The History of the Versace Mansion
South Beach's Casa Casuarina Takes on New Life as a Private Club
Mar 4, 2008
Best known as the South Beach vacation home of the late Gianni Versace, the “Versace Mansion,” Casa Casuarina is now a 35-room club, open either by invitation of the founding members, or by renting a room as a temporary member.
Since 2000, North Carolina telecommunications magnate Peter Loftin has owned the Casa Casuarina.
Casa Casuarina's Origins as a Villa for Artists
Although its exclusivity seems to hark back to the days of Versace’s glittering parties, in fact, the South Beach villa has returned to its pre-Versace days as a haven for artists, as it was when Standard Oil heir Alden Freeman built it in 1930.
Freeman built the villa as a tribute to what was then the oldest existing house in the western hemisphere, the Alcazar de Colon built by Christopher Columbus’ son Diego in Santo Domingo in 1510. The freewheeling millionaire filled the villa with his bohemian friends, including Isadora Duncan’s brother Raymond.
Gianni Versace Buys and Expands the Villa
When Versace bought the mansion in the early 1990s, he expanded on the original 16th-century Mediterraneandesign by creating a south wing from the remains of an adjacent hotel and installing a pool and garden.
Versace kept many of Freeman’s original commissions – the Moorish tile, tapestries, mosaics and classical busts that had given the villa its original character.
Inside the Casa Casuarina
Today, the new club offers members a choice of three lounges with different moods: the Moroccan Lounge, in the space that once held Versace’s workout equipment; the Davidoff Lounge with its crackling fireplace; and the alumni club-style Club Room with a large-screen TV.
Every day except Tuesday, from noon until the last person leaves, members can be pampered in the day spa, gaze up at the stars from the Observatory roof deck and swim in the mosaic waterfall pool.
Although Loftin hasn’t changed much about the place structurally, he’s redecorated and added a few touches, such as planting bamboo and bougainvillea between date palms to make the place even more secluded than it currently is.
He’s planned a glass bar for the roof, and Donatella Versace’s Plexiglas pool cover has been reintroduced into service for dancing on the pool and holding runway shows. Loftin would even like to have the Miami City Ballet perform over the pool.
The VIP Treatment
For dining, guests can enjoy the all-day culinary ministrations of Barton G., though not in a restaurant per se. Members are also be treated to butler and concierge service from European concierge outfit, Quintessentially.
The concierge won’t just book local reservations – after all, members won’t exactly have difficulty getting immediate reservations and VIP treatment – but will also be able rent yachts and plan international trips or, conversely, have must-have items flown in.
Rooms at Casa Casuarina
Of the villa's original 15 luxuriously decorated bedrooms, 10 are now available as suites rented by the night. Each suite is decorated in a theme: Italian, Persian, Egyptian, Wedgewood, Baroque, La Mer, Parrot, Pompeii, Safari and Owner's Suite.
The rooms average $1,200 per night in the off-season, which is summer and early fall in Miami, and start at $4,000 in season. The rate includes the same full use of the mansion that any member would have.
Loftin’s goal for the villa, which he has lusted after since he watched a television interview with Versace standing in its courtyard, was to create a club atmosphere where interesting people from different industries and walks of life could mingle without feeling, as he has said, that “somebody wants something from ‘em. This is a refuge where they can enjoy people they wouldn’t normally have a chance to enjoy.”
Casa Casuarina, 1116 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach; 305-672-6604.
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