The design of the brand new Palazzo Versace hotel - also includes a beauty farm - in Australia makes a very strong visual impression. All of its 250 rooms enjoy a view of the sea and the hotel's private beach. Furnishings and accessories were, for the most part, chosen directly from the Milanese label's Versace Home Collection homewear division. Some pieces were, however, created for the hotel, in keeping with the overall neo-classic style: marble columns, granite, mosaics, colorful fabrics and the sumptuous, even extravagant, detail associated with the Versace name.

Versace has created this luxurious oasis on the Australian Gold Coast, offering a refined "Baroque" holiday not out of touch with the surrounding natural environment.
The Palazzo Versace is in line with Maison Versace's general philosophy, tastes and projected lifestyle images. Mr. Abedian's knowledgeable execution complements Donatella Versace's creative vision to perfection. His team has admirably met the challenge of constructing a non-irritating 250-room structure in the heart of a tranquil, natural setting. The interior, inspired by the late Renaissance, interacts well with the natural environment. Gleaming white Carrara marble is crisply contrasted with the vibrant greens and creamy tones also found in the family's numerous residences around the world as well as their boutiques. The services offered the hotel's discriminating guests are quite exclusive, and the standards high. Quality prevails from beauty treatments to meeting rooms, to bars and restaurants.

In Sardinia, Milanese architect Fabio Novembre has completed work on the enchanting Hotel Li Cuncheddi. Impressive are the eye-catching horizontal niches, starkly illuminated by the Sardinian-sunny yellow lighting interrupted only by curving hallways. A joyous diversion is provided by an army of stuffed animals -- sheep, to be exact -- scattered throughout the hotel to bring the characteristic Sardinian landscape indoors. Guests are apt to find one grazing in their rooms!

Another prominent figure, Diesel proprietor Renzo Rosso, is preparing to try his luck as a hotelier for the second time, hoping to copy his successful 1994 acquisition of the Hotel Pelican in Miami. He plans to take reopen the Art Déco District's Hotel Carlyle this year.
Rumor has it that behind the hotel's yellow and rose pastel façade, high-tech rooms are being planned under the collaborative guidance of American designer Blake Thorse and the gifted Dutchman, Wieneke Van Gemeren.

An oriental atmosphere with Mohammedan overtones and Zen-like minimalism come together at the Hotel Carducci 76 in Cattolica. The hotel was recently restored by Massimo Ferretti, brother of stylist Alberta Ferretti and president of the Aeffe textile group.

Leonardo Ferragamo, son of the legendary "shoemaker to the stars" Salvatore, has developed his concept of the museum hotel with the opening of the Gallery Art Hotel in Florence. Guests are treated to in-house exhibitions, art shows and presentations by emerging artists.