My spouse and I attempted to dine at Gianni’s at the Villa
Casa Casuarina (former Versace Mansion) on a Sunday evening in early July 2016.
We say “attempted”, because we departed before we ever received a bite to eat.
Our experience started badly when we received our confirmation telephone call
from the restaurant around noon on the day that we were dining. They wanted to
inform us that the courtyard would be off limits due to a private event that
evening, and they wanted to know whether we still intended to dine there as a
result. We made our reservation via Open Table approximately 30 days in
advance, so we were disappointed that no one from the restaurant contacted us
before the day of our dine so that we could make a better-informed decision and
perhaps alternate plans. As it was, where else were we to dine on a busy
holiday weekend?
When we arrived at the mansion and tried to climb the few
steps from the sidewalk, a bouncer stopped and interrogated us as to where we
were heading. When we told him we were going to the restaurant, he questioned
whether we had a reservation, and then grudgingly allowed us to enter the
property. When we stopped at the host stand at the doorway, he gave us the
“once-over” look and deemed that one of us was not properly attired, but that
he would make an exception “just this once”. (No employee informed us about a
strict dress code prior to our visit, although the host claims that the
confirmation phone call that day should have mentioned it.)
The host led us upstairs, but not before we glimpsed the
courtyard that seemed to contain normal diners and not the private party that the
reservationist mentioned to us on the telephone. The host seated us in an
upstairs room that felt as if it had no air conditioning flowing. The interior
door to the courtyard was open, allowing the humid air inside. In addition, the
door between the dining room and the nearby bar was open, and that bar door was
open to the courtyard, introducing more heat. The front balcony door was also
ajar, and other guests who had finished dining were standing on it awaiting
fireworks. Therefore, the temperature in the upstairs dining room was high,
with male guests attired in long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and some with jackets
and ties. It was terribly uncomfortable, and then we began to wait. After a
10-minute discussion between ourselves as to whether we wanted to stay and dine,
we decided to depart, just when a waiter approached us. We explained that it
was too warm in the room for us to dine comfortably on what would have been an
expensive meal, and he said that he did not blame us for leaving.
Upon departure, we had hoped to view the famous pool area;
however, it was off-limits due to a private party. Now we understood why we
received the telephone call earlier in the day, but we wondered why they told
us that the “courtyard” was off limits (which was not) and not the “pool”
(which was). If you have heard, read, or seen anything about the Villa Casa
Casuarina property, the pool area is its pièce de résistance. If guests
cannot even peek at it either before or after dining, they might as well not
even eat there, in our opinion!
Although we can understand the hotel renting out its event
space, why didn’t they inform us earlier than the day of our reservation? Surely,
no one organized an elaborate formal party that very morning! The property certainly
knew for days, weeks, and even months that the space would be reserved, so why did
they wait until the last minute to tell their restaurant guests?
We find ourselves in South Beach from time to time when we
visit family, but we will not return to Gianni’s or to the Villa Casa Casuarina
because of the abominable treatment that we received! If you choose to dine
there, consider that you may not be permitted to see anything other than the
inside of a small, steamy dining room. Complete dissatisfied!
