On Collins Avenue, in the heart of Miami Beach’s Art Deco district, Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant doesn’t seem to belong.
The entrance, a narrow single metal door facing the street, is easy to miss. Once entering, you go down a long, outdoor corridor. Plants are everywhere and bright Miami colors nowhere.
And it’s quiet, almost peaceful.
Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant opened May 9.
The restaurant is the center of this venue, 1350 Collins Ave. Dinner tables in a corridor give the place a Mediterranean feel. But before grabbing a seat, you are surrounded by two-story villas to the front, left, and right. Each of the three buildings has two rooms for a total of six rooms.
That’s boutique.
There isn’t a fancy digital kiosk to check in at when you arrive. There aren’t even elevators. But there are carefully restored, spiral red oak staircases to take you to your rooms. If you’re out of shape, employees will help. If you’re fit, take the help anyway because don’t want your luggage damaging the pristine floor.
About 60 employees work here—10 for each room. While your bags are taken upstairs, you can have a cocktail in the small check-in area that has a bar.
How Donatella Owners Came Together
Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant is owned by and a collaboration between Jamil Dib, co-founder and owner of Vida & Estilo Hospitality Group, and the Nakash Group, owners of The Setai, the luxury Miami Beach hotel. Vida & Estilo runs Salty Flame, the Asian-influenced steak bar on Brickell Avenue, Paperfish Sushi, Barsecco, and more than 18 restaurants in the Miami area and Las Vegas. Dib has lived in South Florida since 1996.After the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Nakash, chairman of The Setai Hotel, and Dib, a friend, met up and decided they wanted to start a business together. When they saw the property, they “fell in love” with it, Dib said in an interview with the Miami Herald at the Donatella.
“For me, it’s more about the architecture,” Dib said. “You do not find this in Miami Beach.”
They acquired the building in 2022 for $6 million, according to Miami-Dade property records. They knew it would not be “an easy remodeling.” The building was mostly kept intact although a small pool was removed to make way for part of the restaurant.
From Justin Bieber to Boutique Hotel
The property, then known as the Orchid House, was being used as a three-villa rental with a shared kitchen. Singer Justin Bieber stayed there in 2014, a trip that ended with his arrest. It was built in the 1920s by Wallace Tutt, who also designed what became the Versace mansion on nearby Ocean Drive.The rooms at the remodeled Donatella have Italian travertine stone, warm wood, and large bathrooms and vanity areas. Miami-based Mico Design Studios did interiors.
The colors are light—lots of white—while Miami Beach’s typical bright colors and neon are absent. The natural stone has light tones as well. There’s a peaceful ambience to the rooms, similar to hotel rooms in the South of Spain.
The villas are connected by wood bridges where you can also eat dinner if you fancy something even more romantic.
Wherever you chose to dine, coastal Southern Italian dining will be served by chef Alessandro Morrone, who’s from Naples, Italy. His menu features black truffle cacio e pepe, rigatoni nduja, and Skull Island prawns. The restaurant seats 170 people. A private dining room accommodates 15.
The Donatella, next to the Shepley Hotel, has no pool or rooftop where groups can hang out. There’s no sauna or spa. And you likely won’t find South Beach crowds partying late into the night.
“We cannot compete maybe with the big hotels, with the beach clubs, but we’re different,” Dib said.
A big part of that is paying meticulous attention to every customer and every detail, he said. For example, Dib said he chose every song on the hotel’s Spotify playlist. During the interview, he stopped to point out songs he had selected that comprise Donatella Chill.
The Donatella Connection?
The hotel doesn’t have a direct connection with its namesake.Donatella Versace is the sister of Gianni Versace, the Italian fashion mogul killed in 1997 on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion. She also was a prominent fashion designer and CEO of Versace until March when she announced she’d step down.
“I don’t know the family at all,” Dib said. “There’s no connection.”
But he said they did obtain the trademark to use Donatella’s name. The U.S. States Patent and Trademark Office records confirmed that.
Dib’s partner Joe Nakash acquired Versace’s South Beach mansion in a New York auction in 2013 for $41.5 million. The runner-up was Donald Trump.
Once a run-down apartment building called The Amsterdam Palace, the Versace mansion is now Villa Casa Casuarina, which includes a boutique hotel.
If You Go
The hotel’s starting rate is $460 a night, Dib said. At the restaurant, he hopes you can get a good meal for $80 to $100.Initially, the restaurant will be open for dinner only. They hope after about two months to start offering Sunday brunch.
For reservations at the hotel or more information, go to donatellahotel.com.
