Hearst Castle
Castle · San Luis Obispo County
750 Hearst Castle Rd, San Simeon, CA 93452
Highlights
Guests explore the art & grounds of the 20th-century mansion built by the eponymous media magnate.
Guests explore the art & grounds of the 20th-century mansion built by the eponymous media magnate.
"Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst's estate, known as 'La Cuesta Encantada' or 'The Enchanted Hill', boasts 165 rooms, a legendary art collection, and elaborately tiled pools. The property features 123 acres of gardens and Pacific Ocean views." - Evie Carrick Evie Carrick Evie Carrick is a writer and editor who’s lived in five countries and visited well over 50. She now splits her time between Colorado and Paris, ensuring she doesn't have to live without skiing or L'
"Check out Parrish Family Vineyard's tasting room and teleport to a '20s-era Christmas at Hearst Castle." - Travel + Leisure Editors
"William Randolph Hearst, the sensationalist newspaper magnate who shaped the course of journalism (for better or worse) in the 20th century and served as inspiration for Citizen Kane, was showy and flamboyant in his personal life, and his magnificent castle on the central California coast was no exception. Though it was originally conceived as a modest bungalow atop the hilly ranch land his father purchased in the 1860s, W. R. Hearst’s home grew into a mansion of epic proportions. He and the architect, Julia Morgan, settled on a vaguely medieval Iberian style, with vaulted ceilings and lavish cornices adorned with cherubs. Hearst’s modus operandi was quality over quantity when it came to collecting art, so the rooms were designed in a pastiche of styles and eras to suit the precious sculptures and paintings they held. La Cuesta Encantada (“The Enchanted Hill”) was informally known as “the ranch,” an almost comical understatement of the house’s size. By the time it was finished it contained over 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens and terraces. There were multiple libraries, an exotic zoo, tennis courts, numerous guest cottages, stables where Arabian horses were bred, a wine cellar, a medieval-style banquet hall, an airstrip, an indoor pool, and an outdoor pool. The outdoor Neptune Pool was built, then remodeled three times to suit the authentic Roman temple facade Hearst shipped in from Italy. No expense was spared to create the magnate’s paradise: a power plant was even constructed nearby to supply electricity to the remote castle. Hearst lived in the home, hosting lavish parties throughout its construction until his failing health forced him to relocate in 1947, at which time construction ceased. He died in 1951, and in 1958 the palatial estate was designated a California State Park. Little has changed inside the castle since then. Descendants of the zebras and rare deer in the private zoo still roam the grounds. Today, just as then, people are eager to catch a glimpse of how the world’s most notorious newspaper magnate lived in glamour while the rest of the country suffered the economic devastation of the 1930s." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"Hearst Castle, a notable historic site offering tours of its grand estate, has experienced pandemic-related closures, so it's recommended to check ahead before planning a visit." - Travel + Leisure Editors
"San Simeon, “La Cuesta Encantada,” the phantasmagoric barony that William Randolph Hearst made for himself on the sunburned hills above the San Luis Obispo County coast. San Simeon was a place which, once seen from the highway, was ever in the mind, a material fact which existed in proof of certain abstract principles. San Simeon seemed to confirm the boundless promise of the place we lived. The gates were always barred on that road up the hill, and yet there was a kind of frontier accessibility about the Hearsts; the Hearst money was Western money, money that had come originally from a silver strike in Nevada, money made and spent in a singularly Western spirit of luck, imagination, irresponsibility, and general flamboyance. If a Hearst could build himself a castle, then every man could be a king."
Pär Lundh
Victoria Riewer
Ligia Brosch
Jeannie Larsen
Milly Paulson
Heidi Jin
Jayne Cooke
Ananta Patel
Kimberley H.
K M.
Mary Ann P.
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Anabella W.
Sarah T.
Tom V.
Eden H.
Kim R.
Bobbie R.
Katelyn H.
Kim H.
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Matthew W.
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Kris L.
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Whit D.
Alyssa A.
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Louise F.
Dina T.
LaTisha S.
Terra S.
Rang D.
Allie G.
Rosalie r.
Charisse B.
Zach P.
Patty C.
Bruce O.
