The new Florida hotel will have 6 rooms and 60 workers

Donatera Boutique Hotel & Restaurant on Collins Avenue, in the heart of Miami Beach’s Art Deco district, does not appear to belong to it.

The entrance, a narrow single metal door facing the street, is easy to miss. Once you enter, you will be heading down a long, outdoor corridor. Plants are everywhere, bright Miami is nowhere.

And it’s quiet and almost peaceful.

Donatera Boutique Hotel & Restaurant opened on Friday.

This restaurant is at the heart of the venue, and a dinner table in the hallway at 1350 Collins Ave. gives the place a Mediterranean atmosphere. But before you grab your seat, you are surrounded by two-storey villas on the fronts of the left and right. Each of the three buildings has two rooms, with a total of six rooms.

It’s a boutique.

There are no flashy digital kiosks to check in upon arrival. There’s no elevator even. However, there is a carefully restored spiral red oak staircase to take you to your room. If you are unwell, our staff will help you. If you’re right for your body, just get help anyway. Because you don’t want your luggage to damage the pristine floor.

Approximately 60 employees work here – 10 in each room. While the bag is being photographed upstairs, you can attach a cocktail to the small check-in area with a bar.

How Donatella’s owners gathered

Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant is owned by Jamil Dib, co-founder and owner of Vida & Estilo Hospitality Group, and Jamil Dib, owner of Nakash Group, owner of Setai. Vida & Estilo runs through Brickell Avenue, Paperfish Sushi, Barsecco and Asian-influenced steak bars in over 18 restaurants in the Miami area and Las Vegas. DIB has been living in South Florida since 1996.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, Setai Hotel Chairman Joe Nakash and his friend Dib decided they wanted to start a business together. When they saw the property, they “fallen in love” with it, Dib said in an interview with Donatera’s Miami Herald.

“For me, it’s about architecture,” Dib said. “We can’t find this in Miami Beach.”

They bought the building for $6 million in 2022, according to Miami-Dade property records. They knew it wasn’t an “easy mod.” A small pool was removed to make way for parts of the restaurant, but the building was largely kept intact.

From Justin Bieber to Boutique Hotels

The property, known at the time as Orchid House, was used as a rental for three buildings with shared kitchens. Singer Justin Bieber stayed there in 2014. Built in the 1920s by Wallace Tutt. WallaceTutt also designed its name to be a Versace Mansion on nearby Ocean Drive.

The converted Donatera rooms feature Italian travertine stones, warm wood, a large bathroom and a vanity area. Miami-based Mico Design Studios has done the interior.

The colour is light – a lot of white, but the typical bright colors and neon colors of Miami Beach are absent. Natural stones also come in light colours. Similar to hotel rooms in southern Spain, the rooms have a peaceful atmosphere.

The villas are connected by Woodbridges, allowing you to eat dinner even if you fantasize something even romantic.

Where you choose to eat, chef Alessandro Mauron, from Naples, Italy, will serve coastal southern Italian meals. His menu features black truffles casio epepe, rigatoni nuduja and skull island shrimp. The restaurant seated for 170 people. The private dining room will accommodate 15.

Donatera, next to the Shepley Hotel, does not have a pool or rooftop for groups to hang out. There are no saunas or spas. And you probably won’t be partying until late at night with the South Beach crowd.

“We probably can’t compete with the beach club and the big hotel, but we’re different,” Dib said.

The majority of this is paying close attention to every customer and every detail, he said. For example, Dib said he chose all the songs from the hotel’s Spotify playlist. During the interview he stopped to point out the songs he chose to make up Donatella’s cold.

Donatera connection?

The hotel does not have a direct connection of the same name.

Donatella Versace is a sister to Italian fashion monarch Gianni Versace, who was killed in the steppings of a Miami Beach Mansion in 1997. She was also a well-known fashion designer and CEO of Versace until March announced she was resigning.

“I don’t know anything about my family,” Dib said. “There’s no connection.”

However, he said they had obtained a trademark for them to use Donatera’s name. Records of US state patent and trademark offices confirmed it.

DIB partner Joe Nakash won the South Beach Mansion in Versace for $41.5 million at the 2013 New York auction. Donald Trump was runner-up.

The building of a rundown apartment once known as the Amsterdam Palace, Versace’s mansion is now the Villa Casacas Arena, which includes a boutique hotel.

Pricing and booking

The hotel’s starting rate is $460 per night, Dib said. At the restaurant, he hopes you can get a delicious meal for between $80 and $100.

Initially, the restaurant only opens dinner. They hope to begin offering Sunday brunch in about two months.

To book a hotel or to learn more, visit donatellahotel.com.