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Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is a very unusual place since it is filled both with spectacular spaces, a couple of which are pictured here, and many spaces that are so gaudy as to be overwhelming. The pools are its most spectacular aspects. The interior of the main house and the guest "cottages" are plagued by a cacaphony of different styles all thrown together. We participated in the Evening Tour, which is distinguished by a living history experience of the castle in which the tour guides treat the members of the tour as if they were arriving in the 1930s as guests of Mr. Hearst. Although our overall impression of the castle was mixed, the living history aspect of the evening tour was fun and we can recommend it to others. All access to the castle is by tour group only.

The Neptune Pool

We were fortunate to arrive at the Neptune Pool just after sunset. The Neptune pool is the first stop in the evening tour.

Ancient Greek Drinking Vessels

These drinking vessels are very rare. Looking closely you can see that they can only set down upside down and thus empty. The people who crafted these must have been very serious about their drinking.

The Roman Pool

The Roman Pool is the castle's indoor pool. The castle's weekend guests would come down to the Roman Pool after dinner for late evening frolicking.