Versace Mansion

The night before my sisters wedding we stayed in the former Versace Mansion. I am going to try my hardest to convey to you the beauty of this place-- words (and unfortunately my amateur photographing skills) will not be able to describe it but at least it will give you a good idea.

When people think of the former Versace Mansion some think of Gianni Versace’s tragic death, some may think of the landmark it has become in South Beach and others may even think of the famous Medusa head. But when I think of The Versace Mansion only one thing comes to mind: Ultimate Luxury. Now known as the The Villa By Barton G, the same Barton G that has gained notoriety as Miami’s hot-spot restaurant where the food is as trendy as the diners, is luxury hotel and restaurant.

Once you get past the people taking pictures and the tight security at the heavily guarded front gates you are welcomed as if you were a guest of Versace himself. The hotel boasts 10 suites each equipped with a 24/7 British trained butler to cater to your every need. When a small issue arose with the wedding dress, the butler fetched a sewing kit and hand sewed the dress back to perfection. There really wasn’t one request that they couldn’t fill and they were effortlessly pleasant the whole time.

 Our room was bigger than most New York City apartments. Completely hand painted-- those aren't curtains on the wall, its paint! The place was decorated in rich, luxurious fabrics that made the room feel like a scenic oasis. We had a separate sitting room (shown below!) where the Butler came in to set up our breakfast, which was delicious, and chill champagne while all nine of us got our hair and makeup done in the suite’s impeccable bathroom.

This was our breakfast, Yogurt and Granola, Scrambled Eggs with Lox, and a basket full of homemade pastries/croissants, all of it was delicious. I think my sister is the only bride in the world who didn't try to lose weight for her wedding. She has been naturally thin her whole life-- some things in life just aren't fair...

Anyway, here are a few shots of the room....

The Villa was so accommodating and allowed the hair/make-up people come up to the room and work on all the girls. We had champagne, had sandwiches and crudite and it was such a good chance for all of us girls to spend time together before the day got hectic! Here was our lunch-- turkey club and crudite!

We were greeted at the cocktail hour with wine, champagne and hors devours.  We had mini philly cheesesteaks (the groom grew up in Philadelphia) which was such a hit! Also, gaspacho soup-- which was delicious but was a little thick making it hard to eat as an appetizer, crispy vegetable spring rolls which were just ok, pulled duck: outrageous and a few more I can't think of at the moment.

 

Also in the cocktail hour there were raw seafood and sushi/sashimi stations set up. At this point I'm going to stop talking about how delicious everything was because it is starting to get repetitive. 

 

 

The reception took place alongside the 54-foot “thousand mosaic pool”, which ironically holds more than a million tiny mosaics imported from Italy, lined in 24 karat gold and designed by Gianni Versace himself. The bar was set off to the right side of the pool inside a twelve person shower, however, the wait staff was so attentive during the wedding you rarely had to get a drink for yourself. My sister did not want a sit down dinner becuase she wanted everyone to be able to dance and eat without being interrupted every two seconds because the next meal was being served. We had pasta stations, carving stations, salad stations (below is the Caesar salad with anchovies-- great presentation!)

In addition to the wedding cake, they set up a great dessert bar with mini donuts, churros, funnel cake and all the necessary accompaniments. The pastry chef did an amazing job and even matched the wedding cake to my sisters dress!

 The hype of The Villa did not disappoint. Rooms range from $1,200 to $10,000 per night but the experience is priceless. Next time you want to visit South Beach, forget the Delano or the Fountain Bleu. Experience it lavishly. Experience Versace.