The Versace Mansion New Era Hotel

CAIRO – 10 January 2018: The iconic Versace mansion in Miami has been transformed into a luxury hotel, and it still has Gianni’s iconic Versace touch.

Legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace was murdered on the footsteps of the Miami mansion in the summer of 1997 by notorious serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

The Villa Casa Casuarina has now been renovated to accommodate a restaurant, roof top lounge, bar, spa and gym, accompanied by 10 unique elegant suites that embody the true spirit of Versace.

The luxury hotel offers tourists and guests an offbeat dinning, shopping and entertainment experience for $1,900 per night.



The mansion was originally built in 1930 by Aden Freeman, an oil fortune benefactor who was a well-traveled architect. The Villa Casa Casuarina was built as a tribute to the Alcazan De Golen.

The place had 24 apartments, and Freeman occupied the top floor, while the rest of the rooms were rented out and used as guest rooms for his friends, according to the VmMiamiBeach website.

Versace purchased the mansion after he spotted it while on vacation in Miami with his family. He paid $2.95 million for the villa and $3.7 million for the neighboring Art Deco Hotel “Hotel Revere”, which he demolished to build the south wing, garden and the 24k-gold-tile Poseidon swimming pool.

He splurged on the renovations that cost $32 million in order to create the masterpiece mansion, which was completed in three years. It is said that Santo would occupy the Venus room, and Donatella had the Signature suite.

Remaining are the beautiful artsy walls, floors, ceilings, windows, pool, garden and south wing from the Versace era.

Donetalla sold the mansion after Gianni’s death in 2000 for $19 million to Peter Loftin.


Photo Via The Villa Casa Casuarina

Born on December 2, 1946, to a dressmaker, Versace learned how to design and sew by age nine with the help of his mother. He showcased his first collection in 1978. Being known for his artistic eye when it came to the photography of creations and models, Versace worked with some of the best photographers in the industry, such as Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel and Richard Avedon.

As this year marks the 20th anniversary of Versace’s passing, Donatella decided to dedicate the spring 2018 collection to her late brother.

The show took place at Triennale Museum in Milan and made history from start to finish. Donatella had gone through Gianni’s masterpieces and prints from the early 1990s to 1995 as inspiration for the 2018 spring collection. However, that was not the only surprise Donatella had for the guests.

She brought out the original supermodels of Versace – Helena Christensen, Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford – for a goosebump-inducing finale. The supermodels were dressed in Gianni’s original Metal Mesh collection from the fall of 1994.


Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen at the finale of the Versace spring collection of 2018 – YouTube/Versace Screenshot