Why Palazzo Versace? Because you're worth it

DUBAI:...or more likely, because you can afford the €2m to nearly €15m for an apartment in a glitzy new Dubai resort designed from head-to-toe by fashion label Versace

WHEN THE House of Versace does something, it certainly can't be accused of doing it by halves. Never a brand to skimp on the glitz, it will pull out the stops at the European launch of the final phase of properties at its €490 million Palazzo Versace in Dubai. There will be two new Rolls Royce motorcars flanking the entrance, flaming torches and flowers in the House of Versace colours at the event on April 29th in London's Spencer House.

Inside there will be gold-painted top models (clad strategically in gold bikinis for their modesty I'm assured). I received an e-mail on Tuesday informing me that the original plan to have two wolves with professional trainers inside the door has now been shelved.

London was chosen for the European launch because of its "huge concentration of billionaires and millionaires" and Spencer House as the venue because of the opulence of its state rooms and the friendship between the late Gianni Versace and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Sounding a bit like a L'Oreal ad, Soheil Abedian, the founder of Palazzo Versace says the ethos of the Versace brand is about "putting you on a pedestal" and assuring you that "in everything and anything you do, you are worth it".

Priced from €2.3 million to €14.9 million for the final phase of 20 condominiums at Palazzo Dubai - a 12,077sq m (130,000sq ft) resort due to be finished in 2009 - it is now up to Ireland's super rich to decide if they are worth it. Invitations to the Spencer House launch are available through Savills HOK.

It's hard to know when the charismatic Abedian, who is also the executive director of Sunland Group, is being serious and when he's mischievously trying to provoke a reaction.

When I ask him at the meeting if purchasers will have any say in the decor - all condominiums are fully fitted out with the Versace Homeware Collection and Palazzo Versace furniture range - he pauses and asks if my jacket is designer: "Did you get a say in how your jacket was made?" he asks; "did you get a say in the stitching at the front? No, it is the way it is."

Abedian lives, breathes and wears Versace, and proudly stands up at the meeting to show me his natty ensemble, which is Versace down to the green silk tie and belt.

He approached The House of Versace in 1998 with the idea of opening the world's first fashion branded hotel and resort.

In September 2000, Palazzo Versace opened for business on the Gold Coast in Australia with a hotel with 205 suites, 72 residences, three restaurants and a marina.

Abedian says the critics predicted he would go broke and the business wasn't sustainable. He subsequently proved them wrong, although plans for Palazzo Versace world domination were put on hold after 9/11 and the war in Iraq. He now has an agreement with the House of Versace to roll out another 15 resorts around the world in emerging economies like India, China and Russia as well as more established tourist destinations like London, Paris, New York, Rome and Los Angeles.

Within six months he expects to announce details of a resort "in one of the Gulf States" and in Goa in India. When one of the PR people at our meeting asks if he plans to open one in London, he dramatically declares: "Before I die there will be a Palazzo Versace in London."

The Dubai resort, a joint venture between Sunland Group Limited and Emirates International Holdings, will be three times bigger than the one in Australia. "I'm quite a humble person. I hate myself saying three times bigger but it's proportionate to the population and capacity of the airports," says Abedian.

The resort has a total of 169 condominiums, ranging from one to six bedrooms, with access to a day spa, restaurants and a hotel with 213 suites and, of course, a Versace boutique. It is set on 5.5 hectares of landscaped gardens and a marina.

If you buy a property at Palazzo Versace in Dubai you'd better like the lavish baroque Versace style of interiors, where marble columns, gilded urns, ornate furniture and mosaic floors are the order of the day. All of the condominium styles have different layouts: the smallest is 169sq m (1,825sq ft) and the largest 894sq m (9,626sq ft) with an additional 429sq m (4,619sq ft) of outside space and terraces.

Two-beds of 170sq m (1,825sq ft)will start from £1.85 million (€2.318 million). Three-beds of 243-348sq m (2,622-3,794sq ft) start at £2.672 million (€3.348 million). Four-beds of 429-894sq m (4,619-9.626sq ft) start from £4.55 million (€5.702 million). The penthouses cost around £12 million (€14.9 million).

The condos have main bedrooms with walk-in closets and en suite bathrooms, and duplexes come with a private mosaic-lined swimming pool, Jacuzzis and outside terraces. Some of the larger ones have private cinemas, libraries, private gardens and a sauna.

Public spaces will be used to showcase art, sculptures "and other design artefacts", and the gardens will have promenades, terraces, reflection pools, and no less than 35 swimming pools.

Needless to say residents won't be expected to fend for themselves - concierges, butlers, and chefs will be available on site.

Open to "members of the capital's rich list and influencers", according to the press release, apart from the gold bikini-clad models, the launch at Spencer House will showcase the Versace Homeware Collection and include a scale model of the resort, brochures and floor plans.