Queensland
Australia


The Experience

For a glimpse at what life would be like if you walked into your local Versace store and laid down your black Amex, visit the Palazzo Versace on Australia's Gold Coast. Donatella Versace's glam Italian style is everywhere, from sheets to furnishings to crockery. In fact, you'll be hard put to find a surface missing the distinctive Versace medusa motif -- even bath accessories are from the Versace Dreamer collection. Starting at the cavernous marble lobby with enormous pincushion-shaped settees and a chandelier the size of a solar system, the hotel fans out to embrace its own personal marina. Still, Queensland's Gold Coast considers Florida's Fort Lauderdale a sister city, and Palazzo Versace at times struggles with its identity: Is it a discreet haven for the megarich or a gaudy stop on the tour-bus circuit? Either way, until the second Versace hotel, in Dubai, is completed in 2008, this is the only place in the world to live out your Versace dream.

The Rooms

There's no skimping on space here, with standard rooms ranging in size from 430 to 500 square feet. The decorating is pure Donatella, with lashings of gold; bold, oversize patterns; and new interpretations of classical decor. Even the least expensive room has a Jacuzzi big enough to bathe a whale. The 72 condominium suites (with up to three bedrooms) are fully self contained, including a kitchen -- with Versace crockery, naturally. Freebies include views of the Miami-style high-rise across the bay and parking at the marina for your super-yacht.

The Service

With a bronzed staff straight from central casting, Palazzo Versace offers great people-watching. When the service is good, it's great (readying a room in minutes for an unannounced early check-in), and when it's not so good (the cocktails that never arrive), well, you can always ogle the models-in-training.

The Highlights

In the last five years Palazzo Versace has hosted 128 weddings, but the bridal decadence just blends into the texture of bacchanalian luxury. While in residence, indulge in every sin possible, starting with the breakfast buffet, a cornucopia of legendary variety. Don't miss the lomi lomi massage in the spa grotto known as Salus per Aquum. The Hawaiian technique uses broad, powerful strokes and is as close to an out-of-body experience as you're likely to get. Five restaurants complete the dining picture, from the bikini-and-stilettos Pool Bar to the black-tie Vanitas, which provides an elegant atmosphere overlooking the enormous glowing swimming lagoon. Finish any evening at Vie Bar, with a humidor chock-full of champion Cuban cigars.

-- Adam McCulloch

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