We drove our "Mitsubishi ASX" up the Palazzo Versace driveway and felt a little out of place with the 2 "Audis" parked out the front; however this feeling didn't last long as the friendly porters/valet gentlemen helped us out of the car and asked if we needed any assistance with our bags. They gave Pete directions to the car park and I went to check in.
I found the reception area a little confusing as there were 2 desk areas in the Lobby but check in was very quick and easy. All of the features of the hotel were well explained, the 3 restaurants, the pool, the spa and the car park, they also informed me of the restaurant times and types of cuisines they served and offered to make any bookings for us.
We arrived at our room at the same time as the concierge who was dropping our bags off, he showed us into the room and made sure both of our keys worked so that we wouldn't have to go back down to reception if they didn't work properly (I thought it was really a nice gesture) but now that I think about it, he might have done this to make sure we were going into the right room.
The Superior Suite was a remarkable suite, its quiet large compared to standard hotel rooms. There was a small bathroom on the right as you walked in and the wardrobe on the left, walking further into the room you come to the seating area and on the left in the bedroom was a huge bed, walking through the bedroom into the bathroom which was laid with imported marble and had a huge spa bath. All of the shampoo, conditioner, soap and the towels were Versace branded. There was 2 sets of towels, one set was for the bathroom and the other set was for the pool. The more time we spent in the room, the more "Versace Branded" things we noticed, almost every item in the room was Versace, the lounge, table, chairs, desk, the curtains, the bathroom taps.......everything was Versace Branded", right down to the glasses in the minibar!
The pool was wonderful, definitely one of the highlights of our stay. The pool is a large lagoon with a small beach with chairs and beanbags on it. There were a few foam mats for floating around the pool on. The pool was "split" into 2 sections by a sign; one section was for adult only and other section for Adults and children. As the only thing separating the 2 sections was the small sign on the side of the pool, the kids in the pool didn't pay much attention to it.
We decided to spend a day sitting by the pool so we hired one of the luxurious "water salon cabanas", which was approx. $50 to hire for the day or you can really treated yourself and book one with a package, the packages come with sparkling wine or champagne, sunscreen, water and a fruit platter. Make sure take sunscreen and put it on! We didn't worry about sunscreen as we thought the mesh on the cabana would protect us from the sun, but I don't think it didnt, it just provides some shade - oh well! We got a great tan!
We had absolutely no complaints about the food at all; in fact we ate very well! We enjoyed a late lunch at the Vie Bar and Restaurant. Had a Buffet breakfast each morning with a huge selection of hot and cold foods, cereals, pastries and fruit and a staff member would find us a great seat and bring us our coffee.
The first night we indulged on the seafood buffet, which was CRAZY (the only word I can think of to explain it!). The Buffet had every type of seafood you could think of, after we had our fill of the seafood and dessert and wine, we had to literally "waddled" around the pool to get some fresh air before heading back to our room and collapsing into a food coma!
On our last night we dined at the Palazzo Versace's signature restaurant "Vanitas". Vanitas serves modern Australia food with real silver service. The service was absolutely impeccable, the staff knew everything there was to know about the food and wine and the food was exquisite.
We would stay here again In a heart beat! We had a fantastic time! All of the staff were very respectful and very friendly, no one was judgmental or rude.
Palazzo Versace opened its doors to their first guest in September 2000 but it certainly doesn't look like a 14 year old hotel, everything looks brand new! Overall we had a fantastic stay, the staff, the room, the food, the pool, everything was fantastic! read more