It seems that everyone wants a piece of Versace – literally. Guests staying at Palazzo Versace on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia just can’t help themselves from wanting to take home a bit of that famous Versace luxury.
Salt and pepper shakers disappear regularly into ladies’ handbags after dinner at Vanitas, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant. The Versace-designed silk pillows, china, towels, bath mats, robes, and crystal glasses in each of its 200 hotel rooms have also been the take-home targets for the over zealous looking for a little something to remind them of their time spent soaking up all things Versace.
You can’t blame them in a way. As a fashion brand, the House of Versace is the epitome of style, with its slick, supermodel and celeb-centric ad campaigns and edgy opulence. That spirit infuses every corner of Palazzo Versace. Everywhere you look, there’s something to catch your eye.
In the lobby, a stunning chandelier, bought by Gianni Versace for one of his villas, illuminates the marble floors with a mosaic of Medusa, the Greek mythological figure adopted by Versace as its insignia.
The hallways are lined with artwork and photos of Gianni’s and his sister Donatella’s fashion collections. Coffees sipped at breakfast are served in limited edition Versace china cups, alongside Versace sugar bowls, milk pitchers and cutlery. In fact, every piece of furniture is part of the Versace Home Collection, or was designed exclusively for the hotel. It all blends together in a beautiful package that whispers luxury, but doesn’t scream it. (For that, try Las Vegas.) Here, it’s nearly impossible not to catch a bit of Versace fever.
The hotel may sympathize, since it offers souvenirs for its guests in each room. You’re free to take the miniature bottles of Versace’s men’s and women’s fragrance, the slippers, and all of the toiletries. And in your pocketbook permits, the Versace boutique on-site has everything from makeup and handbags, to dinnerware and dresses.
Since the hotel opened, the rich, infamous and fashionable have stayed there and been enveloped in the posh décor that gleans the best from modern and classic Italian design. Paris Hilton, Rod Stewart and Pink checked in and checked it out, too. It’s home away from home for A-listers who dig the perks – a 90 berth private marina and a staff to clean your boat, a heated, salt-water lagoon pool (complete with man-made beach), and Salus Per Aquum, an intimate, cozy spa.
Too bad Donatella Versace hasn’t been to the property yet. It’s brother Santos who is the primary guiding force. But wait…. At the bar, a woman with bleach-blonde locks and a Cheetohs coloured tan, is sipping a cocktail and laughing throatily next to her companion’s ear. Could it be? False alarm. She is about 20 years old, looking 50. a bad carbon copy of la bella Dona.