The hotel has a long history. It started out as a 12-room hunting lodge in 1925 and played host to many celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Orson Wells, Rita Hayworth and John Wayne. Now the hotel will become a 500 room and suite resort with an official grand opening on August 2. They are offering a Sunday through Thursday special room rate of just $79.

New to the compound is the oceanfront 17-story, 271-suite Pacifico Tower. The new tower offers an infinity pool and a rooftop restaurant. The Pacifico Tower has fully furnished suites that are offered for sale and can be placed in the hotel rental program. One bedroom condos start at $190,000, two-bedroom condos start at $362,000 and two-story, three-bedroom penthouses start at $599,000.

The LA Times Hot Property column reports that today’s estate belongs to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. Palmer’s home is a four-bedroom Mediterranean perched on a hilltop with beautiful views out over the ocean, the town and an open canyon. Like many hillside homes, this one has a bunch of levels. The top level has an entry deck, oceanview front office and a two-car garage. The home also includes a gourmet kitchen, formal dining room, living room, a full-floor master bedroom suite which has a cedar-lined walk-in closet, an office, sitting area and master bath. The lowest level has two two bedrooms with a large balcony. Big Time Listings reports that Palmer also owns a home in Del Mar, California and a five-bedroom home in Cincinnati. This home is listed at $2.949 million.

The home sits on Lake George in New York facing a wide expanse of lake shoreline. The 11,000 square-foot t stone exterior stucco framed home has a beautiful classic interior with a library, leaded glass windows, an elevator, a fitness center and the original fireplace mantels and woodwork. The home has been restored by the current owners but mostly looks as if it is ready to film a Victorian melodrama without much stage dressing. The property includes a two-bedroom guest cottage, an in-ground pool, tennis court and a parking garage with room for over 20 cars. The price hasn’t changed in two years, it’s still at $17.9 million.

Today’s home is located on a quiet country road and expands over 19 acres. The six-bedroom home has an original part that dates back to 1755 but had a major addition six years ago. There are 40 rooms total including a home theater, a large kitchen, hand-carved Parisian paneled living room and a billiards room in over 18,500 square feet. The grounds include a pool, tennis court, pond and there is a beautiful terrace that looks out over rolling green lawns. This home is listed at $10.5 million.

A vintage Harrie Lindeberg and John Staub design built in the early 1920s (and on the National Register of Historic Places), but the current owners have created an inviting abode full of a variety of art to ogle and shelves of books to browse through. This eight-bedroom home is on 1.7 beautifully landscaped acres with formal gardens and a greenhouse. The home includes a dramatic entrance hall with a floating staircase,large living room, library, garden/media room, dining room, gourmet kitchen w/morning room and wine cellar. A new pool and pool house were constructed in 2002. There is also a carriage house with staff quarters. This home is listed at $11.3 million. The AOL home value tool estimates it at just $2,307,393.

Actor Jamie Foxx hasn’t lived in his Tarzana, California home for a while, moving on to a 40-acre spread in Thousand Oaks. This three-bedroom in Tarzana had been his home since 1997 when he bought the home for $930,000. As the Real Estalker mentions, the home has been the site of some of Foxx’s famous wild parties and the police were once called over a nude basketball game being held on the home’s half court. The home has been customized by Foxx with details such as aquariums in the living room, a game room in the basement, a media room and a recording studio. The home has since gone through a major renovation which explains the blandness of the current decor.

The backyard includes a large lawn, pool and pool house, sunken spa and that infamous basketball court. This home is listed at $2.23 million.

The property is located on the beautifully scenic Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands in Washington. This estate spans 161 acres and includes six separate tax parcels with six houses, six drilled wells, three cabins, a cookhouse, shops, garages, barns and other outbuildings. The land has a total of e approximately 3,200′ of shoreline and comes with a deepwater, drive-on pier, a float and two boathouses with a workshop. The island can be reached by private boat, ferry or plane. $20 million will get you your own island retreat.

This “lower” penthouse on Fisher Island Drive in Miami has some of the most striking interior design I’ve seen in Miami. The four-bedroom penthouse is over 8,000 square feet. The interior design by Lorraine Letendre is a pleasing mix of spare and luxe combining contemporary art and a neutral palette with details like French Oak wood cabinetry and goat skin paneled doors. This home has the most amazing man’s closet I’ve ever seen. There is also a large balcony to take in the ocean views. This home is listed at $13.9 million.

Welcome to Casa Blanca, a dramatic home located on the Carpinteria coast next to Montecito, California. This estate which was finished in 1996 has a history that reaches back to the 1920s. Upon entering the iron gates of the home, you are welcomed into a courtyard with a water fountain. Once inside, there is a a lighted dome with skylight above the entry The six-bedroom home has some dramatic features including a living room with 19-foot ceilings and sliding glass doors that disappear into the sides of the walls. The dining room has hidden built-in cabinets and a Murano glass chandelier. The master bedroom suite has coffered ceilings, fireplaces and a terrace. The master bath opens to a secluded patio with a tiled spa. Every bedroom has a deck or a terrace. The back of the house has 180 degree views of the ocean, islands and coast line with direct beach access. The exterior of the house is very beautiful and evocative but the home’s rather bland interior doesn’t deliver on the exotic promise of the exterior facade, at least in the pictures I’ve seen.

The home is one of eight in a gated enclave. The property shares a tennis court and pool pavilion with kitchen. The best shared amenities is the Natatorium which was designed by famed local George Washington Smith and has historical significance. This pool house has a pool room, game room and men’s and women’s separate showers done in a Moorish style with painted arches, marble fireplace, tiled walls and floors. The most interesting feature is a sumptuous indoor pool area with elaborate mosaic tile work that is capped by a large retractable skylight. This home is listed at $12.9 million.

Villa San Giulio is a historic neoclassic building situated in Narzole Cuneo, Piedmont-North Italy, built in 1700 over the ruins of the ancient Castrum Lunellorum owned by the Lunello family from the earliest years XI century. The Hotel is immersed in a large enclosed park with inside the St. John the Baptist chapel built in XIX century over another ancient chapel. After a good start, the mansion has been abandoned for years until the recent restoration which has brought it to a new life.

The hotel Villa San Giulio, is strategically located at the foot of the Langa area, close to the Fondovalle road, a few minutes drive from historic and gastronomic places such as Barolo, La Morra, Cherasco, Alba, Bra and Dogliani (prestigious wines). Easily reachable from the “A6” highway, Villa San Giulio has a 18 holes golf club nearby and different naturalistic routes among the vineyards. Disabled access and large car park. Read the rest of this entry »