Hearst Castle California Road Trip

With the country opening up state by state and international travel a challenge, why not take a road trip to scenic California. While America has no royal family, we do have a real castle. Hearst Castle may have been the dream home of William Randolph Hearst, a wealthy media titan, but it is truly a castle, with 115 gilded rooms, including 38 bedrooms, over 68,000 square feet in the main house alone. Immortalized as “Xanadu” in Orson Welles’s 1941 movie Citizen Kane – and somewhat fictionalized – its true story falls squarely under the category “you can’t make this up.”

Colorful history, Hollywood hangout

Hearst used it as his home, living there with his mistress, the actress Marion Davies, from the Roaring 1920s through 1947. (Hearst was married, but his wife, Millicent, refused to grant him a divorce.) Hearst’s extensive wine cellar was especially popular during the Prohibition years, and they entertained the biggest Hollywood stars of the day. There was a saying in Hollywood that there were two groups of stars: those who had been to Hearst Castle and those who said they had been to Hearst Castle.

Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Charlie Chaplin were regular visitors. Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Bob Hope, Mary Pickford, Jimmy Stewart, and Joan Crawford were among the guests at Hearst’s lavish parties, as were political figures like Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge, and notables like George Bernard Shaw, P.G. Wodehouse and Charles Lindbergh.A prolific collector, among Hearst’s valuable treasures, was a trove of furs stored in the basement. Legend has it that Harpo Marx raided the fur vaults late one night, and in the morning, guests were greeted by the sight of the garden statues draped in opulent mink coats.

Hearst Valuable Treasures

Eventually encompassing 250,000 acres, including a functioning ranch and the world’s largest private zoo, Hearst loved to show off the estate on horseback, and these tours were dreaded by his famous guests, many of whom were not comfortable in the saddle. During one long trip, Clark Gable reportedly quipped, “When we get to the next brow of a hill, we’ll see Los Ange– L.A. being over 200 miles away.Hearst also loved to organize overnight camping expeditions on the vast grounds in trips so lavish that they required more than a dozen pack mules to carry the supplies, which in addition to the usual gear included caviar and champagne. Perhaps Hearst was the OG of glamping.

Groundbreaking female architect

In 1919, Hearst commissioned architect Julia Morgan to design the Castle, originally called “La Cuesta Encantada,” or the Enchanted Hill. San Francisco-based Morgan was the first independent female architect to have her own practice in California, the first woman to study architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and the first female winner of the AIA Gold Medal.

The two spent over twenty years building Hearst Castle and the surrounding property and outbuildings, often incorporating European interiors and fixtures that Hearst saw on his travels and shipped to the U.S. The Castle also housed one of the world’s largest private art collections. In the 2,500-square-foot Assembly Room, four 16th-century tapestries hang on the walls. These are the originals, the only known set still in existence. The Louvre in Paris has copies. Hearst lived there until 1947 when health problems forced him to move out. He died in 1951, leaving the entire property to Maron Davies, but she returned it to his family for a reported $1.

Public park on Central California coast

Located along the Pacific coast on scenic Highway One in San Simeon, California, the Castle is midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, about a four-hour trip from either city. Perched on a hill more than a quarter of a mile above the Pacific Ocean, today Hearst Castle is open to the public as part of the California State Park system and receives about 700,000 visitors per year.

Tours, magnificent pools

The Castle is so vast that you can’t really see it all in one swoop. There are ten regular tours you can take, including the grand rooms, upstairs suites, cottages and kitchens, art, Hollywood, and evening and holiday tours.The outdoor Neptune Pool reopened last year after a two-year, $10 million restoration. Built into a hilltop, the pool is surrounded by Italian-relief sculptures and Greco-Roman style marble colonnades.The indoor Roman Pool has been dubbed the “most sumptuous swimming pool on earth” for its shimmering blue and gold glass tiles, Greek and Roman statues, and mosaic-tile patterns inspired by a 5th-century mausoleum in Ravenna, Italy.

Artworks

Hearst purchased a huge number of paintings, sculptures and antiquities to fill the house, outbuildings and grounds – and most of his enormous art collection is still there for you to see, the venue today functions basically as a museum.A few highlights include Venus Italica, a sculpture by Antonio Canova in Florence once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother. Depicting an Italian Venus, the delicately detailed statue is considered a masterpiece.A grouping of four sculptures of Sekhmet, the Egyptian war goddess, date from the New Kingdom of Egypt, c. 1550-1070 BCE, and are the oldest works of art in the Castle collection. Hearst purchased them at different times from different sources, and architect Julia Morgan placed them together on an esplanade on the hill.

The Orchid Vase

A lamp made from the Tiffany “Orchid Vase” was commissioned by Hearst’s mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. The vase, made of silver, won top prizes at the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition, and after Phoebe purchased it, she had Tiffany & Co. convert it into a lamp and fabricate a shade. Decorated with enamel orchids, the vase is currently displayed in the visitor center, where you may study it closely.

Gardens & grounds
All visitors are encouraged to explore the more than 100 acres surrounding the estate, with its lush gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean, fountains and lush plantings. Inspired by Spanish and Portuguese villas, the grounds are laid out to resemble the Alhambra in Spain, and colorful ceramic tile is found throughout.

The Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation
As one of the world’s most popular historic homes, Hearst Castle requires constant upkeep and preservation, and the revenues it generates help to support California’s entire State Park system. The Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation mission is to help preserve and restore the collections 25,000 artifacts. Donors and members enjoy special access – including, for the first time in 2019 – exclusive swim events at the Castle’s two spectacular pools. A handful are planned for the Neptune Pool, capped at 40 people each, and at the indoor Roman Pool, a single October event for 20 people is planned. Bragging rights, priceless. hearstcastle.org

Nearby attractions

Located on a beautiful stretch of central California coastline, the San Simeon area is a great place to explore once you’ve seen the Caste. Outdoorsy folks will love the San Luis Obispo State Parks, for hiking, biking and camping, and walking and boating at San Simeon’s beautiful beaches.

Elephant Seal Boardwalk

Almost 20,000 elephant seals frolic on the beach just south of the Piedras Blancas lighthouse, a few miles from the Castle, and it is worth a visit. The seals are there year-round, but the best times to visit are from October through May, with the highlight birthing and breeding season in January and February. The Elephant Seal Boardwalk, open to the public and free of charge, is a great place to view the seals from a safe distance. Docents are on site to answer questions, and this is an especially delightful family outing.

Piedras Blancas lighthouse

Built in 1870 and still in operation today after a major restoration in 2010, the Piedras Blancas lighthouse offers tours and special events throughout the year, including whale-watching tours.

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Covering 350 miles of California coastline, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the largest national marine sanctuary in the U.S. There’s a Coastal Discovery Center offering interactive exhibits exploring the connection between land and sea. Year-round seasonal activities include seal birthing and breeding in winter, windsurfing and sailing in spring, kayaking and bird watching in the cool, foggy summer, and diving and whale watching in fall.

Tale of Two Castles

Amanda Hearst, the great-granddaughter of media mogul William Randolph Hearst married movie director, Joachim Rønning whose credits include the Oscar-nominated Kon-Taki, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales with Johnny Depp and the upcoming Maleficent: Mistress of Evil starring Angelina Jolie last summer. The three-day fairy tale wedding began at Hearst Castle in San Simeon and ended with a dinner at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angles where the couple first met three years ago. Thus, the duo dubbed their nuptials “A Tale of Two Castles.” Amanda wore a white, pearl-encrusted, short dress by Viktor & Rolf to the rehearsal dinner in the Dairy Barn at the castle that had a Norwegian theme in honor of the groom’s native land. Event maestro David Monn brought in live deer with huge antlers for the guests to pose with before going into the barn that had two long tables for 150 guests. The ceiling was draped in blue silk and the Norwegian flag was placed at one end of the space. The elaborate buffet was set up in front of the fireplace that was bedecked with greenery and flowers, the well-worn wooden tables were festooned with small vases filled with colorful field flowers.

The Deer & Dairy Barn

The bride’s chic mother, Anne Hearst, in a navy blue column by Alexander McQueen, and her husband Jay McInerney greeted guests including Anne’s handsome and highly eligible son, Randy Harris, her sisters Victoria and Patricia Hearst, Sharon Bush and her daughters Ashley and Lauren Bush who was with her husband David Lauren, Jerry Bruckheimer, Paula and Tony Peck (Gregory Peck’s son) Hilary and Bobby Marx ( the son of the comedian Zeppo Marx and the stepson of Frank Sinatra), Stellene Volandes, the Editor-In-Chief of Town and Country Magazine, George Farias, Robert Zimmerman, Luigi Tadini, Hassan Pierre (Amanda’s business partner at sustainable fashion house Masion De Mode), Liliana and William Cavendish, with their daughter Georgiana, Anne Barrish, Cornelia Bergmann, Judith Israel, a group of Anne’s friends from San Francisco and a large contingent of Norwegians including Joachim’s brother and parent’s; his father charmingly played the guitar and sang as part of his remarks . There was also an amusing toastmaster that introduced twenty friends who spoke throughout the fun evening.

The Black Tie Ball

The black-tie ball started with a reception on the castle’s terrace overlooking the Pacific Ocean after the intimate wedding in one of the Castle’s smaller cottages. The bells in the twin towers rang out to announce the arrival of the bride and groom through the Castle’s front door. Amanda was stunning in a white, sustainable dress with silhouetted flowers by Oscar de Renta’s Fernando Garcia. The dinner was held on a second terrace, with the Castle’s magnificent façade as a backdrop. There were five tables laid with gold and white brocade tablecloths set with gold and white china and centered by silver candelabra and bowls brimming with pastel-colored roses that also held fruit and dripped grapes. My favorite course was the titanic slice of caviar pie that kicked off the sumptuous dinner. A highlight of the evening was when the groom played and sang a song, he had composed to commemorate the occasion on the grand piano after giving a moving speech thanking the bride’s family for welcoming him into the clan. The seated dinner was followed by dancing to a live orchestra, in a Moroccan themed open-air pavilion, adjacent to the legendary Neptune pool. After the first dance, to the Disney classic, “When You Wish Upon A Star.” Amanda changed into an elegant sheath dress with a floating panel by Galvan; her chignon was secured by a wreath of diamond flowers. After the dessert buffet Amanda slipped into her going-away dress, a short pale pink confection printed with flowers by Giambattista. After midnight, the radiant couple descended the Castle’s grand staircase while the guests tossed pink rose petals as they drove away in a cream-colored vintage convertible to the property’s private airfield where they zipped off to Hollywood for their first night together as Mr. and Mrs. Rønning. But wait, there’s more; the wedding guests went on to the After-Party at the Hearst Ranch’s Senators House, below the Enchanted Hill, built by William Randolph Hearst’s father Senator George Hearst in 1878. We sat around bonfires, sipped more champagne and nibbled on sinfully delicious Mexican fare into the wee hours.