Palazzo Versace — Dubai, UAE

The unveiling of Versace’s newest hotel in Dubai is proof abundant that good things do come to those who wait. Since launching its first property on Australia’s Gold Coast in 2000, it has taken the Italian fashion house 12 years to reveal the fruits of its labour in the UAE city – and there is no doubt that this is its most ambitious project to date.

Taking centre stage in Culture Village, a multi-purpose development that – when complete – will offer various retail, residential and commercial developments, as well as the world’s tallest building and a traditional souk, Palazzo Versace is an extravagant neoclassical masterpiece with 215 guest rooms and 169 residences.

Perched on the shoreline of the Dubai Creek, with clear views of the water and the city’s skyline beyond, the grandeur continues inside, where the lobby’s floor alone (a reproduction of a Versace scarf) took Italian mosaic masters Fantini, a painstaking two years to complete- just one example of the hotel’s level of craftsmanship as well as its distinct approach to branding, where everything, right down to the apples in the gym, bears the company’s hallmark.

Signature palatial hues blanket furnishings that are embellished with intricate Versace motifs and specially designed prints that pay tribute to the area with falcons, Arabian horses and peacocks. Meanwhile, a choice of three mosaic-tiled pools, eight restaurants – including a jazz bar headed by legendary musician Quincy Jones – and even a kid’s club colourfully decked out in the brand’s prints, ensure guests will never have to leave.