TRAVEL As the aureate sun crawls behind the palm leaves, the sense of opulence sets in. The daybed softens under my high thread-count pool towel. Hundreds of mosaic tiles sparkle around the water’s edge. Surrounded by birdsong and breeze, I’m seduced into a daydream. “Your cocktail, miss,” the voice of a poolside waiter pulls me back. Having assumed a new posture on the daybed, sunlight now pours through the frosted glass of Limoncello and kaleidoscopes across my legs. My head dips back, warmth floods my skin and a revised agenda ensues: drink, swim and slip away. It’s hard not to be swept up in the hedonism at Palazzo Versace, the world’s first fashioned-branded hotel on the Gold Coast. This 200-room palace of European design and local character enjoys a reputation of blending unmatched luxury with comfort. But even at the entrance, the odds are against you. Plaids of vine leaf sweep across the Italian style structure and wrought iron ‘Juliet’ balconies, while white-gloved doormen and a fleet of Rolls Royces punctuate the terrace, gatekeepers to a modern kingdom. As a limousine glides towards the lobby, a group of guests dripping in jewellery emerge from its interior and make for the front door. Beneath them, multi-coloured pebbles form another timeless Versace mosaic that stretches back to the main road. When the doorman welcomes you into the luminous marbled lobby, where soaring floor-to-ceiling windows expose the lagoon pool and eruption of date palms outside, you finally give in, spellbound by luxury. Palazzo Versace is the masterwork of Australian development firm Sunland Group, designed with the ingenuity and style of the late Italian fashion designer, Giovanni Versace. Versace, a lover of architecture, shines through every feature of the hotel – from the plush fabrics to the vivid colour palettes. Versace’s love of extravagance, however, is perhaps most apparent in the lobby’s antique chandelier, once belonging to the grand State Library of Milan. Resplendent in sunlight, it suspends from a goldtrimmed ceiling, while beneath it, Medusa – the hotel’s emblem – unfolds in stone and marble. Concierge and restaurant staff hover across the floor between international guests who are taking a break between activities, many swathed in Camilla kaftans. Droplets of light dance across the windows from the 65-metre ‘lagoon’ outside, where guests are making big decisions: drink, swim or slip away. On my way to the fourth floor, Versace’s eccentric yet hypnotic vision for fashion comes alive in the large framed photographs of his 1991/1992 Dresses For Thought collection, which hang throughout the hallways. But it is in my Lagoon Room that his vision soars. Offering views of the lagoon and distant Broadwater, glass doors glide open at the edge of the timber-floored living space, which contains a queensized bed cloaked in golden, textured linen, neoclassical furnishings and a spacious marbled bathroom. Ignore your instincts – devoting an entire night to your bathroom is both rational and rewarding. Here, you can slowly soak into a signature ‘bath ritual’, a palatial pastime of Ancient Rome, created by a judicious room attendant. Your only job is to manage the chilled Veuve Clicquot bubbles in your glass. Each of Palazzo Versace’s rooms is crafted for down time and convenience, all offering prompt, personable room service, easy access to the hotel’s amenities, and plenty of natural light. pindaramagazine.com.au Pindara Magazine 79
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Six
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