Celebrating 15 years of Palazzo Versace luxury on the Gold Coast
THE exclusive hotel that cemented SeaWorld Drive as the Gold Coast’s Sunset Boulevard has defied critics to become a haunt of the rich and famous.
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THE oh-so-exclusive hotel that cemented SeaWorld Drive as the Sunset Boulevard of the Gold Coast, Palazzo Versace has defied its critics to become a favourite holiday haunt of the rich and famous.
Built on the Broadwater just north of Surfers Paradise and across the Southport Spit from the Sheraton Mirage hotel and beachfront, the world-first, luxury six-star international hotel opened its doors to much fanfare on September 15, 2000, during the Sydney Olympics.
Fifteen years later, Australia’s first gold-plated luxury hotel is marking its crystal anniversary Italian style, with a month-long program of special events and functions.
GALLERY: PALAZZO VERSACE, HOME TO THE STARS
An ambitious project on the part of Soheil Abedian’s local company Sunland Group, which had secured the site of the former Fisherman’s Wharf complex for $15.1 million, Palazzo Versace reportedly cost more than $200 million to build.
The project was realised thanks to a landmark agreement between the famed House of Versace and Sunland.
“We wanted to position the hotel differently, and the idea came to go and knock on the door of the Versace corporation,” Mr Abedian said in 1998.
“After the success they had with the fashion industry, Versace moved into the homeware line and that gave us the idea to go and negotiate with them.”
It took Mr Abedian 14 months of hard negotiations to finally reach a signed agreement with the fashion-branded company in August, 1998.
“The Gold Coast has been chosen to launch the venture which is the beginning of a new era in tourism because of its proximity to Asia, the weather, the amenities and the cosmopolitan lifestyle,” Santo Versace said.
The agreement was signed by Santo Versace, the then-chairman of Gianni Versace, the company associated with his late Italian fashion designer brother Gianni, who was shot dead in the US in 1997.
“We were asking them to do something they haven’t considered before. It was a big ask,”
Mr Abedian said after signing the agreement.
“But after we made the presentation to them, I finally managed to convince them to come to the Gold Coast.”
Designed as a deliberate recreation of the architectural excess of the Riviera, the interiors of Palazzo Versace’s 200 hotel rooms and suites and 72 private condominiums with marina berths — from bathrooms and balconies to cutlery and cushions — were designed and furnished by Versace.
A magnificent chandelier that formerly belonged to Gianni Versace takes pride of place in the hotel’s marbled lobby.
Former waterski champion Vaughan Bullivant, who had just sold his healthfoods business for $100m, was among the first people to buy a condo off the plan.
“He bought six condos, including two penthouses, for $11.7 million,” business journalist Quentin Tod recalled.
Mr Abedian credits Gold Coast architect Desmond Brook from BDI International with the hotel’s elaborate design, which boasts a 600-seat ballroom, restaurants, bar-coffee shop, marina, swimming lagoon with beach, gymnasium and indoor swimming pool, spa and plunge pool and a Gianni Versace shop.
“I have a masters degree in architecture and I was very much involved with that part which is very close to my heart,” Mr Abedian said during the hotel’s construction.
“But it is BDI International who is responsible for the influence we tried to achieve.”
Sunland Group sold Palazzo Versace Hotel to Chinese interests in 2012 so the company could focus on residential and other projects, including the redevelopment of Mariner’s Cove.
The hotel has housed all manner of events — from glitzy balls to business lunches, weddings, christenings, product launches, seminars and ladies’ lunches.
Former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie hosted an invitation-only private lunch for 15 business leaders at the swank new hotel in 2001, six months after it opened.
A fundraiser for the Labor Party, a place at the table went for the bargain price of $2200 (GST included).
The marketing philosophy behind the hotel was to make the hotel itself an international destination for Europeans and Americans.
It worked, with a who’s who of business, sport, politics and entertainment bypassing Australia’s State capitals to base themselves on the Gold Coast during extended stays Down Under.
The King of Dubai and his family and the King of Abu Dhabi and his family and their entourages all count themselves at home during extended stays at Palazzo Versace.
Rock royals U2 and The Rolling Stones, pop greats Rod Stewart, Pink and Mariah Carey and rapper Snoop Dogg have all stayed and played at the hotel.
Good sirs have also proven partial to the property’s palatial surrounds — Sir Rowan Atkinson, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Jackie Stewart have all bunkered down in the hotel’s designer beds.
US actor Donald Sutherland checked in, while Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales producer Jerry Bruckheimer made the hotel his home away from home during the film’s recent six-month shoot on the Gold Coast.
Sex Pistol punk rock survivor Johnny Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, even stayed there — and no, he didn’t trash his room.
Lydon was one of scores of stars from the locally filmed UK and German TV series of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Outta Here treated to some six-star love after toughing it out for the show’s cameras in mosquito-ridden rainforests.
As you would imagine, six-star service takes service to another level.
The hotel prides itself on accommodating all manner of requests, great and small, from its residents and guests — from chartering planes for day trips and helicopters for private island dinners to hiring out condominiums to be used solely as a dining room.
Need someone to unpack your suitcase and hang your clothes? No problem.
Could someone please run your “warm bubble bath”, arrange flowers for your wife/girlfriend and sprinkle rose petals and candles on the bed? Of course, sir.
Trademark luxury aside, for many of the rich and famous private and public citizens who stay or play at Versace, it’s real appeal is privacy.
Money can’t buy privacy but it helps.
“A lot of film stars and celebrities slip in and out of the Gold Coast and people don’t even notice,” another condo owner said.
“In the condos especially, you hardly ever see anybody.
“I’m on the top floor and the privacy is fantastic.
“We love it here. You don’t have to drive anywhere — we can go downstairs and go to a restaurant to have a coffee or go shopping at Marina Mirage.”
The condos are on State Government perpetual lease land and ownership is via shares in a company and a sublease of the condo from that company.
That means titles, and the prices paid, cannot be found by property searches and owners — mining magnate Clive Palmer and celebrity doctor Geoffrey Edelsten among them — can enjoy a virtually anonymous presence.
Despite its opulent fitout and furnishings, Palazzo Versace was designed to be “a place for the people”, not just the domain of the wealthy.
Speaking not long after the hotel opened, Michael Brooks, the House of Versace’s former representative at the property, was eager to dispel the myth that the Versace name was synonymous with excess.
“Certainly, it’s a luxurious place but it’s here for everyone to enjoy,” he said.
“Locals have something unique on their doorstep and we want them to enjoy it.
“They can enjoy the lifestyle that is Versace, even if they come just for a cup of coffee,” he said.
Thanks to the boardwalks that circle the property, its restaurant and cafe/bar and an opulent lobby that manages to retain a relaxed and inviting vibe, that’s exactly what thousands of locals have done during the past 15 years.
There’s nothing like the chance to take a fleeting glance at how the other half live.
Palazzo Versace is well worth a visit — even if you can’t spend the night.
FEATURES of PALAZZO VERSACE
Driveway
Boasts the second-largest pebble mosaic in the world — the largest is outside Parliament House in Rome — created by five Italian master tilers using pebbles hand-picked from their local regions in Italy.
Chandelier
Purchased by Gianni Versace for one of his villas, it once hung in the State Library of Milan and weighs 750kg. An extra support beam was built into the foyer ceiling to secure it.
Marble floors
More than $11.5 million worth of now-irreplaceable marble from Carrara and from the Benedictine Monks in Italy. The blue marble in the mosaics is from Brazil.
Cutlery and china
All cutlery and china is limited edition Versace Line imported from Europe.
Artwork and photography
Vanitas restaurant features a 13m canvas painting that represent the life of Gianni Versace. The hallways of the resort boast framed photos from Gianni and Donatella’s collection while the hallways of the condos feature many of his original sketches.
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