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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Grand Rooms Tour

Recommended for first-time visitors. Tour Hearst Castle’s opulent social rooms to see what it was like to be a guest of W.R. Hearst.

Assembly-Room

Every evening, W. R. Hearst’s guests gathered in the splendid social rooms on the ground floor of Casa Grande—his formal name for the main house. Follow in their footsteps as you travel back in time and experience what it was like to be a guest at Hearst Castle, known then as “The Enchanted Hill.”

Physical Requirements

The Grand Rooms Tour is 45 minutes long. The route includes approximately 106 steps, both up and down, and 2/3-mile walk. An Accessibly Designed Grand Rooms Tour is also available for those who may have difficulty standing and walking for extended periods of time. It is wheelchair accessible.

Tour Changes and Cancellation Policy
Subject to availability, changes in tour date or time can be made for a fee of $3.50 per ticket. Cancellations can be made up to one hour before the tour's start time by calling 1-800-695-2269.  A $7.00 cancellation fee and a $3.50 service fee per ticket will be charged.

Visit the Grounds

Assembly Room
1
Refectory
2
Billiard Room
3
Theater
4
The Gardens
5
Neptune Pool
6
Roman Pool
7
  • 1 Assembly Room

    Gather in the grand social room on the ground floor of Casa Grande just as W. R. Hearst’s guests did decades ago for cocktails, conversation, and to meet their host. Admire the magnificent room’s walnut paneling,  Renaissance and Baroque tapestries and masterpieces of neoclassical sculpture.

  • 2 Refectory

    Mr. Hearst and architect Julia Morgan named the dining room after the word for a monastery’s dining hall. Its high windows, bright silk banners, and gleaming silver candlesticks convey the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, but the mustard and ketchup bottles show that Mr. Hearst liked to keep things informal at his ranch.

  • 3 Billiard Room

    The Billiard Room was a popular spot, where guests could relax and play both billiards and pool. This room is decorated with a variety of gaming themes, but it also boasts a 15th century Spanish ceiling painted with scenes of courtly life, in addition to a Flemish tapestry from 1500.

  • 4 Theater

    The Theater is where W. R. Hearst and Hollywood film star Marion Davies joined guests every night to watch a full-length movie and newsreel. Today, as a guest of the Castle, you’ll be able to view historic Castle footage with moving images of Mr. Hearst and his guests.

  • 5 The Gardens

    After the guided portion of your tour concludes, explore the expansive garden grounds that surround “La Cuesta Encantada”—Hearst’s Spanish name for The Enchanted Hill. Look for native plants, rare flowers and lush foliage that have been at the Castle since Mr. Hearst resided here.

  • 6 Neptune Pool

    Continue the tour at your own pace to the dramatic and spectacular Neptune Pool with its fantastic references to ancient times. The colonnades and statues provided the setting for lavish pool parties and lively social gatherings.

  • 7 Roman Pool

    Located where you board the bus to return to the Visitor Center, the intensely decorated indoor Roman Pool is the perfect place to stop and relax. Modeled after ancient Roman baths, this meticulously detailed, majestic pool is tiled from ceiling to floor, and features marble copies of eight ancient Greek and Roman deities and athletes.

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