Reviews

RivailsLogan

“Easily one of the most jaw-dropping places I’ve ever visited in my life – and I’ve been to Versailles, the Vatican, and the Taj Mahal. Hearst Castle isn’t just a mansion; it’s a surreal, perfectly preserved time capsule of 1920s–30s excess, genius, and impeccable taste. Julia Morgan’s architectural mastery combined with Hearst’s almost obsessive collecting of European antiquities creates something that simply has no equal on earth. Highlights that still give me chills: • The Neptune Pool: rebuilt three times because “good enough” wasn’t in Hearst’s vocabulary. The Vermont marble colonnade, 3,400-year-old Egyptian Sekhmet statues guarding the steps, and that endless Pacific view – it looks CGI in real life. • Roman Pool: an indoor Byzantine-Roman fantasy entirely covered in millions of Murano glass tiles infused with 24k gold. Swimming here at night must have felt like diving into liquid starlight. • The Refectory dining hall with its 16th-century Sienese monastery ceiling and single 28-foot-long table – eating Heinz ketchup straight from the bottle under Renaissance masterpieces is peak Hearst absurdity and charm. • Assembly Room and Billiard Room tapestries and choirstalls that belong in museums (because they literally came from museums and cathedrals). • The private theater where Hollywood premieres happened before they hit actual cinemas. The tours are excellently run by California State Parks – knowledgeable, passionate guides who clearly love the place. Book the Grand Rooms Tour + Upstairs Suites (for the Roman Pool) if you can; the Evening Tour in spring/fall with docents in 1930s attire is pure magic. Yes, it’s expensive and you have to take the bus up the hill, but it is 100% worth it. This isn’t just a historic house – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that makes you understand why people in the 1930s genuinely thought William Randolph Hearst was living on a different planet. Easily the most spectacular single attraction in California. Don’t miss it.”

Cindy Pealstrom

It gets 5 stars just for the magnitude of it and what it takes to keep this place tour worthy! It's absolutely massive, everything about it from the sprawling buildings to the huge decor. Columns everywhere, giant statues, church pews, fire places, pools, everything is over the top! We did the Grand Rooms tour, the one suggested for first time visitors and it was wonderful. Our tour guide was amazing, funny and very engaging. We knew very little about William Randolph Hearst before we arrived and we left knowing more than we should!! I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance, it's definitely a bucket list item and we'll probably go back some day for another tour!

Katie Roberts

First time visiting and it was wonderful! Everyone was wonderful, our guide Camille was a delight! Very knowledgeable and entertaining! Such a beautiful place to go to get away from the fog. The history, architecture, design, and ambiance was breathtaking! The sights and views were incredible! The bus ride was educational, and it was nice to listen to Alex Tribek narrate the drive to and from the castle. Everything was great, except the gentleman at the gift shop, he was pretty rude. The food was ok, way too much seasoning and very dry. But I can't wait to go back and try the other tours!

Colleen Renteria

What an amazing site to see. This castle was so strikingly gorgeous. As you turn into the property the first thing you see is the zebras wandering the property. At the welcome center you purchase the type of tour you want to see. A tour bus drives you up to the property. The castle is jaw dropping. The whole property is filled with amazing art. Learning its rich history was amazing. So worth the trip to see it. I highly recommend!

J R

One of the best places I've ever visited. Did two hour Julia Morgan tour during the day and two hour art under moonlight tour at night. Both tour guides were patient, highly knowledgeable and excellent hosts, soliciting questions from tour members and gave expansive answers to all questions, some of which were way off topic. The place itself is historic, artistic and design overload, way too much to take in during the course of your visit. Don't have a fear of missing out--trust the process, the guides and enjoy what you are seeing and experiencing in the moment. My visit sparked a desire to learn more, which I plan to research so when I revisit will have a more solid foundation about the historic art in the collection. The rules in place are there for a reason and have succeeded in ensuring the place is maintained immaculately. Visitors center is spacious and educational, definitely recommend the movie before you head to castle. I dreaded the bus ride but it was way better than it sounds, bus driver acted like tour guide, pointing out artifacts and wildlife. The zebras were a nice surprise! The evening tour was a fantastic contrast to the daytime tour, allowing a perspective of what it was like to be an overnight guest. The change from sunlight to manmade light shifted focus on artwork and design aspects, allowing a more complete appreciation.

Emilee Mahar

The castle is absolutely beautiful. I would love to come again because the tour is so limited in what you see. It’s definitely worth checking out, very grand and interesting. Cons: The tour is rushed, the tour should be 1 hour not 45 minutes. The guide talked with a pretty bad mumble (maybe trying to rush) so I couldn’t understand most of what he was saying. Side note: The group of people we were with in the tour (not the castles fault) were super rude and aggressive- you could tell the tour guides were used to it. It was mind blowing.. full grown adults nearly pushing each other over to get a first look, arguing with the guides, cutting each other off, continuing to ignore the guides instructions to help with preservation, etc. Don’t be these people. Enjoy yourself. Relax. Don’t be rude.

Odi AP

Really enjoyed the upstairs tour, cost $35.00. There were only 4 people on the tour, our guide, she was very knowledgeable and nice. We then took the grounds tour, there were about 45 people on this tour, saw the grounds, pool table, movie theater and both pools. Upstairs tours was worth visiting

John Baker

Absolutely 💯 percent awesome! I loved everything about the castle and the grounds. Your tour guides are very informative and so are the bus drivers. It's a lot warmer at the top of the hill then at the visitors centers, so dress accordingly. Yes, you can bring bottled water. I would suggest u bring your own or it's $4.85 in the gift shop.

Youlonda V.

I am not going to write much about this review because it will not capture how awesome this place is. We only did the Grand Rooms Tour. The tour is 2 hours long. There are 4 different tours (Grand Rooms Tour, Upstairs Suites Tour, Cottages and Kitchen Tour, and Julia Morgan Tour). It is recommended to make a reservation on the California State Park website. I will post pictures of each tour as I visit them. This castle is a must see!

Regan sobaje

Heart Castle is amazing! We did the Designing a Dream Tour. It was super cool and my kids loved it. Even the bus ride from the visitor center up to the Castle was fun. Be aware that there is no food allowed on the buses or in the Castle, only water, so leave them in the car before you get in line to get your wristband in the reservation line. Ask for a junior ranger packet for your small kids too when you get your wristband from the ranger there. The other people on the bus, etc will tell you they 'Don't do that anymore', but they do, and it's really a fun way to get the kids engaged and they get a badge pin too. Some of the smaller tours max out at 14 people, so if you have a large group keep that in mind. It's like a private tour if you book them all!

Mike Fowler

We loved our visit to Hearst Castle. It exceeded my expectations. Friendly staff, well organized, beautiful grounds, fun and informative tour, we did the Great Rooms tour. We didn't book our tour ahead of time and it was fairly busy when we arrived, fortunately we had a short wait for the next tour to begin. Highly recommend.

Claudia Mendoza

Hearst castle is such a great experience overall, wear comfortable shoes, be prepared to do some walking around the large estate. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions. My husband and I have done 3 of their tours so far and each tour just unlocks more incredible history about the Hearst Estate, we love coming here!

Robin K.

So much to see. Many different tours you can take. Tour guide was great. Shuttle nice out to the castle. Place is awesome and very well cared for. Buy tickets and reserve your time as it's busy. Some tours can have a lot of stairs.