Tourists can now stay at Gianni Versace's former home and the scene of his murder. The boutique hotel, Villa Casa Casuarina, is also the set of famous US TV show "American Crime Story:The Assassination of Gianni Versace", which chronicles the designer’s murder and the events around it.
Versace was fatally shot by serial killer Andrew Cunanan in 1997 on the hotel's stone steps.
The AP reports that "visitors can swim in the pool he lined with 24-karat gold tiles, sleep on double-king-sized beds so large they require custom-made sheets, gaze at the ocean from his rooftop observatory and dine in a gourmet restaurant established in his former dining room."
The pool also features the famous Versace logo.
The 19,000-square-foot hotel features three types of rooms: the one bedroom suite, the ‘exceptional’ suite and the ‘superior’ suite. The hotel has only 10 rooms, with prices starting at US $1,199 per night.
The report adds that certain design elements at the hotel - such mosaics and frescos created by Versace - are preserved by a resident artist. The 1930s-era property also showcases the designer's signature snake-haired Medusa head, which has since become synonymous with the brand.
Chauncey Copeland, the hotel’s general manager, told the AP: “We actually have preserved what Versace created here and just augmented it with some modern touches for the convenience of our hotel guests and restaurant patrons.”
The hotel also serves as the set of the show, and creator Ryan Murphy told Page Six last month he “couldn’t believe it” when he received permission to shoot there.
“I don’t think I could have made the show if I couldn’t have gotten that house,” he said. “There was no way you could build [a set] of it. Two of the rooms were made out of seashells. [Gianni Versace’s sister] Donatella [Versace] took all the furniture and the art when she sold the house, but through pictures we were able to recreate them.”
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