The Villa Casa Casuarina - A Luxury Hotel in Ocean Drive Miami

the romantic casa casuarina in ocean drive miami beach — The romantic Casa Casuarina in Miami

The Villa Casa Casuarina at the Former Versace Mansion past the iron gates (and the many celebrity seekers) that surround the 1930s villa that was Versace’s home for a long time — is located in Ocean Drive across from the beach in the heart of South Beach’s Art Deco district — the property opens up like a scene from One Thousand and One Nights. The layout is reminiscent of a Moroccan riad: 10 suites set around an interior courtyard with a fountain, carved wood doors, and intricate tiling.

Twenty-four-karat gold tiles line the property’s Thousand Mosaic Pool. This villa is Versace’s former boudoir and, unsurprisingly, is the most lavish of the 10 — think two balconies, gold shower fixtures, and a truly enormous (9-by-12-foot) bed — but the other nine suites are close contenders.

Each has Frette linens, Versace fabrics, a Sono sound system, a Kindle e-reader, and a sleek bathroom clad in Italian marble — not to mention a personal butler who provides round-the-clock service and can get you on the list at the top Miami Beach restaurants and nightclubs.

And while those spots are just a five-minute cab ride away, you’d certainly be thought to reserve a table at the villa’s 30-seat restaurant, where river pebble mosaics adorn the walls, candles in colored vases cast a glow over the tabletops, and Versace china announces that eating here is as much aesthetic pleasure as a gustatory one. The menu from chef Jeff O’Neill (of Miami’s exclusive Gibraltar) features Old World dishes infused with innovative ingredients, such as the clementine carrot veloute with mascarpone and maple-glazed barramundi in white ginger broth.

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REVIEWS

Amazing Place and Experience. The hotel is amazing!!! Friendly staff, clean, and our suite is breathtaking. We stayed at the Venues Suite and it’s really beautiful and comfortable, especially the huge bed that makes us sleepy all the time. The unique and beautiful clean pool that we enjoyed. It’s really a wonderful experience. Only a little problem with their reception credit card machine, which won’t accept my credit cards. But thanks to the friendly staff and manager that solved that problem.

– John, NY

Great property. Villa Casa Casuarina is an amazing piece of architecture. The rooms are wonderfully eclectic. The location is ideal. The staff in the restaurant was amazing. The bell staff is excellent. The front desk staff varied depending on the person on duty. We like staying in small hotels with a history and this building certainly has that, having been built in 1930 on a piece of land where a single Casuarina tree survived the 1926 hurricane. The building is of the Mediterranean Revival style and was renovated and evolved by the creative genius of Gianni Versace. Cons. It appears to me the hotel operates around the restaurant. The restaurant begins to set up around the pool at 4 p.m. This means you cannot enjoy the late afternoon restful time, around the pool. The first night we stayed there was a private party in the pool area with a very loud band playing well into the late evening. Not restful. And, the grounds were left dirty the following morning when we swam. Snack plastic bags left empty around the pool. Used cigarette butts along the edge of the pool backdrop, a gorgeous mosaic, by the way. It is a shame as while I understand they need to make their revenue somehow (in a hotel with only 10 rooms or so), the enjoyment of the public areas is very limited due to the 4 pm ‘kick out’ time from the pool area. Maybe I will write the operations manager after all!

– Lisa, Rome

We had a gorgeous Stay. This Villa is fairytale-like and legendary, fabulous, and magical; They offer gratuitous breakfast and Coffee as much as you can drink, Water, Fruits, and Prosecco in the afternoon. From 12.00h until 16.00h you can enjoy the famous Versace 24kt Gold and colorful Mosaik-Pool open to the public. Check-in needed too long – more than 1h later than designated. But for that, they offered us coffee and champagne

– Barbara, Moscow

We had the exquisite pleasure of staying there and had the entire place to ourselves! We were blown away at every turn by the hotel, the staff, the history, and the SWANK level! LOVED IT! I honestly can’t think of one single thing that we didn’t like. Oh wait, some previous guests had broken off pieces of things on the property as “souvenirs” and we were very sad about that.

– Pam, Cincinnati

THE SCENE

The scene at the Villa Casa Casuarina at the Former Versace Mansion is all about the worldwide known Versace style, with original colors furnishings, and fabrics, and of course from the beach where the hotel has a prime seat right across the street from the legendary Ocean Drive stretch. But if you’re looking for a more private spot, try the property’s Thousand Mosaic Pool, where Versace’s original 24-karat gold tiles still sparkle in the hot Miami sun.

The villa’s decadence is Miami all the way but taken to another level — an experience that’s as much about soaking it in as being transported entirely. For the rest of the things, you’re practically near to everything, the beach is in front of you, Washington Avenue’s clubs are at 5 minute’s walk, the Lincoln Road Mall is less than ten minutes away, you do not need a car to live in this hotel. The Villa Casa Casuarina at the Former Versace Mansion has 10 rooms only. The best suite is the “Venus” with a balcony overlooking South Beach’s vibes!

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Hotel Facilities

Swimming pool
Free WiFi
Beachfront
Outdoor pool
Non-smoking rooms
Bar & Restaurant
Pets are not allowed
Private parking is available at a location nearby (reservation is not needed) and costs USD 42 per day.
Couples in particular like the location – they rated it 9.4 for a two-person trip.