Hotel of the Week: The New Palazzo Versace Dazzles in Macau
The first of the luxury brand’s hotel properties in Asia translates the fashion label’s most iconic motifs into opulent interiors embellished with an astounding assortment of intricate mosaics
Connoisseurs of the Versace fashion brand embrace the exuberance of its aesthetic—robust Italianate patterns in jewel tones, with gleaming gold accents and the ever present Greek key or Medusa icon. And over time, the brand has grown to offer more outlets for immersing one’s self in that Versace look.
Launched in 1978 by Gianni Versace and shepherded forward by his sister, Donatella Versace, the brand now produces furniture, tableware, fragrances, watches, and more, and its signature style has been translated into a multitude of resorts, most notably, Villa Casa Casuarina, the former Miami home of Gianni Versace that today operates as a boutique hotel.
The most recent addition to the portfolio is the opening of Palazzo Versace Macau, the brand’s first luxury hotel property in Asia, and only the second in the world following the debut location in Dubai. Occupying one of the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort’s three opulent towers, the destination encompasses 271 rooms and suites, two restaurants, a spa, and dazzling indoor and outdoor pools.
Guests are surrounded by the opulent Milanese design right from the entrance, where a spectacular porte cochère—inlaid with one of the hotel’s myriad intricate mosaics—leads into the jaw-dropping lobby crafted as an homage to the Palazzo at Via Gesù, Versace’s home in Milan, which presently houses the brand’s atelier. Visitors traverse the ornate floor, hand-set by fourth-generation Milanese artisans Fantini Mosaici with 80,000 enamel mosaic tiles that recreate recognizable Versace emblems: the Medusa, the Greca motif, and Barocco print.
Versace outfitted each of the 271 suites with custom furniture, linens, textiles, and tableware while a curated collection of artworks punctuate the interiors. The property’s 46 Deluxe Rooms are enveloped in Versace’s Barocco print while the four Grand Suites come in two distinct designs—either a Baroque-style accommodation with a rich palette of bordeaux, black, and gold, or a room that nods to traditional Chinese design with hues of lilac, peach, orange, light blue, and pale pink.
However, the most decadent room is the singular Imperial Suite, a two-bedroom accommodation with living and dining rooms, massage room, media room (complete with a karaoke system), walk in closet, and more. Here, guests can dine on gourmet meals served on the Rosenthal x Versace Asian Dream dinnerware collection or enjoy exclusive in-room spa treatments.
For those who must venture to the spa for rejuvenation will be astounded by the wonderland-like atmosphere. Here, a massive chrysanthemum mosaic complements the dazzling Lasvit chandelier that protrudes from the ceiling in sinuous handblown amber glass tubes. Thermal suites, including a crystal steam room, Italian interpretation of a Turkish hammam, and other sanctuaries offer Mediterranean influenced treatments. Not to be missed is a swim in either the indoor or outdoor pool, where the resort’s dragon motif is rendered in Italian glass mosaics.
Meals, too, are an exercise in maximalism. At the Michelin-starred restaurant Don Alfonso 1890, guests can sample the flavors of the Sorrento Peninsula and Amalfi Coast in a romantic setting embellished with swaths of Italian terrazzo. The menu, conjured in collaboration with chef Ernesto Iaccarino, incorporates ingredients sourced from the restaurant’s Punta Campanella, Italy, farm such as San Marzano tomatoes and Nocellara del Belice olives.
The more whimsical La Scala del Palazzo offers a taste of Italian coffee culture, with unparalleled Italian pastries and homemade chocolates, as well as Italian aperitivo. Of course, everything is served on the Versace collection of tableware from Rosenthal.
From the hand-painted trompe l’oeil paintings to the artworks made with Versace silk scarves to dishes and textiles in the label’s most iconic motifs, the hotel is an immersion into the World of Versace. Its high-end hedonism at its most luxurious.
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