024   |   11 Comments

This post may be sponsored or contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.

If you walk down Ocean Drive in Miami without knowing what’s there, you might just miss it. But tucked between hotels and restaurants is one of Miami’s most iconic former residences: the Versace Mansion. However, it’s now known as the Villa Casa Casuarina and the outside of the hotel is lined by a wall and shrubs. The only glimpse you might get of the opulence within is from behind the bars of the wrought iron gate. That is…unless you are dining or staying at the Versace Mansion.

About the Versace Mansion

The Versace Mansion is located in the heart of South Beach on Ocean Drive between 11th and 12th Street. It’s come a long way from where it was when Gianni first set eyes on the property.

Apparently, Gianni Versace was only in Miami to see his sister, Donatella, on a short stopover on his way to Cuba. He saw the building while walking down Ocean Drive on his layover and took a tour of the property. They were apartments at the time and Versace decided to buy it right then.

He bought it for $2.95 million and then proceeded to do a whopping $32 million in renovations. The apartment building became an eight bedroom home, complete with two kitchens, ten bathrooms, three sitting rooms and more.

In addition, Gianni bought the hotel next door for $3.7 million so that he could extend his property and put in a guesthouse, pool and garden.

The house has intricately painted rooms and (at the time) hidden passages to get from room to room. There were Picasso’s on the wall and Versace upholstery on the furniture.

The Famous Pool

One of the most famous parts of the house is the pool made of Italian mosaic tiles. The pool was reportedly made in Italy, then broken down into sections and shipped to Miami where it was then rebuilt at Versace’s house. The pool is filled with colorful tiles, including thousands of 24-karat gold tiles.

But can you swim in it? Well yes and no. Read on and find out 😉

The Death of Gianni Versace

One morning in July, in 1997, Versace left his mansion and walked down the street to a cafe. As he was walking up the marble steps to his home, he was shot, execution style, in the back of the head. The shooter was supposedly a wanted man (having committed other murders) and fled the scene. He was never arrested but was found 2 weeks later having committed suicide.

After his death, the house was bought by an owner in 2000 for $19 million who turned it into a members-only club. However, in 2013, the owner filed for bankruptcy and it sold at auction for $41.5 million in CASH. The buyers? A hotel group called VM South Beach. They turned it into The Villa Casa Casuarina, the boutique hotel it is today. The hotel did a great job keeping the hotel as similar to Versace’s vision as they could and even used old photos to guide them.

In 2018, American Crime Story did a special on Versace’s assassination that reignited interest into the fashion designer’s life and the house itself. The show was filmed at the mansion and gave an inside look into the house.

So how can you see it?

On a normal tour around Miami Beach, you’ll only be stopping out front to look through the gates and at the front door. There are no outside tours allowed at the Versace Mansion and you can’t walk in and pay for a tour. So how do you see it?

The most affordable way to get past the front gate is to make a lunch or dinner reservation at the hotel. The tables of the restaurant are either on the balcony outside overlooking the garden or right on the lawn itself. And for dinner, the tables are right next to the pool. You can take pictures of the pool at dinner but you won’t be able to see much more of the house.

You’ll be able to see the courtyard when you walk in, the tiled hallway leading to the pool area and then the pool area which doubles as the dining area.

To be able to see it all, you need to be staying at the Versace Mansion. Being a guest at the hotel allows you to see the hotel, take tours and yes, you are able to swim in the famous pool. So basically, to get the full experience, you’ll have to stay there .

Staying at the Versace Mansion

There are now ten rooms you can stay in at the Villa Casa Casuarina, I believe. I think Gianni created eight and possibly somewhere in the renovations, two were added. The hotel has largely maintained a lot of the original interior and the hotel group purchased a lot of the original furniture at auction.

Room prices vary depending on the season and depending on which room you choose. On the high end you can spend upwards of $2k and on a slower month, only $550. It may get pricey, but it’s definitely worth exploring the world of Versace. And it’s one of the more memorable things to do in South Florida .

CHECK FOR CURRENT PRICES HERE

The room my friend and I stayed in has pastel colors on the walls and an ornate bed frame and light fixtures. It was a large room with a seating area and little nooks in the wall that had cushions and pillows. They were nearly large enough to sleep in as well.

The main sink area in the bathroom was a circular dome with beautiful floor tiles and painted details on the wall. The entire place is covered in intricate details, like the tiled designs you’ll see in many places.

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.

While it’s not large, the pool is so intricately designed that it is pretty special to use. And if you don’t feel like stripping down to your bikini in front of a group of lunch diners, opt for the time between meals.

Gianni’s: The Versace Mansion Restaurant

The restaurant at the Versace Mansion is called Gianni’s and you’ll need reservations ahead of time. The cuisine is an Italian + Mediterranean mixture. Breakfast is for guests only and then anyone can make reservations for lunch or dinner.

This was included with our room stay and was a fairly standard, but good breakfast. We had mimosas by the pool with a traditional American breakfast. It was quieter for breakfast since there aren’t many rooms and therefore, not that many people staying there.

I’ve had dinner here twice. The first time, I remember it being really good. Then when I stayed here, we had dinner reservations one night and it was unfortunately underwhelming. I ordered the branzino, which was recommended. I hate to say it, but it was bland. The dish my friend ordered (I can’t remember what) was also just ok. Miami has SO many good restaurants and this one just did not hold up this time around.

Bar food & drinks

There’s also a little saloon type room with a bar where you can order drinks and snacks. I assume you still have to have some sort of reservation to go here (whether at the restaurant or the hotel).

The truffle fries at the bar were delectable and the dragon fruit drink was amazing! I would drink it all day.

My friend and I had ordered a pomegranate drink by the pool earlier in the day and it was nearly undrinkable. Incredibly strong. One of those drinks knocked my friend out and she napped by the pool while the lunch crowd came in.

Update: Lunch

Before now, I’d only ever had dinner and breakfast here. But recently I went for lunch. I ordered the dragon fruit drink and the lunch preset menu. The preset menu includes an appetizer, entree and dessert for $29, which is amazing because dinner entrees alone are like $40-60. If you’re trying to be boujee on a budget, lunch is your friend.

I asked for recommendations and AGAIN was recommended the branzino (Why do people keep recommending that??) I instead ordered the burrata, spinach & ricotta ravioli (the other recommendation), and the brownie.

The burrata was a decent portion and I could hardly finish the entree (because I ate all the burrata 😅). BUT, and it pains me to say this again, it just wasn’t that great! All three things, I was just like, ‘meh’. I wanted to love it, I really did.

And on top of that, the dragon fruit drink was also incredibly strong and I don’t remember it being that strong the previous times. I am conflicted about this though. The drinks are nearly $25 a piece, so like, they better be strong . You do get your alcohol content for what you pay, and one drink can make you tipsy. But, it was almost to that too strong point of just not tasting that good. 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.

They also gave everyone a free glass of champagne at lunch for some reason, so that was nice. The thing is, is that they don’t really need to have amazing food because people are still going to go. Would I go back? Yes. Because it’s the Versace Mansion.

What to Wear at the Versace Mansion

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.

Dinner in Miami is always a chance to dress up. For men, a collared shirt, nice slacks and dress shoes are sufficient. Suit coats are not required. For women, party dresses, cocktail dresses and heels are what you’ll usually see.

Famous Clientele

A flock of celebrities have stayed at the Versace Mansion at some point. Elton John, Princess Diana and other close friends of Versace stayed there often. Madonna supposedly stayed in the tower suite for a month (you can glimpse the tower in the picture above) and Drake supposedly wrote songs in the observatory. Kelly Clarkson famously jumped into the pool after she won an MTV award.

Other famous people like The Kardashians, Justin Bieber and Jennifer Aniston have all stayed there as well.

Whether it’s the Versace name, the celebrity clientele or the Crime Story intrigue, the mansion on Ocean continues to draw people in. My favorite part? Is that I’ve actually walked by it myself without seeing it. But it’s there, in the middle of one of the most famous streets in Miami, Florida , lined with restaurants, shops and tourists.

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February 10, 2022 at 7:03 pm

Last year we stayed in the same room as you did. I think it’s the most booked room there. Next time ask to go to the sister hotel to use the pool. You’ll be amazed.

February 10, 2022 at 7:31 pm

Oh, I’m curious now! I’ll have to look that up.

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Villa Casa Causarina, the Versace Mansion

Miami has always had a love affair with celebs; it’s part of its charm. When people venture into Miami, they want to be smacked in the face with all types of Artists like shenanigans. This is the place where Grid Iron giants crash their cars into street corners, where Justin Bieber makes a fool of himself, where the Gloria Estefan opens up a restaurant…

It is also a Mecca for films and Tv Series. Bad Boys, Miami Vice, Iron Man 3, Scarface, Raging Bull, American Crime Story, Narcos, Dexter, and countless others.

Well, for those with a taste for both the ghastly and great primetime TV, right there is where Ricky Martin held Edgar Ramirez blood choked, bullet-ridden corpse… Given that intro, you can now imagine where this story is headed to.

Before we speculate on the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and Fashion, with a pinch of death and violence that was the Gianni Versace shooting, let’s talk about this Ocean Drive monument. Let’s shot the breeze on the ectoplasmic drenched brouhaha that is Villa Casa Casuarina… an unruly poltergeist gang war that should have a squad of Father Merrins on speed dial. 

The History Of The Villa.

This happening unit was built during the heydays of Capone and the Chicago Outfit, the final getaway for that time in our nation’s history when the Capitol concluded that it was time to go  “cold turkey.” Established by the wealthy magnate, Ronin Wolf, and accredited to celebrated architect Alden Freeman, the huge mansion – one of the most coveted and valuable locales in the states; last purchase at a whopping 45 million bucks in 2013 – was fashioned on the Alcazar de Colon from Santo Domingo. 

Before we dive headlong into the grotesque, the morbid, and the truculent, let’s talk a bit about some of the more outré and obscure features of this phantasmagorical house; some nifty tidbits to add character to the entire fantastical story that’s about to strike our fragile sensors.

• The house was named after the lone surviving tree of the 1926 Miami hurricane.
• There’s a lost time capsule, some say full of esoteric artifacts – the first owner was a firm believer of various occult practices – hidden in one of the villa walls.
• It has an observatory, a replica of a prison tower, and about a 100 medallions of notable political figures – including Lenin, Mussolini, Bonaparte, Stalin, and Caesar – decorating its baroque walls. 
• The original had 10 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, 8 bedrooms, 4 living rooms, a bar, a library, a workshop, 3 sitting rooms.
• In 1993, cause Versace felt that the place was too claustrophobic, the adjoining Revere Hotel to the south was added to the specs’. The whole structure was demolished, and in its place, a swimming pool and a garden were erected. The cost of renovations? Over 8 million bucks. 
• Who’s stayed in the Mansion? Just about everyone. During Versace’s hold on the property, Princess Di’, Elton John, and Madonna have frequently seen smuggling in a Cuban sandwich from the local panaderias. 

Now, let’s talk ghosts, shades, spirits, and the things that go bump in the night. Let’s foster some nightmares.

The first proprietor of the Villa was Joel Freeman, the steward of Standard Oil… Two years after he walked into the spot, a man of impeccable health, Freeman died of a perplexing and prolonged sickness in the master chamber. So begins the spookfest. Freeman’s family, either pushed on by grief or by some Lovecraftian induced malady, started to go insane slowly. Nerves wracked, they finally sold off the property, for less than 100 thousand bucks, to Jacque Amsterdam.

Years later, one of the Freeman, Joel’s youngest adopted son, would say:

“The vibe was fatalistic. Like my dad was constantly dying, over and over, and over again. You would wake up, from a vivid dream, sure that you had just heard his guttural screams of anguish… And it wasn’t just me, more than once, I’d come upon mom in her bed, sobbing uncontrollably, raving about how something cold and frigid had put its arms around her torso, soothing invading and slithering underneath her bedsheets.”

When Jacques purchased the house, after more than one terrified worker quit suddenly, he had the whole place hallowed and consecrated by a unit of priests and holy men from the local church. When the stone statue of Aphrodite in the courtyard, a beautiful piece created by a Yugoslavian sculptor in 1926, started unsettling Jacques –  “the thing,”  he would comment,  “following me with its black eyes even into my sleep”  – he chose to cut his loss and transformed his home into a 24 unit apartment building. 

Until 1992, when Gianni Versace acquired the house, the architectural morass was swapped from one corporation to another. The place had, by then, become a sucking void of ill portents for the locals. Prostitutes, drug dealers, and sicarios would somehow be influenced and drawn to the corners of the mansion’s dark intersections, whatever remained inside, attracting their black hearts. At night, the residence would be plagued by the revealing signs of what a certain parapsychologist would later claim was – “an infestation.” Heart-raising horrors that would vanish as soon as they woke up, leaving them agitated and sweating chills in the Miami heat; objects fading and vanishing before their presence; shadows creeping at the edge of their eyesight; animals snapping at empty corners; loving couples that never once revealed an iota of malice, devolving into blind violence and rage overnight.

“There was something in the closet. Each night you could hear something moving inside. I thought it was rats at first, had the place checked by exterminators. Finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I had the doors chained shut. Then, one day, after I woke up and the padlock on the chains had somehow shattered… that’s’ when I moved out.”

Versace Murder.

Then came Versace’s murder in 1997. 

To this day, Andrew Cunanan, spurred by some deep psychological trauma, flew into a 3-month killing spree. The man labeled a serial killer by the press and making a merry chase of law enforcement. That maddening springboard of madness ended on the steps of the Villa with Versace fatally shot at point-blank range. His motives to this day remain a mystery. When Cunanan was finally tracked down, the madman decided to leave the nation with that question mark – spurring on shrinks and speculators to hypothesize why he did it – by taking his own life. 

His body, found just a few blocks from here in a luxury houseboat after he took a .40 caliber bullet and blew his head off. The criminal having meet his doom in the midst of a huge manhunt and surrounded by eager policemen wanting to avenge a regional icon.

Since his death, Versace, a hero of the community, still wanders the Villa’s corridors. Most folks who have felt his presence talking about a tranquil spirit, one that alleviates their anguishes and somehow balances out the offensive and sometimes omnipresence sense of foretelling, some salons in the house seem to radiate. 

Since Versace death, the house was once more auctioned, this time to a luxury hotel conglomerate…. The place, becoming yet one more beam of the hundreds of haunted hotels that somehow seem to sprout like weeds in the Miami area. 

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Brittany Mahomes rocks pink gingham Versace outfit at F1 Miami Grand Prix 2024

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She’s feeling very va-va-vroom.

Brittany Mahomes looked ready for some racing action in a pink gingham Versace corset top ($1,790) and miniskirt ($1,290) at Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs WAG, 28, and her quarterback husband, Patrick Mahomes, also 28, attended the F1 event alongside Travis Kelce, who went for a green peapod-print Givenchy look .

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The fitness trainer — who shares daughter Sterling Skye, 3, and son Bronze, 1, with her husband — wore her hair down and accessorized with a dainty Van Cleef & Arpels diamond pendant ($8,500) and clear-framed sunglasses.

Meanwhile, Patrick went casual in a tan button-up shirt, a duo of diamond chains and statement shades.

The duo have been spotted partying in the Sunshine State since Friday when they kicked off F1 festivities at Sexy Fish.

“They were seen canoodling at the table, kissing and hugging,” an eyewitness told Page Six. “It was full-on party mode for the group!”

The couple celebrated alongside a group of friends as they were “toasting champagne” during DJ Guy Gerber’s set.

The mom of two took to Instagram to commemorate the date night with a sweet snap of her kissing the NFL star on the cheek.

They also stepped out for the Boardroom x Coinbase Miami Brunch at Casadonna on Saturday as Brittany donned a sporty orange Dior minidress, white sunnies and a Chanel flap bag to match.

Patrick opted for a powder blue shirt-and-shorts set and futuristic white Oakley shades.

The duo held onto each other while walking to their destination.

They also palled around with LeBron James and other A-listers at Carbone Beach on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Kelce — who spent all weekend without girlfriend Taylor Swift — wasn’t yet in attendance as he attended the Kentucky Derby Saturday .

The foursome has become closer than ever post-football season, having recently taken a trip to Las Vegas together for the 15 and the Mahomies charity gala , where Swift donated tickets to her Eras Tour .

And the star is preparing to head back on the road in Europe, with her tight end boyfriend following — and the Mahomeses set to make an appearance overseas as well.

At last year’s Miami Grand Prix, Brittany sported a Chanel F1 dress to the race, with her white tank-style design featuring floral embellishments and a racecar graphic.

Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, also showed off a piece from the French fashion house’s Formula 1-themed cruise 2023 collection, wearing a $4,450 crop top during a trip to St. Barts in December.

As for the rest of this weekend’s F1 fashion moments, watch this space.

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