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Spotlight: Hearst Castle VCW_D_HearstCastle_Hero_CC_HearstCastle_KG_1280x642_1
Kodiak Greenwood

Central California

Spotlight: Hearst Castle

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
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Mansions are a dime a dozen in California, with movie stars and tech power brokers building palaces and adding wings, pools, and yoga pavilions with abandon. But nothing comes close to Hearst Castle. Lavishly designed by Julia Morgan, California’s first female architect, as the private residence of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, the complex, completed in 1947, is an extraordinary temple to opulence and excess. Now showcased within one of California’s most visited state parks, it is a must-see to end all must-sees, an eye-popping extravaganza with a 165-room castle, 127 acres/51 hectares of terraced gardens, fountains, and pools, and, to top it all off, wraparound views of the sunny Central Coast.

It’s easy to spend a full day or more exploring the castle and its environs in San Simeon: The Central Coast town has a nice range of places to stay, from mainstream to majestic accommodations. Start your visit with one of Hearst Castle’s daily tours of the main house, or special tours of the cottages; come in November or December to see the estate dressed up in its very-festive holiday décor. Top off a visit to San Simeon’s Heart Ranch Winery, co-founded by William Randolph Hearst’s great grandson Steve.

 

Spotlight: Hearst Castle VCW_D_HearstCastle_T1_CC_Hearst_Scenic_KG_1280x642
Kodiak Greenwood

The castle

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
The castle
Tour the lavish estate of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.

Do you need breadcrumbs to find your bedroom? We suspect William Randolph Hearst did. The 165-room main building atop what Hearst called ‘La Cuesta Encantada’ (Spanish for ‘the Enchanted Hill’) was so big and so filled with, well, stuff, that it would seem easy to get lost. For a chance to explore the castle, and to get a sense of Hearst’s mash-up of priceless objects and antiques with commonplace items, take a Grand Rooms Tour. Gather in the soaring social room, much as film stars and other guests did decades ago for cocktails and conversation, then look up at walnut panelling and 16th century tapestries. Then look down at a poker table and ordinary jigsaw puzzles.  Next up, the dining room, with towering windows, silk banners, gleaming silver candlesticks and mustard and ketchup bottles at the ready. 

Three guided tours, each focusing on a different part of the estate, are offered daily; following the tours, be sure to tour the grounds and sit on a bench to take in one of the best sea-and-land views in the state.

Spotlight: Hearst Castle VCW_D_HearstCastle_T3_HearstGardens2_1280x642
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Gardens at Hearst Castle

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
Gardens at Hearst Castle
Find secret hideaways and stellar views

Bowers of magenta bougainvillea and sweet-smelling hyacinths, and rhododendrons with blooms as big as wedding bouquets—a walk through the lavish gardens at Hearst Castle hits you with sensory overload, with colours, scents and beautiful combinations at every turn. Even if you don’t have green fingers and can’t tell a weed from a wisteria, you’ll enjoy spending time exploring 127 acres of gardens and terraces, all imagined by William Randolph Hearst and designed by architect Julia Morgan. There is always something in bloom here—orange California poppies (the state flower), fragrant star jasmine—and plenty of pretty settings to photograph. Docents are often available to answer questions: ask them for some of the insider secrets to this garden, like that shady corner where big-name stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age, frequent guests of Hearst’s, used to steal away for an illicit rendezvous.

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Guest Cottages at Hearst Castle

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
Guest Cottages at Hearst Castle
See where movie stars had sleepovers

Cottages in name alone, Casa del Monte and Casa del Mar might be the fanciest guest houses in the state—in fact, they served as the Hearst residences during the construction of the main building. Once Hearst and his long-time companion, actress Marion Davies, moved into Casa Grande, the ‘cottages’ became guest quarters for an illustrious list of visitors—Hollywood icons including Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, world leaders such as Winston Churchill, and literary master George Bernard Shaw. Tours let you get an exclusive look at the cottages’ opulent interiors: The ceiling of Casa del Monte is hand painted and accented with 22-carat gold leaf; red-tile-roofed Casa del Mar (‘House of the Sea’) was Hearst’s beloved home later in his life.

In addition to being part of some daytime tours, Casa del Monte is included on special evening tours, when docents in 1930s attire give an extra sense of what it was like here during Hearst Castle’s heyday.

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Courtesy of Hearst Ranch Winery.

Hearst Ranch Winery

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
Hearst Ranch Winery
Sip a vintage at Hearst Ranch Winery’s Tasting Room

If he was still around to judge, we think William Randolph Hearst would approve. The classy, polished wood interior of the Hearst Ranch Winery tasting room, housed within an 1852 general store in San Simeon, feels luxurious but relaxed, classy but casual. After you have toured the castle perched at the top of the hill across Highway One, relax at this friendly destination. Choose from over a dozen wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, late-harvest Zinfandel, Spanish Tempranillo and Chardonnay. 

Spotlight: Hearst Castle VCW_D_HearstCastle_T2_CC_Hearst_InsidePool_KG_1280x642_1
Kodiak Greenwood

Pools at Hearst Castle

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
Pools at Hearst Castle
Get hints of Rome and Greece at lavish indoor and outdoor pools

The two pools at Hearst Castle are just as opulent as the residence itself. The outdoor Neptune Pool, /32 metres in length and with an oil-burning heating system, evokes ancient Greece and Rome, with marble statues of Neptune and Nereid guarding over the aquatic paradise.

The second, smaller indoor Roman Pool has the look of a decadent Roman bath, with rich details including cobalt blue and gold smaltite, or glass tiles. Look up to see intricate mosaics depicting a star-filled night sky, spreading across the roof and dome. The pool is surrounded by eight marble sculptures of Greek and Roman gods, goddesses and heroes, carved by Italian sculptor Carlo Freter.

Celebrate summer or kick off the holidays at Hearst Castle

Time your visit to catch one of Hearst Castle’s special events, and you’ll definitely have plenty to post and tweet. Though tours offered seven days a week year-round are outstanding, these...

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Hearst Castle
Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
Spotlight: Hearst Castle VCW_D_CC_T2__BigSur_VCLCC_BigSur_PfeifferBeach_.jpg_KG-dark-1280x642
Kodiak Greenwood

Spotlight: Big Sur

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
Art and nature merge on this rugged coast, one of California’s most spectacular settings

Welcome to one of the world’s most unforgettable stretches of coastline. This roughly 90-mile-long stretch of redwood- and fog-trimmed waterfront...

Piedras Blancas Light Station near Hearst Castle
Chris Leschinsky

Piedras Blancas Light Station

Spotlight: Hearst Castle vca_maps_centralcoast
Piedras Blancas Light Station
Tour an historic lighthouse and see giant seals

Touring a 70-foot-tall lighthouse makes a worthy detour along Highway One, not only for its history, but for its barking, bellowing neighbours—sofa-size elephant seals.

Constructed in 1874 on a rugged spit and named for the white rocks just offshore, the lighthouse was once the site of other buildings, including a 1906 Victorian-era home that was sold for $1 and moved to nearby Cambria to be converted into a private home. The humble lighthouse was not overlooked by William Randolph Hearst as he designed his nearby castle on land six miles to the south: he had a likeness of the light station added to a crest found above the entrance to the living room inside Casa del Monte, one of his three guest cottages.

Tours of the lighthouse are offered year-round; check the website for details. Next, head south about 2 miles along the coast—follow your ears to find the right spot. Roughly 17,000 (no, that’s not a typo) elephant seals make up the Piedras Blancas rookery. Northern elephant seals, the world’s second largest type of seal, are named for the males’ proboscis-like snouts; mature males, which can grow to 16 feet long and weigh up to 2,268 kilos, inflate their snouts to make rumbling bellows during the spring mating season). Their clash-of-the-titans battles in the breakers can be epic.