Donatella Versace Calls Out Miami Restaurant Using Her Name

Donatella Versace has taken to Instagram to blast a new Miami Beach boutique hotel and restaurant named after her, calling the move "disgraceful" and an attempt to "capitalize on our tragedy."

"Let me be clear. The hotel and restaurant named Donatella, located near our former family home in Miami, will never have anything to do with me or my family. To try to capitalize on our tragedy and my name for profit is disgraceful," the designer and fashion icon says in a pointed statement on Instagram.

The Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant, located at 1350 Collins Ave., will officially open as a boutique hotel on Wednesday, May 21. The restaurant has already opened. The concepts are owned by the same groups behind Villa Casa Casuarina and its restaurant Gianni's, which was once most famously referred to (and still is referred to by tourists) as the "Versace Mansion."

Banking on a Name — Again

The Nakash family and Vida & Estilo Hospitality groups appear to be doubling down on their Versace connection despite the family's obvious objection. The new Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant sits just blocks from the Ocean Drive mansion where Gianni Versace was infamously murdered in broad daylight in 1997.

This marks the second Versace-adjacent venture for the Nakash family, who purchased the family's former home in 2013 and transformed it into a luxury hotel and restaurant that leans heavily on the Versace name and aesthetic.

Back in 2018, the general manager of the Villa Casa Casuarina told New Times that although the front of the property remains one of the most photographed places in Miami Beach, the main attraction should be to "eat in the designer's own dining room or have a smart cocktail inside his kitchen, now turned into the Onyx Bar." This seems to imply that the ownership groups, the Nakash family and Vida & Estilo Hospitality groups, have banked on the tragedy and the family's name and likeness for quite some time to attract visitors and tourists.

The Versace fashion house currently has no connection to either property.

Management Responds

In a statement to New Times on Thursday, May 15, the Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant team denied any intention to associate with the fashion designer, claiming the name "reflects the hotel's Mediterranean-inspired vision of elegance" rather than any connection to Versace.

"The brand is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Donatella Versace," the statement to New Times reads.

The reps also mention the hotel's grand opening isn't scheduled until Wednesday, May 21. However, the restaurant already has 49 Google reviews and is currently accepting reservations.

High-End Italian Food...With Zero Ties to Versace

The new 170-seat Italian restaurant showcases "Southern Coastal Italian cuisine" under executive chef Alessandro Morrone, who draws from his Neapolitan background. Pastas anchor the menu, including a black truffle cacio e pepe with bucatini and "Linguini alla Vongole" featuring Manila clams. For seafood fans, "Skull Island Prawns" come grilled with Calabrian chili butter, while a grilled octopus pairs with Taggiasche olive purée and tomato ragù. The cocktail program blends Italian classics with Miami touches.

The restaurant occupies a 1922 Wallace Tutt-designed building with an open kitchen and VIP lounge. Gold accents throughout the space serve as not-so-subtle reminders of the property's implied connection to the Versace empire. The timing makes Donatella's public rejection especially awkward for the hospitality groups, coming right as customers begin filling the restaurant's seats for the first time.

So far, the fashion icon's position stands firm: despite its name and location, the Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant has zero connection to the actual Donatella or the Versace family legacy.

Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant. 1350 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; donatellarestaurant.com. The hotel officially opens on Wednesday, May 21. The restaurant is now open and is currently taking reservations.