Hearst Castle Reviews

Porta potties are the only option on the property. Paid $40 for the holiday tour and the State of California can’t afford to operate a bathroom facility? On behalf of my fellow Californians to the visitors from out of state, I apologize.

We have been to Hearst Castle many times. This time we decided to take the Julia Morgan tour. What an amazing tour. There are typically only eight people on this tour but it was only the four of us. This is my favorite of all the ones we have done. Our tour guide was Maury. He was fantastic. So knowledgeable. We learned so much and went all over the castle. We definitely saw parts of the castle that other do not get to see. It was the perfect tour. We highly recommend it to others.

My wife and I were first time visitors. We purchased the Grand Room tour as suggested. Watch the included movie before you take the tour, it is entertaining, educating, and provides a great background for the tour. We enjoyed the narrated bus ride up to the castle and back down. The Tour was interesting and our guide was entertaining as well. Enjoyed the opportunity to walk around the gardens and grounds on our own after the official tour.

Is it a huge place so it is frustrating to see only a few parts. You have to buy several tours if you want to see more. You do not have any free time to take photos by yourself even in the gardens. You are always with a guide who let you get back to a bus too quickly.

Many years since last visit. Took the grand rooms tour. Ranger was very good giving the tour. Bus to the castle was comfortable enough for the relatively short ride. Only problem were the portable toilets.no working toilets. Apparently a pipe broken which is not yet fixed.
Plenty of parking. Buy your ticket online. Go on a weekday if you can, otherwise, it may be very crowded.

The actual property was spectacular and our guide was knowledgeable. However, our guide, Paul, was a bit rude in my opinion. He would not wait for the entire group to enter a room before he started to speak. One woman asked a question once she got in the room and he said, "I already answered that question." She WASN'T in the room to hear it the first time. Maybe he was just having a bad day. Also, they show a movie at the end so we went to see it. When we came out, the gift shop was closed for our entire group. Someone should of said something. We get an ornament everywhere we go for our travel tree, but was not able to here. Also, I tried to order online from their gift shop with no luck. With all of that said, I suggest you go and read his bibliography before you go.

The building and grounds are of course spectacular but our experience was a little so-so overall. On the day we visited, it was raining - unexpectedly - very hard. Most of the people on our tour had arrived without umbrellas, us included, and dressed for much more clement weather. However, the tour still had mandatory stops outdoors and by the time we made it inside we were all soaked to the skin - something which could have been very easily avoided if the venue provided umbrellas for such surprise rain storms.

The tours are spaced so closely together that one group basically ran into the next and our tour host and the one behind had an argument between them, at full volume in front of both groups, about who should have been in the first room at that time. It was really uncomfortable and unprofessional. There also seems to be a real difference in the script between guides. Ours was more focused on the architect and the room features, the guide behind us told far more animated stories about the guests who stayed at the house. It would be nice to have a blend of both.

Would visit again to see other rooms but certainly would hope for a less rushed and crowded experience.

My best tip is to arrive early and watch the film BEFORE you go up to see the house, it'll bring it to life a lot more.

We were a little wary since there seemed to be a few mixed reviews. We were pleasantly surprised. The guide was great - very knowledgeable and well-paced. The home and the acreage is breathtaking. The story of Hearst and Morgan is very interesting. The furnishings and art are cool too. We only wish they would allow for a combo tour so we could go upstairs. It was definitely worth the time, especially since we were staying in Cambria which is very close.

The 30 USD per person is something you should think carefully about. The tour is a bit long-winded; it is not possible to escape because you have to stay in the group.
The "Castle" is mainly a mishmash of all kinds of bought-together stuff from the interwar period in Europe and simply put together in a styleless way; it is reminiscent of the style of nouveau riche Russians/Arabs. The Castle is a concrete building that is only partially decorated. The view over the surrounding countryside is impressive and the indoor pool (the highlight) is second to none.
When we were there, there were only horrible construction site toilets at the Welcome Center; the other toilets were all closed.

Worthwhile stop on a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway! The Grand Rooms tour of the Hearst Castle provides a good overview of the Mr. Hearst and his castle.
Since the Castle is still owned by the Hearst family and is still "functional", there are no explanatory signs, etc. describing the background, history, etc. of what's being viewed (beyond what the tour guides can explain).

The tours all start from the Visitors' Center, where visitors board buses for a ~15 minute ride each way up and down to the Castle. Time at the mansion itself is about an hour and 15 minutes, so visitors should allow for at least 2 hours.

For some reason, after one recent November tour that started at 2pm, the Visitors' Center exhibits and shops were all closed when the tour group returned from the Castle.

Stunning. Well paced & organized. Guides provide history lessons and answer all types of questions. Can get very warm, dress appropriately.

The visitor center includes a movie about the construction of the castle. Don’t miss it. The grand rooms tour was excellent and showed you the pools and common rooms. Take pictures as you go, because you can’t revisit areas on the tour.

If I could give 0 stars I would. My family and I arrived at 4pm which was the time we had booked our tour for, as it was unclear on the email that we were getting on a bus and that the bus was leaving at exactly 4 we were unaware that we had to arrive earlier. We arrived to show our tickets at 4 o’clock to which one of the staff told us we had missed the tour and the bus had already left. (The lady was abrupt and rude and clearly wanted to go home as it was the end of her shift.)To which we explained we had arrived at 4 and nowhere on the email did it clearly state that we needed to be at Hearst Castle earlier. We had driven 155miles to make it and explained this but the staff didn’t show any care. The manager (Dale Masten) came out and proceeded to be foul and rude and said it was our fault and was not at all helpful even though we got there on time. He laughed at us and proceeded to tell us it was our fault. We then asked for a refund, as his member of staff (Rachel Mellinger) had said we could get a refund. Dale then refused to give us a refund and told us to call reservations and continued to laugh at our predicament and then shut the blind on us to halt any further conversation. He muted his microphone and refused to talk to us at one point. What an extremely disappointing experience, ruined by the manager Dale who frankly was vile. A lesson in customer service and training is highly recommended to all staff at Hearst Castle. At no point were they sympathetic to our situation and they did nothing to help try and resolve it. We tried to appeal to their better nature but unfortunately it’s seems none of the staff have a helping nature which is surely what is required in tourism.

This is one of the coolest places and stops off of the Pacific coastal highway in California! A castle in the middle of California literally! Book your tickets in advance because if you just show up then you might have to wait an hour or so for the next tour. And you can see all the tour options online as well. I did the grand rooms tour. I booked it an hour prior when I knew I was an hour away and it was perfect timing. You get in a shuttle and the bus drives you up there to meet your tour guide the tour guide then takes you through different places on the outside of the castle as well as on the inside. The huge pool of the end is my absolute favorite. I wish I could swim in it! There’s also a pool outside in the beginning as well and they make a joke about how there’s only four ways that you can swim in it. I’ll let you take the tour to find out. Next time I go I want to do some of the other tours as I think this was the second time I’ve done the grand room tour. It’s really cool hearing the history of the place and how it used to host celebrity gatherings, etc. Used to have a lot of animals, but those were all sold off, but sometimes you can see zebras close by, the tour guide told us. The dining hall is huge with a huge fireplace and flags and if you look up at the ceiling, there’s carved saints above. also, it has a Theatre that is really cute and amazing. This place totally gave me European castle vibes. definitely worth a stop! I’ll be back again for sure!

A well organised tour - coach up to the 'castle' where we met our very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. She could answer any question and conveyed a genuine love of the place and the people who lived there or visited it in it's hey day. The tour was just the right length of time for a first time visit and the group size was good too.

Our trip to Upstairs room of Hearst castle. Castle was a fast forward trip. I am giving 1 star for 2 reason .1) during my visit to Hearst castle in 2019 they allowed the public to use the rest rooms at the visitor center.
This time our visit to Hearst castle in 2024they put those portable dirty bathrooms outside the parking lot for public .they had unhygienic baby Changing portable bathrooms.
And when we asked why cannot we use the restrooms inside the visitors area , they replied it is for the staff only.
We as a visitor pay for the price and castle is run on this money and they treat us like this.
This is not acceptable.
2) the trip was a fast forward trip. As soon as we get out of the bus We were dragged from one area to another and could not see any area properly. We could not take a single photo outside the castle.They were rushing to start the next tour and rushing us ..
As soon as the trip was over we were forced to sit in the bus.
I remember my trip to the castle in 2019 and it was much better.
These people who manage Hearst castle have been professional and just keep on having more tours and spoiling the quality
I would definitely not recommend such a trip to my friends

Hearst Castle offers a captivating look into the past featuring a blend of architecture, art, and history that leaves visitors in awe of its wonders. Nestled above the breathtaking California central coastline, our tour guide Donnelle Guiltinan led our tour of the Grand Rooms where she carefully crafted entertaining anecdotes along our journey of the grounds and first floor of the Grand House. Her impressive knowledge of the history and art of the "Enchanted Hill" provided us a deep understanding of how the Castle was built as well as how it was used in its heyday. She was polite, friendly, warm, and considerate of everyone on our tour -- encouraging interaction and ensuring everyone had all their questions answered. We enjoyed her tour so much, we booked Donnelle the following week for the Suites Tour where we explored the upstairs rooms of the Grand House. Here, Donelle shared even more stories about William Randolph Hearst, his guests, and the many historical artifacts throughout the Castle. If you enjoy architecture, art, history, gardens, or Hollywood's golden age, there is something for you at Hearst Castle, and I highly recommend asking for Donnelle as your guide to the magic!

I agree with “wanderingwulfs” review. We just did the $30 tour yesterday and we had a similar experience. We felt rushed during the tour which would not be so bad if you were allowed to go back to some favorite spots and soak in the view, the art, the landscape, take leisurely photos, etc. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly but talked very fast and garbled. Often, none of us could understand what was said. Fortunately, we had an extremely small group. Any bigger and at least with this particular tour guide, it would have been even more frustrating and disappointing. On a positive note, it was a spectacular day weather wise. The views going up and down the hill on the bus and up at the estate were breathtaking. It doesn’t hurt that California has turned a velvet green these last few weeks after the holiday storms. This was my third trip to HC and definitely the least enjoyable. I would still recommend going but with a lot of caveats about the way things are done now compared to pre-pandemic. I hope things will improve and would certainly need to before I go back.

We did the "upstairs" tour. Our tour guide, Jenette, was excellent! Very knowledgeable and funny too. I definitely recommend this tour. Ask for Jenette. She's great!

Impressive building with interesting story. An odd mixture of styles, but with a surprising pleasing outcome. Overpriced tours. They keep a huge gift store and pricey food, but closed restrooms facilities. After a price and short tour one has to use portable restrooms. Not recommend

My wife and I have been to 156 countries and have been in Kings and Queens castles all over the world. None of the antiques in those could compare to the Hearst Castle, as we are antique connoisseurs. The castle is not fully finished and not in the best of shape. But the furnishings, art work and building materials are truly remarkable. Some as old as 1000 years and really spectacular to see.

One word of advice. If you're thinking of taking the "Julia Morgan" tour, don't bother. California's accomplished first female architect has a lot of fans and for $100 you'd assume that this tour would be much more academically inclined for a more sophisticated & knowledgeable audience, but no. I took it AND the "upper suites" tour for $30 and they were essentially the same. You wonder how State Parks/Castle management justifies the more expensive tour; you won't learn much.

A museum like no other, the castle website boasts. Indeed, even my visits to the Colosseum, the Royal Alcázar of Seville, the Louvre, and the Met paled in comparison. It was as if we had been transported to a maximum security prison with the tour guides as guards watching our every move. Don’t touch that! They barked when you put one hand on the outdoor marble swimming pool pillar for pictures. Move! Because the next group are coming, or they threaten to call security on you. Step your foot outside the indoor grey carpet path, same treatment. And the audacity to brag to us about how they themselves have played billiards using the pool table in the recreation room. Must be nice for the state park staff to enjoy the estate at their own pace, no cost, and without anyone barking at them.

My husband and I did the Upstairs tour with a total of six in the tour group. Our guide, Craig, was terrific and knowledgeable. It was evident he put a lot of time into learning the history and intricacies of not only the home and artifacts but also the stories of those who enjoyed the rooms we visited.

As a covid conscious couple (masking in 2023, limiting public outings, and avoiding crowded spaces) and as a person with significant anxiety, I hope to offer my review for those who are considering the tour but worried about logistics. The many reviews mentioning the less crowded upstairs tour were spot on, and I’m so glad this is the tour we chose.

When arriving at the visitors center, I was pleased to find ample space despite the number of people visiting on a Saturday afternoon. I recommend online reservations to guarantee your spot, but we showed up to scope things out first. The line for tickets was quick, with no waiting, and we purchased our tickets on-site for the next available tour. There’s space to sit outside and enjoy a snack (bottled water only on the tour) and a gift shop to browse through while waiting for the bus.

The bus terminals are outside. The Upstairs tour boards a different bus than the Grand Rooms Tour. I was pleased to find fewer than 12 people boarding our bus, which made for a spaced-out, pleasant ~20m ride, whereas the Grand Room Tour had lots more people on them. The buses have windows that can be opened, and the ride is pleasant, with an Alex Trebek narration on the way up and down that shares the history of the road, family, and sights along the way. The sweeping views alone make the trek worth it. On arrival we were greeted by our guide and a wild Fox nearby enjoying its forage of one of the many shrubs on the property.

The tour itself was great. Lots of stairs (my phone clocked six flights, but it was a little more than that), and spaces were small at times, but with a group of six, it wasn’t as confining. Most rooms have fans and humidity control, which helps keep air moving. The end of the tour leads you back to your chariot with the same number of people as the ride up. I didn’t clock the tour length, but it was about a 1.5-2hr adventure by the time we got on the bus to when we left the gift shop and visitors center.

There you have it! Hopefully, this gives a better visual for you if you need to know before you go and help quell any anxieties. Enjoy! It was worth the visit, and having lived in the area but never visited, I’m glad I made time to learn a little more about the big house on the hill.

Open the bathrooms!!
Closed restrooms not disclosed on website. Bought Grand tour-enjoyed tour but after tour and drop off back at visitor center we then went looking for the restrooms. They were closed-you had to go outside to port a potty! Needless to say this left a huge sour feeling of “come in-spend your money-but we’re not providing simple bathroom facilities for you”.
We asked for a refund on our next booked tour and left.
I will not recommend this place until they reopen bathrooms. By the way- we were told this was because of the drought.

Girls' Trip to the Castle! I have wanted to go here for some time. It far outweighed any ideas I had about this place. It is BEAUTIFUL and has such a wonderful history. It has many great treasures from old European houses and churches. The exterior and interior design is magnificent and creative. We did the Accessible tour, so one of our travelers did not need to do the stairs. We did not miss a thing. We had the most amazing tour guide, Denelle. She was fantastic. It is top notch with gorgeous views all around.

This just gets better each time I return they have added a theater and a film at the visitor center it’s a must see. Take advantage of all the exhibits and artifacts they have at the visitor center either before or after your tour. We ate at the center too the beef burger was excellent the beef is raised grass fed on the local ranch. The tour and the guides are full of information and are delighted to answer questions. The grounds are exquisite the pools extraordinary the views are beautiful. The interior of the castle is full of priceless treasures it’s a mini trip to Europe a must see.

This will be a mixed bag. I don't want to unnecessarily review trash this venerable attraction, but I will be frank and you can decide for yourself. I understand it is a part of California history. I have been here (on the tour) perhaps a dozen times now, it is part of my family's traditions, and, I still bring overseas visitors here because tourist want to see it. That being said, I am growing more and more cynical about Hearst Castle as the years go by.

Essentially, it is a California State run historic site which was the personal seaside mansion and playground of a newspaper tychoon. There is nothing wrong with that. I understand that grounds upkeep on such a place must be expensive and the fees help the taxpayer burden I'm certain. But, I have been to other historic sites and even mansions that are free to tour. I can see how an uninitiated tourist can get caught up in the neat pageantry.

Hearst Castle must employ a literal army of state employees to docent, drive buses, sell tickets and gifts, run food kiosks, landscape, art preserve/restore, pool clean, feed the menagerie of animals, and provide security. A general admission hour-long tour will set you back $30 (Sept 2022). The visitor center is huge! the gift shoppe is vast! the parking lot is amazing (with solar panels and well organized lines). It has morphed into a giant tourist trap. Actually I am surprised that it is State run.

Here's the thing. As I grew older and more sophisticated, I was less impressed with the opulence/decadence part of Hearst Castle. I started to notice little qualifying words in the tour spiel like "replica", "based on", or "reproduction of". And I started to realize that Hearst, unlike Getty, or JP Morgan, who have their own very impressive collections, did not have an especially refined taste in art or architecture. I don't recall a single great or recognizeable, original, art masterpiece on the whole tour. It reminded me a bit of seeing Liberaces's cars, furs, and collections. Ooh... ahh. Also, the tour guides name -drop all sorts of once famous celebrities from another era. I wonder how many millenials recognize any of these names, and really, who cares if Lillian Gish once swam in this pool or played tennis on this court.

I recall my favourite parts of the tour as a kid were the two pools, and the private screening room. Now, I kind of feel like, eh, I am paying to view (not swim in) a swimming pool and a home movie theater.

What do I still like about Hearst Castle? the free to view zebras. The effort that the tour guides make to make it interesting, like pointing out the owls to scare woodpeckers away. And wandering around air conditioned gift shoppe while I wait for my guests to finish their tour.

We had an amazing tour with Daniella. Be sure to ask for her. She is extremely knowledgeable and knows a lot about the buildings, the people who visited the castle, and the architect, Julia Morgan. She is a delightful guide.

The Hearst Castle is a tribute to the all American mantra of money can buy you anything.

In many ways, the castle is ostentatious in the extreme but if you were one of America's richest men, why wouldn't you splash your money about - and William Randolph certainly did!

Julia Morgan, the incredible architect responsible for creating this masterpiece of indulgence needs to be recognised for what she was: a genius.

Our guide clearly thought he was auditioning for a part in the next Tom Cruise movie but I suppose that working at the Hearst Castle does lead to fantasies.

Why not? I bet I would be the same after a week showing off to visitors.

I chose the "Upstairs Suites Tour" since it's a smaller group, and felt that it gave a good overview of the castle. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, let us ask questions, and kept us going the whole hour +. Learned enough about Mr. Hearst, was amazed at the artwork collection, and saw plenty of rooms (maybe 9?), including the tip-top of the castle. Beware: lots of steps so should be in shape for this one.

We have been coming to Hearst Castle for many years but this was my teen daughter's first time that she remembers. Our tour guide was overall friendly but she focused more on the scandals than the history, which is what we kept asking about. For some reason she singled out my teen daughter and kept giving her a hard time (she wasn't doing anything -besides being the only person under 30 on the tour). We were disappointed at the end our tour to be ushered directly onto the bus. They currently do not allow you to explore the grounds/gardens after the tours and there was no time permitted for pictures during the tour.

WOW. My kids and I did two tours on the same day. If we had time, we would have done even more. So much to see and experience. More art and artifacts than an actual museum. Simply stunning, and a must see. Loved getting the history of the family and the castle itself.

The Castle and grounds are beautiful.
We went on two tours: "Grand Rooms" and "Upstairs Suites". Outside Roman Pool and inside Neptune Pool are fantastic! Casa Grande (the main building) looks like a Catholic Church though it is nothing similar to a church inside and is surrounded by naked statues and figures of animals. Tour guides were knowledgeable and nice.
We also saw barbarian sheep from Africa roaming near the Castle - the descendants from Mr. Hearst's zoo animals - it was very cool!
Allow 2 hours per tour. Keep in mind that temperature on the top of the hill is higher than at the bottom.

We did the Grand Rooms and Upstairs Suites tours last about 10 days ago and thoroughly enjoyed both. Cannot add much to prior comments about the Castle itself but thought I would make a couple of logistic notes:

Firstly, there is no option to stay up top and catch sequential tours. You have to go back down and then back up again. We booked the 0900 GR tour and the 1120 US tour and had enough time for a pit stop between them at the Visitor Centre but it does take a fair bit of time to make the connections.

Secondly, speaking of pit stops, the VC restrooms are still closed so the only option is the portables outside. These were reasonably clean and functional but anyone with an aversion to using them is advised.

Staff at the VC and the tour guides were just excellent.

This a must see if you’re in the area. It’s a beautiful place with so much artwork. Our tour guide was awesome, but sometimes we couldn’t hear her because she was in the front of our group of like 40 people. I saw some reviews about not being able to wander and having the extra guide in the back for stragglers, but i didn’t find it constricting at all. The regular tour is over an hour with many chances to stop and take pics. I was, however, very disappointed in the bathrooms being out of order at the visitors center. The only available ones are portables outside and our tour guide said it’s been like that for YEARS. Many chances to purchase foods, souvenirs and other items but no functioning bathrooms?! Unacceptable…Fix the bathrooms.

My husband & I visited Hearst Castle over 20 years ago and I had great memories of the tour, so I took my son this morning. It was SO disappointing. The tour barely covered anything! We only saw five rooms inside the house and just a little bit of the outside grounds. The last time we took the tour, we saw the interior of one of the guest houses and some of the bedrooms. For $30/ticket, this was extremely disappointing. We barely got the see anything! Save your money and go see the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose instead.

We took a small detour on our road trip to make a stop here. Despite experiencing very quiet roads, the car park here was very crowded so it’s a popular place. Our initial view was that the ticket prices were high, but by the end we felt it was value for money. The welcome centre is pretty underwhelming but then you are allocated to a group and put on a bus. The ride up to the castle is about 15 minutes and provides great views over the Pacific coast. Then the castle comes into sight and it’s magnificent. Our informative tour guide gave us great information about the history of the castle and the Hearst family (at least up to the mid 1900’s). The castle is very impressive and we really enjoyed seeing the indoor and outdoor pools, the hall, dining room and billiard room as well as the “home movies” featuring so many well-known names from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Well worth going.

Gorgeous place and informative tour. Not great for kids -our 6 year old was bored on the tour and wanted to touch everything! There are a lot of steps so part of our party took the ADA tour which has a limit of 4 people. They have no public bathrooms right now -only port-a-potties.

Took the first tour out at 9am for the grand room tour. Our guide was very informative and overall a great experience. Would return for another tour

The Castle is operated by the California State Parks and reservations are required. Parking at the visitors center is easy and ample. Restrooms are available there, but not on the Castle tours. There is food, gifts, informational movie, displays, etc available in the center- which is free to visit.
Tickets for tours are picket up in the center and shuttle buses take visitors up the hill to the Castle. There are a variety of tour options. Touring the main house is a must for first time visitors. There are also tours of the Guest Houses, Kitchen, Wine Celler and the grounds including the amazing pools as part of the variety of tours.
When in California a visit to the Central Coast is highly recommended and include Hearst Castle while in the area.

We did the main rooms tour with Nina. Great guide, however, could have given more basic info about Hearst and architecture. There was some talking down to my teenage kids (eg, do you know who Charlie Chaplin is, yes, obviously) and the notion of Hearst as an influencer which is vastly different from a media mogul in a time when newspapers were THE media. Nonetheless we enjoyed the tour and it was worth doing. However, there were maybe 4 photo books in the gift store to our surprise and dismay. I think that was kind of derelict of the park to just sell mugs and crap. I was hoping to find books on early 29th century media, etc.

We visited here with a family group. One needed extra help with wheel chair access. Helped through out adventure. We had the pool and downstairs tour. Just amazing. Pools were so clear, inside one was really unbelievable. Inside downstairs rooms were neat and gave you an insight of how meeting guests were handled. So much detail, really hard to take it all in. Will have to back an see the other tours.

I loved this place! It was fabulous! We did the Upstairs Suites tour and if we had more time we would have done the Grand Rooms too. It is a stunning property, the pools will blow you away, the suites, the library, the stories. It's a must-do if you're in the area.

After two years of trying to visit the Hearst Castle (closed in 2020 due to Covid and then landslides in 2021), we finally made it today (1/7/23). We lucked out and only had 5 people on our Grand Rooms Tour (all tours are timed entry - the group before us had at least 30+ people). Tickets are $30 per person for a tour of one level of the home (four rooms and the two pools). This includes a shuttle ride up from the Visitors Center to the castle.

Having toured the Biltmore in North Carolina, the Hearst Castle fell short. Our tour guide was informative and entertaining. The castle, however, did not have the opulence that the Biltmore exhibited. At the Biltmore, you can tour the entire home at your leisure. The Biltmore has extensive gardens, conservatory, impressive architecture, etc. On the Hearst Castle tour, you must purchase multiple tours in order to see the entire estate. There is no offering to see the entire castle. This would be a great addition to their offering considering that the castle is quite far from any major city.

We had also read that you would have unlimited time to explore the grounds. Apparently, this must be the area near the visitors center near Hwy. 1 - not anything surrounding the castle itself. The tour itself felt a bit rushed, and at the end, you are whisked back into the shuttle back down to the Visitors Center. The views from the castle grounds are stunning, but there aren't many viewpoints or time to actually appreciate them.

Hearst castle was an unscheduled stop on our road trip and I'm so glad we stopped there. What a gem. It's a beautiful place and has a very interesting history.
I would thoroughly recommend stopping for a couple of hours, it's well worth the ticket price.

Many european Artifacts in the castle were made centuries ago and are beautiful. But they were made to last centuries more , unfortunately the head staff worries that the outside air will damage all artwork, so no windows, no doors are opened to cool the interior while you are there on tour. They have humidity regulators to keep a certain humidity level, but NO COOLING , nothing to prevent guests from fainting from heat like it happens yearly when guests drop like flies to the floor. Even the Supervisor admitted his shirt is dripping wet when he's there. iF YOU DONT OPEN WINDOWS AT LEAST INSTALL AIR CONDITIONING!!!

Also, Lead Guide named Mona is very rude to guests and staff.

We visited Hearst Castle many years ago so we thought we would try one of the other tours - Designing the Dream. We had a fabulous guide, Todd, just the two of us as it turned out and got to see one of the cottages from the early phase and the north wing of the Casa Grande, the final (unfinished) phase. All very interesting. However, new rules for unknown reasons no longer allows you to wander around the gardens after the tour. Instead, we were escorted straight back to the bus. This was a HUGE disappointment as it was one of my best memories from our previous tour.
Furthermore, all the restrooms in the visitors centre were closed, which we understood to be longstanding for unknown reasons, and we had to use the port-a-loos outside - 3rd world standards. I won’t even go into the catering offer. Very poor visitor experience. All in all, poor value and we were left with a feeling of huge disappointment.

Wish I could give this 5 stars because the place looks fantastic, straight out of a movie, and they had a veggie burger in their restaurant (very high-priced, though), but I just can't bring myself to say this place is great because of its history and who built it. Once you know the background, that kind of taints the place. It's still magnificent to see, but like all the grand houses in the US, how they came to be is depressing. On the one hand I'm glad these places are open to the public and this one is a venue that brings in money to benefit the park system and it truly is beautiful, but on the other hand it's a shame that it exists at all and I feel kind of gross paying money see it. But I only learned that while on the tour. Had I known in advance, I wouldn't have gone. But that's just me and my principles. So 4 stars for beauty, 0 stars for shameful history.

Rude employee ruined trip. A ranger “greeter” was extremely rude and nasty to guests. He clearly does not like working with people and should not be working directly with the public until he receives proper training. I’m not surprised to see the previous review mention having a similar experience with rude employees.

I thought the tickets initially seemed a little pricey, but after my Grand Rooms tour, I was ready to pay for another! The tour guide was very informative and the castle itself was spectacular. Sadly, my schedule did not allow me to book an additional tour but I would go back in a heartbeat. The only downside at the time was that the bathrooms were port-a-potties because I think they were doing renovations. Other than that it was great! Highly recommend. Make sure you buy your tickets in advance so you can get your preferred time.

We had an amazing private tour of the castle with Donnelle! 🌟 Her stories were fascinating, and her warm, thoughtful approach made the experience unforgettable. Huge thanks to her for sharing such interesting insights—it truly brought the castle to life!

Be careful reading older information. Since Hearst Castle reopened to the public after the pandemic, guests are no longer allowed to roam the grounds after the tour.

Each of the 4 main tours is 70 minutes long, and at the end of your tour you must immediately reboard your bus, and take the 5 mile trip back down the hill to the Visitors Center. If you wish to take a 2nd (or 3rd) tour, you will need to take the journey back up and down the hill each time.

The main, 'Grand Rooms ' tour leaves approximately every 10 minutes, and will accommodate up to 56 people...a full city bus. This is the tour where you see the main entertainment rooms.

The other 3 main tours are limited to no more than 14 people, so think about that if you want a more personal experience.

None of the tours has elevators or escalators; at a minimum you will be climbing 7 flights of stairs, and there's definitely truth in advertising for the 'Upstairs' tour : lotta up. Lotta stairs.

Lastly, keep in mind that there's likely to be an enormous temperature difference between the Visitors Center and Hearst Castle. In the summer, it's not unusual for Cambria to be 65 degrees, and Hearst Castle to be 30 degrees warmer. This is important because, as another guest commented, there's no air conditioning, and half of the Grand Rooms tour is outside. Bring water with you.

Even with 1 tour, Hearst Castle can easily fill a half day. The tour ticket includes admission to the Imax film, plus the excellent museum near the back of the Visitors Center....which hardly anyone seems to know about. When I was there, I saw only 2 or 3 other people in the museum, which is a shame because it has a lot of interesting exhibits.

Myself and a friend booked the upstairs rooms tour. Very lucky we were the only 2 booked on the 09.20 tour that morning. Paul, our tour guide was outstanding. We were both blown away with the amount of information he knew, and we found him extremely friendly and helpful all the way through the tour. This was my third visit here but by far my favourite due to Paul. Highly recommend anyone to visit this beautiful place.

Donnelle gave us a wonderful MOONLIGHT ART TOUR that made us feel like we were getting a glimpse into life at the castle and the parties they had! The sunset and riding of the moon were spectacular! The artwork and tapestries are beautiful! Wear good close-toed walking shoes for safety walking through corridors and stairways.

Tour was informative and covered a good amount of the castle. Beautiful and historic grounds. Very ornate and unbelievable artifacts. I don’t think this is for younger kids. My teenagers tolerated it. If you happen to be in the area, it’s good to catch. There’s a free film about the building of the Hearst castle which was interesting.

We actually made the trip just to see this location. This is a very well maintained iconic treasure of a historic house. The history is well presented in the introduction film and the museum is also well worth a visit for more on the background of WR Hearst and the construction of the estate. The grand tour is a great introduction to the layout of the estate. Optional tours are well worth the added time spent.

Good location for Hearst Castle visit. Easy to find, just off CA 1. Across highway from ocean but healthy walk to beach. Good breakfast to start your day.

Beautiful site and location, however, restrictions and tour amounted to quick herding. We did the Cottages and Kitchen tour. The tour is rushed and tightly guided with no time for walking the exterior and taking pictures. This is unnecessary rush by the guides and operators. Road repair was in progress but I don't accept that it caused the rushing and herding. Even the guide was apologetic and knew this was unnecessary. It is a management decision and totally lacking in allowing visitors to enjoy this property unrushed. Management needs to lighten up and let visitors enjoy the property for a few minutes. Very sad to see this approach. It takes most, if not all of the joy out of visiting the Castle. Extremely disappointed.

Having been to Hearst Castle many years ago, we came to the Visitors Center which was new to us. Not having the time for the tours which we have taken in the past the person at the information desk suggested we walk to the back of the center to the Museum.

This was very well done with the bio of the entire Hearst family, the architect who designed many of Hearst's building including the Castle. Great memorabilia and photos of the interior. Really no need to walk through again!

Hearst Castle is a luxury estate on the hills above San Simeon built by media entrepreneur William R. Hearst over many years. Celebrity guests from Hollywood, politics and business once put their hands on the doorstep here, including Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill. A visit is only possible as part of guided tours.

Access from the visitor centre is by shuttle bus up to the property. Including shuttle and guided tour, you should allow around 90 minutes. Entry costs 35 USD per person for most tours, which I find rather expensive.

The main building and the three guest houses combine numerous historic European architectural styles. Inside you will find countless artifacts, artworks and collectibles that Hearst has collected over decades. The iconic indoor and outdoor pools in the ancient Roman-Greek style are particularly impressive and offer great photo motifs.

The story of the former private zoo, one of the largest of its time, is also exciting. Even today, some animals still live freely in the surrounding area, including zebras, which you can see with a little luck.

Personally, the overall concept only partially convinced me despite the dedicated leadership. It's all missing a common thread. Many things seem like a hodgepodge of different styles and objects. To me, this seemed rather strange and not harmonious.

Overall, an interesting, well-organized visit with high show value, but not everyone tastes good.

After reading the reviews here, I was on the fence—so many people sniping about officious guides, poor audibility, etc.—and, yes, it’s expensive and a little challenging to get to. Also, my spouse and I were traveling with our four-year-old. But my brother and his wife had gone years ago and raved about it, so we decided to make the trip. I’m so glad we did!

From almost the moment we started on the bus ride up the hill, I knew it was worth it: the views down to the ocean were spectacular, but so was the sense of going to and doing something momentous. The castle is amazing, and so was our guide, Gary, who filled in so much detail and brought everything to life. (We did just the Great Rooms tour, and then watched the movie afterwards.) I honestly don’t know what the complaints are about: if you’ve toured historic homes before or spent much time in museums, you know the drill: don’t touch stuff, don’t go wandering off. And if you’re traveling with kids, know what they can handle: ours was only intermittently interested, but she’s a reasonably patient, only child who’s used to museums and adult stuff, so we judged, correctly, that she’d be fine. Many wouldn’t, and that’s fine! (There were maybe 4 other kids under 10 in our group, so not a lot, but they all did great.)

Two tips: definitely use the facilities before you go up the mountain, since you won’t have the chance there, and bring water. It was 35 degrees hotter on the mountain than down at the visitors’ center (so, 100 degrees at 10 am in August).

My one note is that the gift shop needs to carry a real biography of Julia Morgan. The tour and movie give ample credit to the trail blazing architect, but the gift shop Carrie’s only a crappy, YA, $5.99 bio of her (compared with half a dozen books on the Hearsts).

But just go. I look forward to going at least once more in my lifetime.

I wish i confirmed the name of my docents and guides. I believe it was Mike and Lara. Mike was a phenomenal docent; He was so interesting, articulate, funny, engaging and knowledgeable with history and art periods. I really enjoyed learning about other Hearst Estates like Wyntoon mansion. Lara our back end guide was great too- her task was to keep us all in a group together She was so kind and patient with me as i kept falling behind and wandering around to take pictures. She never rushed me or scolded me. She instead recommended certain vantage points to get the best photo. The estate in itself is amazingly beautiful, but the docent and guide made my experience the best. Thank you so much :)

We totally enjoyed the tour and were mesmerized on it. Took some amazing outdoor pictures and really glad we went on this tour, was a real winner.

They have taken all the fun and wonder out of this experience. You may no longer explore the gardens at all. Instead, you'll spend 90 minutes listening to docents oscillating between boring commentary and reminding you of their many rules. I used to love visiting, but it's changed completely. They literally added two docents to our overcrowded tour just to make sure everyone was following all the rules. If you love rules, then spend the money to have them barked at you here!

Hearst Castle is open again. We booked 2 tours from their website: the Grand Rooms tour at 11AM and the Upstairs Suites at 1PM. We arrived a little before 10AM at the visitor center and showed our reservation email barcode at the ticket counter, and they gave us wristbands with barcodes for each of the tours. The wristbands are scanned to get on the bus. Before the tour, we watched an informative 40 minute film in a nice theater that explained how WR Hearst’s travels at an early age influenced him in building the castle later in his life.
At the appointed tour time, we boarded a bus which took about 15 minutes to get to the castle, sometimes stopping briefly if animals on the grounds happen to be near the route. The tour at the castle itself took a little over 1 hour, then boarded the bus again to go back to the visitor center. Since they don’t let visitors wander around the grounds at the castle, each tour must depart from the visitor center. So if you book multiple tours, it means multiple bus trips. This should be better explained in their website FAQ so that people can budget time when booking multiple tours.

When I booked the tickets, I was worried that we might have to wait a long time between the tours, but due to the time it took to ride the bus, sometimes waiting a few more minutes for everyone to get on the bus if many visitors are on the same tour…we ended up having only 5 min between our tours for a quick bathroom break. I would probably space the tours by 2.5 hours apart if going during peak season to not feel rushed.

There is a cafe where we got sandwich and soup to tide us over until dinner. There is a small museum and gift shop in the visitor center so definitely things to see/browse while waiting for tour bus.

We enjoyed both tours. The Grand Rooms is a must do for 1st time visitors, but the Upstairs Suites tour is just as impressive and unique. Both tours start at the Neptune pool outdoors and end at the Roman Pool indoors. The Grand Rooms tour had about 40+ people while the Upstairs tour we went on only had 4, so we had opportunity to ask more questions and take more unobstructed photos. Both tour guides were very good and knowledgeable and we really enjoyed the day.

Beautiful chateau , reconstructed from European furniture rather medevial inside
Pools , one indoor, the other outdoor are sumptuous
The highly supervised visit is interesting but only in English
Very surprising to do +++

My title says it all. The owner of this castle was a self-indulgent millionaire hoarder millionaire. It almost appears as if he acquired his art and animal collection collections through the black market. The worst was the tour guide - I couldn’t stand listening to him after the first 2 minutes. Lastly, the cafe counter worker was incompetent and would have much rather have spoken to her coworkers than do her job. I was the only one in line and it took about 10 minutes to purchase a beverage that didn’t require any prep work, from start to finish. There are no indoor bathrooms, and no bathrooms on the 2 hour castle tour. Save your money!

The tour experience is lovely. Our guide, Donnelle, is excellent! She is experienced, knowledgeable, fun and kind! She knew the photo spots and gave us time to take our photos.

What a fantastic few hours, we took this in on the road between Carmel and Santa Barbara and whilst it was a bit out the way because Route 1 was closed, it was well worth it.

What a great insight into the rich (super super wealthy) and famous. Well worth a visit.

History, architecture, opulence, and scenery. This place checks all these boxes, but it has been over-glorified for commercial purposes. Mandatory tours and over-zealous security have made this visit unnecessarily expensive. Perhaps that was intentional so as to keep it exclusive.

We have visited several castles in Europe/Scandinavian countries at a fraction of the cost. There is no need for babysitting just to justify the prices.

There are 4 distinct tours, meaning you can not visit the entire place without paying that exorbitant price.

One trip is ok. Pick a sunny day so that you can enjoy a good view.

We went during the week with less guests. The methodical Great Rooms tour was very good. Worth the price of admission.

It is an expensive place to visit, but I suppose it costs a lot to keep up. It gives a glimpse of how a rich person can get rid of their money. I prefer places you can explore on your own. Perhaps they do not trust the locals to not touch stuff. I wanted to go just because of the movie Citizen Kane, knowing it is not exactly a parallel. However a famous place you should see if you cannot think of what to do.

Two visits over a period of 5 years 1.5 stars out of 5. 👎 Why? #1 Crowded tours. #2 Very little photographic opportunities without getting a cluster of people ruining your shots. You want someone taking a photo of you in front of the pool standing alone? Forget it. #3 The tour leader rushes through because the tour behind us is catching up. #3 I was taking photos in a room by myself, due to people in front of me blocking the doorway to the next room (crowded). I was then THREATENED with being KICKED OUT of the tour for "being alone in a room". I did nothing wrong. I was standing AT the doorway! 🤷‍♂️ #4 There is never an opportunity to just sit or stand and relax and take in the scenery to admire anything. #5 want to go on multiple tours? It's the worst. You waste time and they waste fuel on the mandatory bus rides: You can't exit one tour and wait at the castle. You've got to take the bus ride all the way down to the entrance listening to Alex Trebek - again. Get off the bus. Ordered to wait in an area. Get back on the bus. Listen to Alex Trebek's narration which gets tiring very quickly as it's on repeat. Ride the bus all the way to the top. Get off. Go on the tour. Go through rush rush rush. Maybe get a few shots where there aren't 15 other tourists in your photo. #5 There isn't an opportunity to relax and admire anything. Take in the serene landscape. This place could be run like The Getty Center in Los Angeles, but they choose these rules and hen-peck you all the way. "Come on, come on, let's go. Hope you enjoyed your tour." No. I did not. #6. The only thing that gives this place a rating above 1 is the location, serenity, architecture and artwork. I probably will never visit a 3rd time unless someone begs me and pays for my ticket. 😂👍

I had no idea who the Hearst family was/is or why they had a castle, but my husband wanted to do the tour. I still found it interesting learning about Hearst in the Grand Rooms tour, and the property is stunning!

We did the "Design the Dream" tour. It was my first time there. The tour and our guide was great. We got to see parts of the Castle and the process. The guide helped us learn and see alot during our time there. Certainly would recommend for anyone with the time in the area to stop by as a destination or just part of a longer trip.

If you are interested in this place I doubt you would be disappointed - such a unique building with genuinely stunning design, views and artefacts to take in- made for a lovely afternoon for our family of four. Our kids are 10 and 8 and they appreciated it.

Our tour guide was excellent- really knowledgeable, pleasant and happy to answer questions. The film shown before the tour called “Building the dream” is very good as a background setter and is a nice way to spend 40 mins learning the history before visiting.

The castle itself is stunning and not as tired or as kitsch as we expected. It was a shame we weren’t allowed to explore for ourselves outside of the guided tour but we understand how they need to minimise damage to the property.

$90 for two adults and two kids is not cheap but for something so unique and stunning we felt it was worth it.

The only disappointment was having no proper functioning toilets - only portaloos in the car park - which is ironic for such a palatial setting costing us $90 to visit for a couple of hours.

Overall though we really enjoyed it.

Let me start by saying this place is incredible and just setting foot on the property deserves 5 stars but I’m writing this review to help other travelers plan since they just reopened after 2 years and things have changed. This was my first visit. We chose the grand rooms tour since it still said on the website we could explore the grounds on our own. You can NOT do that anymore. We did not find that out until we got there. The entire tour is 90 minutes including the ride up to the castle. The guide kept repeating “take your pictures now because you won’t have another chance” but in doing so you never hear THE TOUR! Once you get inside you are smashed wherever you ended up in line because the tour is wildly overcrowded so you see whatever small portion of the room you are standing in….again never hearing the tour because he is not mic’d up. And if you want to tour some other part of the property…back down the hill you go to purchase. We did not do that given our time constraints. Very disappointing.

It’s been more than 40 years since my last visit. Excellent tour guide and had a great tour. The use of port a potties is ridiculous. It also feels like they are buckle and dining you to death with all of the tour choices.

I came with my friends and it was a nice time. Donnell was our tour guide and she was great! Very knowledgeable, funny, and easygoing. The castle was chill too.

We had the absolute pleasure of touring Hearst Castle with Donnelle, and she was outstanding. My husband and I took both the Upstairs Tour and the Grand Rooms Tour with her, and each one was a delight.

Donnelle has a wonderful way of weaving history with personal stories and fascinating details about the people who visited the castle. She answered every question with warmth and ease, and her love for what she does really shines through.

My husband had waited over 60 years to visit Hearst Castle...something he’d heard about his entire life...and he said the experience more than lived up to his expectations. I felt the same way. Donnelle truly brought the castle to life and made the experience unforgettable.

If you’re lucky enough to have her as your guide, you’re in for something special.

The State of California has done a great job with a welcome center and busses to drive visitors up the windy road. The late Alex Trebec narrates the bus ride to prepare us for what we will see. We took the Grand Tour of the first floor. It was warm outside as we stood on one of the terraces, listening to facts about Hearst and Julia Morgan, the architect of the place. We progressed to another terrace to hear some more. I wished that I had brought my hat to protect against the beating sun. We saw Egyptian statues that Mr. Hearst had brought over to his chateau. Inside the house, we saw medieval choir stalls used as paneling. We learned that Mr. Hearst controlled his guests with a strict schedule of evening activities during which he served watered down wine. It's a beautiful building and is worth seeing. Still, the negative personality traits of Mr. Hearst subtlety come through the narration, which is meant to be positive.

We stopped by Hearst Case as part of a West Coast tour for Spring Break. The property is amazing and they have done a terrific job of keeping it intact and true to the state of it at the time. Our teens were most impressed by the Neptune Pool and dining areas and we were all blown away by all the art and historical items integrated into the design.

We did the Grand Rooms tour and I’d love to go back for some of the others, to include the upper bedrooms, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Hearst Castle. I first took the Grand Rooms Tour, which was introductory. Later the same day, I took the Upstairs Suites Tour. Both were excellent. The Grand Rooms Tour included the Casa Grande main building, including the Morning Room, Refectory, Assembly Room, Theater, and Billiards Room. The Upstairs Suites Tour included both William Randolph Hearst’s Gothic and Celestial Suites, the latter being at the bell towers’ level. His library is sensational.

The beginning and end we encountered very rude employee. The man scanning where you load the bus and the cashier in the gift shop. Really need to improve their interactions.
Tour itself was good except for the constant nagging of keep moving, stay on the blue carpet, don't touch anything.
Disappointing.

I took the Grand Rooms tour of Hearst Castle. There were only 10 people on the tour and in my opinion, the pace of the tour was too quick. Hardly enough time to really enjoy the beauty of the property. It just seemed to me that the tour guide wanted to get through the tour as quickly as possible. I would have enjoyed the tour more had I been given the opportunity to hang around after the guided tour on my own and explore the lush gardens and flowers and views.

The castle itself is fascinating. So much grandeur and extravagance. Lots of great stories. We did two tours our guides were brilliant Jessica and Nina. The film
was interesting and well done.
We had to go back down to get another bus up for the second tour what a waste of time all round. The toilets were out of order and the portaloos were gross. They should at least get some decent temporary loos . The food selection was poor mainly fried. Not the standards in the visited centre Hearst would have hoped for. Needs improving .

Took the Grand Rooms tour, and since it was low season, there were only 11 people on our tour. Looks like they have a much larger capacity, and I dont think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much on a full tour. Our guide was friendly and interesting, and have us looks of interesting details about the Hearsts and their guests. Really interesting place, with so much going on in each room, and so well maintained. Would definitely recommend.

An amazing development and history. Lots of stairs on several tours but well worth the effort. This is a palce you shouldn't miss.

We did the grand rooms tour in August 2024 and loved it that we came back July 2025 to do the upstairs tour. We found between the two tours the upstairs tour was much better. Both tours are unbelievable but we liked that the upstairs went to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors and got a new perspective from the inside. If I could only do 1 I'd do the upstairs by far.

We had an interesting and worthwhile visit at Hearst Castle. I did think it was a bit pricey ($35 for an adult) especially for the limited number of rooms that we saw. If they had included the upstairs bedrooms, I think it would have been much better value for money (but that is an additional paid tour). I think the rooms in the house will be more interesting for those who haven’t visited a number of palaces/castles in Europe. However, the exterior of the palace was really interesting and the view of the Pacific Ocean was beautiful.

The bus ride to the castle was 15 minutes and the actual tour was 1.5 hours. Personally, I would have preferred an audio guided tour so that I could go at my own pace (the tour went into a bit too much detail for me at times). There is a 40 minute optional film which you can watch (which I found to be interesting and informative).

You should be aware that currently they only have portaloos which isn’t very nice for a huge tourist attraction like Hearst Castle.

• This was a must see for both Tom and Yvonne as we have talked to several friends that have visited the castle, and thus giving us very positive perspective. We also have read about the history of Mr. Hearst.
• The experience starts with getting on a site specific bus where they take you up about 1,000 ft to the Casa Grande (my ears popped on the way up) 123-acre estate.
• The tour takes you around the outside of the three front cottages, with a sky view of the ocean below. The private airstrip that Hearst used each day as he flew home from the big city in his two engine DC-3 airliner, there is also a large pier where friends of Hearst would dock there yachts when coming in for a visit to the estate.
• We went on with an imaginary “Day in the life” visitors routine when arriving at the mansion; first passed the MASSIVE outside swimming pool, then to the living room, then into the dining room, then the gaming and billiards room, then to a mandatory movie theater viewing of the latest flick (film), ending the day with a swim in the indoor pool.

The estate / attraction is now owned and managed by the state of California.

Cannot tell you how impressed we were with our experience at the Hearst Castle. We booked an early tour and had only eight guests in the tour of the grounds and lower areas. The docent Neil was extraordinarily well informed and we had a great time. We had to go back down the road to catch the second tour we reserved for the upper rooms. We had lunch then went on our second tour with docent Liz. She was great! Her knowledge of the paintings and the history of the rooms was remarkable. Hopefully the portajons will be removed soon, but all in all, a wonderful day was spent here.

Our family of four visited the Hearst Castle on a Wednesday in July. We ordered our tickets online and chose the Grand Rooms Tour. This is recommended for first time visitors.

Hearst Castle is a state park and is beautifully maintained. When you arrive, there is plentiful free parking at the visitor center. Every tour begins here. Inside the Visitor Center is a gift shop, rest rooms, some fast food, a mini Starbucks, a kiosk selling the meat from their stock and some coin presses.

About fifteen minutes prior to your timed tour departure time, everyone gathers in the waiting area and then goes outside to board a coach bus. The bus travels up the hill to the castle. Along the way, you may see some wildlife. The bus drops you off at the top where the castle is and you first climb some stairs to see the gardens outside the castle. After viewing some of the gardens, plus the view down the hill and the castle from outside, the group heads into the castle. Inside, you travel through a number of beautifully decorated room including an assembly room and a billiard room , an indoor theater and a large Dining room. The last part of the tour takes you to view the Neptune and Roman pools which are quiet impressive. Everyone re-boards the bus and heads down the hill back to the visitor center. The view traveling down is very scenic. You travel a different route and can see the remains of the cement cags for the exotic zoo.

This is a worthwhile stop on your visit up the California Coast

Want to be fair…let’s start with the good.

Arrival and buying tickets was easy and the staff were friendly. They had to move our start time due to an issue on their side. But it was not a problem.

The movie - narrated by Donald Sutherland is excellent - a must do. The ride up the hill was interesting and many facts were shared. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and did try to answer a lot of questions.

The not so good - I felt rushed. You must stay in a group and cannot wander around alone. That’s disappointing but not surprising when you think of the valuable collection and the nature of some people. Other than the movie there were no other exhibits and that was disappointing and the main building is very focused on selling food.

The bad - something happened to the bathrooms and they only had portables. They tried to keep them clean and crews were on hand - but still - really? I am a big gift shop fan and yes they can be expensive at times - but WOW were the prices high for very generic and simple items.

I struggle with the cost versus the return on investment and the short time seeing the main room tour. We could have purchased other packages but those costs were also very expensive.

I do recommend the visit - it’s fascinating but comes with a hearty price tag and limited time at the Hearst Castle itself.

We did two tours on rehearse castle one on July 30 with kitchens and cottages our guide was taught. He was very informative and a nice gentleman. Knowledgeable and courteous. In fact, he was so good we decided to take a tour the next day instead of leaving town. We did the grand tour. Our guides Donel and Kimberly. Donel what’s the primary lead guy? She was extremely witty and made the whole tour fund. She had a routine down with information and amusing antidotes. Extremely fun and was able to answer all our questions. There was something about Donelthat made you drawn to her. She was an exceptional guide.

Pictures can not capture the incredible experience of Hearst Castle. We spent two days taking two different tours and I wished we had another day to go further into the depth of this castle. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and you are free to ask questions. The beauty of the castle is everywhere.

I visited 40 years ago but not my husband, so with the long weekend, we decided to go to Big Sur then Hearst Castle except HW1 was closed. We end up stay at one of the beach resort closed to San Simeon. We did the Grand tour and our tour guild Randy was exceptional!! He was passionate, energetic, Knowledgeable and friendly!! Sharon on the other hand was one nasty women!! She was not friendly and mean!! She will yell at you if you by accident touch something or accidentally step over the other carpet!! She treat us like an uneducated cattle!!
After all we are all adults and pay customers, she should be a little kind and try to be professional!! Except her, everyone else at the store or cashiers were super nice and friendly!!

We visited Hearst Castle as a stop on our drive up the PCH from LA to San Fransisco.
We booked two of the tours, the Grand Rooms Tour and the Upstairs room tour and whilst this means the costs mounts up a bit, they were well worth it and I would recommend booking both. If anything we slightly preferred the Upstairs Room tour as we found it more interesting, but the Grand Rooms Tour was good and provided good background information:
The Tours had a mix of everything, a chance to drive through some of the beautiful countryside and admire the unique landscapes, an insight into the history of the USA and the Hearst Family, plus a chance to see an amazing house that contains some historic pieces.
A really good stop and a chance to see something you are unlikely to experience elsewhere.

The place was absolutely beautiful. The interior of the home was amazing. I liked the stories the guide told. Lots of antiques all over.

So glad we took the time to visit Hearst Castle. The visitors center is right off the highway. (At the time of our visit the portable toilets near the parking lots were the only restroom option.) The visitor’s center offers a gift shop, cafe and is where tickets are purchased for the different tours. Tour groups are bused up the hill while listening to a recorded audio portion about the property. Once at the top the guide and security welcomes guests. This was an amazing property!

(A few miles north is a beach with lots of Elephant Seals, also worth stopping to view.)

Great tour of Hearst Castle, amazing views and tour guides were knowledgeable.
The location was hot, would recommend suncream, water & hat for shade.

We did the Grand Rooms Tour (which I’ve done previously) and thoroughly enjoyed it again.

We booked tickets online in advance. We arrived before our tour bus from the visitor centre to the castle was leaving, but they didn’t allow us on. We had to rebook for the next trip (which was only 20 minutes later, and had two people on it). The lady at the check-in made a huge deal out of this, which started the tour on a bad note. If she had moved quicker, then we would have made our bus on time.

Anyway, the bus ride was lovely. It’s a great way to get an idea of the size of castle, as you catch glimpses on the way up. Our tour guide was magnificent. She was so knowledgeable, and entertaining. Because we only had a group of eight, it was easy to stay close and hear what she had to tell us.

This time we went into the Theater (where they used to show movies to the guests) which I’ve never seen on previous tours. It was very interesting.

The highlights are the two pools, which are amazing. It was fascinating to learn that you can actually swim in the Neptune Pool (for a huge price). That would be luxurious.

We saw quite a few animals on the ride back down on the bus. But the highlight was seeing zebras on the property, close to the highway. It was very exciting.

This is a must see. We did the main room tour and watch the Building a Dream movie. Fascinating place and beautiful. We only saw a fraction of the place but amazing. Tons of staff all very helpful and friendly.

We took both the tour of the main rooms and the upstairs tour. I would recommend doing both. The place is amazing. If you love old house tours don’t miss this one. It is a bit hard to get to but well worth the drive. I’ve wanted to go for years and now that I finally made it, I was not disappointed.

Very rude behavior of staff. Ot all started with you cant carry a stroller. We were fine with that since it was just a 2 hrs tour. I can't say if it was racism or hatred towards kids but the moment we reached the castle there with my two girls the guide was like-dont touch the pillar, don't walk outside carpet, make it quick, you can't feed here. Hell raiser it was than a dreamy castle experiece that we expected. Teach some manners to staff rather than telling us how to limit our fun. Or was it because of our skin colour?

The history behind the Hearst Castle is captivating! Our tour guide was full of so many facts and details which made it so educational. There is a movie offered, included with your admission that is a must see!. When it is available, can't wait to take the Art Tour!

Although an amazing place to see the tour starts by getting fleeced at the food store with incredible highway robbery prices for simple food items. You can already feel you’re getting taken for a ride from the start. Best to bring your own food! Movie also expensive!!

Wow! Simply majestic! And it’s not finished. He ran outta money! There’s gold inflated in the floor. The indoor pool has gold in it. It’s spectacular. The fireplaces are huge. The size of a mental.

I've lived in CA since I was 6 months old and this was my first time to Hearst Castle. It is impressive. We took the great rooms tour. A lot of the interior decor is too ornate for my taste but I enjoyed the tour. I will definitely go back for another tour.

We've visited Hearst Castle many times over the years. It never fails to amaze. This beautiful castle/ranch would have been given 5 stars but for one thing. The state of the restrooms. These have been out of action for nearly 2 years now. This is unacceptable. The portacabins which are located outside the main building are the cheapest, filthiest I've ever come across. They are shameful. I'm sure that the California Parks Dept don't ever read these reviews but they will lose visitors if they continue using these disgusting toilets. There are plenty of companies that lease much better quality ones than these.

This was a highly elaborate house that was built by a rich guy. It isn't very old. It's a house, not really a castle.

Now owned by the parks department, weirdly it feels very money-making business.

$30pp to get a ticket to go and tour the castle (well two rooms and the outside). You are bussed up from the visitor centre.

Look it's very pretty, not what I expected and I wouldn't do it again.

Not worth the money.
I was keen to just take a photo of it as a pretty thing we saw but this wasn't possible.

Visited with my bro in October 2022. I like the building, especially the magnificent indoor swimming pool. I saw some zebra near the Hearst Castle. Zebras in America!

Had we known what we were getting into, we’d definitely have skipped and done a beach hike instead.

You will park at the bottom of the hill at the visitors center, choose one tour which shows the grounds, pools and limited rooms inside.

The ride up the hill is about 20 minutes on a large bus. Ours reeked of antifreeze and there are only small, intermittent windows. There’s music and audio on the way up about what you’re seeing.

We did the great rooms tour, which felt simultaneously long and short. We only saw a handful of rooms which we were crammed into (you can only step on specific carpeted area) and couldn’t really move around to see the space.

The tour is basically of the Hearst family history. They were rich and built a castle and also a private zoo until they ran out of money and donating animals to zoos and the grounds to the state. The space is somewhat interesting, but not worth the time and money.

The bus ride down is basically all about how you should donate money to preserve the building and art, which seemed offensive considering this was built on the whim of a wealthy family, which we just paid to see and is owned by the state.

My husband and I took the Kitchen and Cottages tour on his birthday. We had purchased tickets online, but we still had to check-in and get bracelets when we arrived. There were snacks and coffee available for purchase. However, get there with plenty of time to finish eating and drinking. The bus ride up the hill was spent listening to a recording of the late Alex Trebek. The recording was informative and timed to the specific route.

We were greeted at the castle by our guide. She introduced herself (she remembered our names throughout the tour, impressive!) Her name was Donnelle. She was charmingly witty and overflowing with detailed information on every little thing. She told us stories about so many intricacies of each room. We felt as though we had slipped back in time to a place where dreams were built, beautified, and flourished. She was energetic and enthusiastic. That was helpful because I get kind of bored when listening to someone who seems monotonous. She kept us engaged! So thankful for that. I feel like I learned so much.

The bus ride back mimicked the ride up. We were then greeted by employees trying to sell us souvenir photos they captured before our tour. We thought it looked commercialized, so we opted to enjoy and remember the day with our own photos. Our guide even took a few of us at the castle.

There are several tours to choose from. This is our third tour, and the best so far! We will be back.

We joined the Upstairs Bedroom tour since we already did the Grand room tour last time. It was amazing, each room is unique and decorated with arts and antiques. I especially love WR Heart's study, it is so elegant and awesome!
This tour also includes the Neptune pool, the most beautiful I've ever seen, and the Roman bath house (indoor pool).
Our guide, Calleen is great and there were only 4 of us, like a private tour!
After the tour, there is a 45 min. film about how WR Hearst build the castle with help from Julia Morgan, great film.
Visitor center has so much information and a museum about the Hearst family, be sure to spend time here.

Absolutely beautiful, opulent, glamorous, mansion. Took the ADA tour to eliminate stairs. Our guide TIM was outstanding. He was incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and personable.

Unbelievable that there are places like this and that people live/lived like this. The staff is unbelievably careful in assuring for the care of the castle and makes sure nothing is touched that shouldn't be. When you pull in the parking lot, you may think like we did 'Where is it?" Get ready for it. Once you check in you are assigned to a bus (we purchased our tickets online ahead). I would describe the approximate 14 minute bus ride to the castle as 'death defying'. You kept getting higher and higher and the bus went so fast. I envisioned our bus going off the side and exploding into a fiery ball of death more times than I care to admit. No worries, though I seemed to be one of the few passengers that was thinking this, everyone else was carefree and oblivious to the imminent danger. All kidding aside, I was terrified of the ride, and I don't know how the bus drivers do it. When I was brave enough to sneak a glance from the view of the bus ride it was unbelievable. The ocean and road below could fit into about an inch opening of my thumb and indiex fingers. On to the castle. The guided tour is strict, you have to stay with the group, but it is amazing. At the end of our tour we watched a movie with Hearst himself. This is a must see.

We signed up for the upstairs rooms tour. I would have liked to have done a bit more but there don't appear to be connecting tours and the pricing per individual tour is not cheap so this will start to mount up if you do more than one tour and you're a large family.

This is a well organised operation and the guides are knowledgeable and friendly. We were lucky enough to be the only ones on our tour at the time we visited so we had a personal guide.

The film after the tour is well worth seeing and is beautifully done.

The artwork is extensive and impressive.

As one of the other reviewers mentioned, you can't roam the grounds by yourself at the moment because of covid restrictions and our guide was very apologetic about it.

There is a cafeteria on site but as this is a captive market, its overpriced for what they're serving.

Will definitely come back another time to see another aspect of the house.

Visiting Hearst Castle was an amazing experience! The visitor center has lots of info and a huge gift shop, where you can spend a lot of time browsing.
The castle itself is an art/architecture lovers dream. The design of the property and house is absolutely beautiful and the art is a reflection of what Hearst loved as a kid travelling around Europe.
I took the Grand Rooms tour (reccommended for newbies). I can't wait to go back to do some of the other tours.

How to best enjoy a trip to Hearst Castle:

- Buy your tickets online in advance. I recommend a morning tour, before it gets too hot.

- Bring sunscreen, bottled water, and a hat, especially if you're visiting in summer and fall, when it's really hot at the castle.

- Arrive at the visitor's center at least one hour before your tour begins. Check in at will call to get your wrist band, then proceed to the theater to watch the intro film. It's 40 minutes long and runs every 45 min. It's best to watch this before your tour for background info.

- After the film, visit the bathrooms, because there aren't any once you start your tour. Currently, the only bathrooms are portables in the parking lot. In the morning, they're not bad, but I imagine they're less inviting once the heat really hits.

- On the bus ride to the castle, sit on the right side of the bus for the best views of the castle as you approach.

- The walking tour takes a loop around the property, so you don't see the same place twice. If you see something you want a photo of, get it while you can.

- After your tour, the bus will return you to the visitor's center. You can't do two back-to-back tours, you have to come back to the center and then go up the hill again.

The Grand Rooms tour is a great intro tour if you haven't been to the castle before. It's one hour, half spent inside and half outside, and includes both pools. This is a good tour for kids, as it hits the highlights and isn't too long. I really don't recommend bringing small kids on tours, though, because you'll spend the whole time stopping them from touching things or stepping off the pathway, making things much less fun for you.

Overall, this is an incredible place and it's certainly one of my favorite sites to visit in California. Come prepared and you'll have a great time.

As for where to stay nearby, I highly recommend Cambria. It has a cute downtown with plenty of shops and restaurants, and is only 15 minutes away from the castle.

This was my second time at Hearst Castle so we did the Julia Morgan tour. It was amazing! Our guide Khrys was very knowledgable and friendly. He was exemplary at shepherding our group of 8 around to avoid the larger tour groups. We learned about the architecture legend that is Julia Morgan and saw several of the private rooms on the upper floors and guest houses. The view from the turret rooms were worth the price of admission alone. If you're an architecture geek, definitely consider this special tour.

Hearst Castle is extravagant and excessive. There are gorgeous panoramic views, beautiful pools, and an impressive art collection. There are so many different tours to choose. We did the Grand Rooms tour and watched the 40 minute “Building the Dream” movie (narrated by Donald Sutherland). Our tour guide Nina was absolutely fantastic. She was engaging, projected well, and had a wonderful sense of humor. Our bus driver was funny too. (The bus ride up and down the hill included a narration by Alex Trebek.) All the staff we met were very courteous. It was fun to look for the herd of wild zebras grazing on the property off highway 1. Don’t miss the nearby elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas Rookery. Please note that there are no working indoor bathrooms for visitors to Hearst Castle. There are plenty of porta-potties outside the visitors center.

Absolutely beautiful. An incredible feat of construction. Only were able to do the main room tour but plan to do more later.

Extraordinary place to visit - I am sure the tours of the other areas are similarly amazing. Tour guides were v knowledgable and helped bring the place alive again. Do more the cafe is pretty awful so don’t rely on it. Surprised there were not more books telling the story of the Hearst family.

A context-free celebration of the grotesque confection of a megalomaniac.

Our tour guide was friendly and welcoming but the tour script felt patronising and superficial. The tour completely ignores where the money for all this self-aggrandisement came from.

The curators shirk their responsibility by not putting this ridiculous folly in any kind of context.

Instead we got a patronising episode of Lives of the Rich and Famous.

The experience left me angry.

Hearst Castle is an amazing architectural achievement, a breathtaking art museum, and a spectacular location. There are three separate tours that cover the property, the first takes you through the large rooms on the main floor, the second will show you the guest rooms and William Randolph Hearst's private work spaces and living quarters. The third tour shows of the three guest houses and the service areas in the main building. Each tour takes about 70 minutes. That's useful for an introduction to a place with an involved history and thousands of first-rate art objects, but if you were to make subsequent visits, you would feel rushed and frustrated, taking the same tours again. I know because this was my third visit. We appreciated the major improvements that the conservators have done in repairing the Neptune Pool, the magnificent coffered ceilings, and many other repairs that continue to restore the Castle to pristine condition.
We encountered three serious logistical problems during this visit. If you are planning your own visit, be aware of them, and check for yourself if they continue to be problems.
First, The Coast Highway, Route 1, is blocked by a major landslide. The Highway Department doesn't know when it will be repaired, so you can only get to Hearst Castle, which is on Route 1, from the south. To drive down from San Francisco, you must take an inland route, Route 101, to Route 46, and then go north on Route 1.
Second, taking multiple tours in the same day will involve riding the shuttle bus from the Visitor's Center up to the Castle and back down for each tour. That's 20 minutes of bus-riding for each 70 minute tour. As a result, we could only take two tours in one day, not all three.
Third, the toilets at the Visitor's Center are inoperative in part because of storm-related damage and in part because the water supply is inadequate. For a world-class museum, portable construction-site toilets are inexcusable.

This was the best tour ever
I am in a wheelchair and all accommodations were done without ever
Asking. Our tour guide was Ryan he answered every question asked about the Castle He is the best we have ever got the pleasure to meet.

All in all the Grand Room Tour was good. Just don't go in really stormy weather. Couldn't see out the bus windows, part of the tour is outside.

Enjoyed the "Spanish church" created as the combination of one billionaire's money and dream and one leading female architect's ingenuity and vision.

Beautiful legacy, fascinating story, ... an overwhelmingly sense attack to the eyes and the ears.

This is an amazing place for many reasons: architectural, historical, political. The State of CA generally does any impressive job. Tours vary greatly in quality. The upstairs rooms tour was small, informative, and enjoyable. The grand rooms tour was huge, difficult to hear the guide or ask questions, and full of people going in different directions and disrupting the tour in various ways. You can do multiple tours in one day and SHOULD if your schedule and budget allow. My only suggestions to the place are to (1) keep the gift shop/one snack shop open later to suit the time when the final tours end; and (2) get the bathrooms fixed ASAP. outhouses don't really cut it. It's embarrassing State of CA when 100+ year old bathrooms in the castle are far, far better than what is offered to contemporary visitors.

We visited Hearst Castle on 4/16 and 4/17/25. We did three tours, saw the movie, had lunch there and toured the museum. Overall, it was a very good to great experience.
The entry to the state park is easy to see off of Route 1. There was plenty of free parking.
There is no fee to enter the visitors center, see the museum and there is an outdoor viewing area in the back of the VC which gives you a view of the castle, again for free.

The movie (included in your tour fee or $10 as a stand alone) was very good and gave you a good overview of Hearst and the building of the castle. The museum gives you a more in depth overview of the family and building and is free.
Lunch from the cafe was fine and there was a decent amount of outdoor seating.

We took three tours (note the earlier tours seemed less crowded). All of the tours embark from the VC where you get on a shuttle bus that brings you up to and back down from the castle. The drive is a curvy mountain road drive (5 mi.). If you are lucky you'll see some of the wild /native animals.
All of our tours cost $29.50 per person and we bought them on line. We thought all of the tours and tour guides were very good to great. Tour times include the drive up to and down from the castle
The Grand rooms tour (9:20 am) took about 2 hours and had the fewest stairs. It took you from the driveway up to the grand casa via the Neptune pool and through the first floor of the house and out through the roman pool area. It was a great tour and guide.
The upstairs tour (3:20pm) took about 1.75 hours had the most stairs, including lots of spiral staircases. It covered the upstairs 2nd through 4th floors and had lots of interesting rooms. There is so much to see, the tour felt a bit rushed but overall is was very good and the guide was great.
The cottage and kitchen tour (1 pm) took about 1.5 hours. It covered two of the three cottages, the wine cellar and the kitchen area. It was very good, as was the guide.
I thought the the wine cellar was only OK and it would have been nice to see all three cottages.
We'd recommend all three tours. The Neptune and Roman bath pool areas are remarkable.

The only negative to the visit was that the only bathrooms were port a potties. All of the normal bathrooms were closed and had been for a year. According to the ranger we asked they do not expect to have the regular bathrooms working for at least another year.

I went to check an item off of my wife's bucket list. I had passed the castle several times over the years and never had an interest in touring. Wow -- was I wrong . Fascinating place, great history, amazing tour guides. Highly recommended.
We did the grand tour (basically the lower level) and the upper rooms tour. Both were great. If you can get there early (we did not), the tours are much less crowded. Still a great experience even with a large number of people.

OMG water place. If you were driving down the Big Sur it is en route if you miss it you would’ve committed a crime. This place is incredible it’ll take you back to the era of the 1920s and 30s step back in. Time you probably won’t see opulence on the scale anywhere else in the world. Incredible Make the time and effort to see it you won’t be disappointed. The guides are really good fantastic

I had a wonderful first experience doing the upstairs suite tour at Hearst Castle. Lindsey guided my friends and me through the estate with kindness, insight, and a down-to-earth charm that made the tour truly engaging. The castle itself was stunning, but what stood out just as much was how warm and supportive the staff were with one another. Even the bus driver Andrew shared a lovely conversation with us. Overall, an exceptional visit. I would recommend this tour for well behaved children and all adults.

This is a Bucket List place indeed. I have been there five times, in the last thirty years. Amazing views and the drive from Monterey, along the coast on Highway-1 is a must.

We did the basic tour that took us to the 2 pools, gathering room, dining room, game room, theater, and the grounds. It was very informative. We did the 1st tour of the day and it was foggy so couldn't experience the awesome views surrounding the castle. If you've never been here, I highly recommend doing it at least once. Loved it.

Definitely a must see if you are in the area! You can spend most of a day here. Now owned by the state of California. Several different tours offered, at a cost of $30-40 each. Some tour groups are too large and you are required to “move along” too quickly.! We paid $35 per person for a tour of the “great rooms” of the mansion and there were approximately 50 people on the tour with one guide; simply too large! As we moved through there was no time or room to move about the rooms of the castle to look at details. Tours were interesting, but would have been better if smaller and less rushed!

First, there are no public bathrooms. That sign in front of the restrooms that says "temporarily closed?" It's a lie. There have been no public facilities for years. They need to be upfront about that. A place with a restaurant needs a real restroom.

The Hearst cheeseburger was dry but what you expect for a burger cooked medium. (For liability reasons most fast food places will never cook more rare than a medium.) It came out quickly.

Okay, onto the tours. We did two. You will have to shuttle up, come down and shuttle up again. Based on some digging, I scheduled the first tour at 10 am and the second tour at 12:10. It gave us 30 minutes to eat, which worked out but we could've used another 5 minutes. If your second tour is popular like the Grand Rooms, you might want more time between two tours so everyone can go through the stupid photo line.

Anyway...tour guide one was alright. It was the large Grand Rooms tour and had 52 people on it. Required a sweep to make sure there were no laggards. She was a bit bossy but I guess you have to be with 52 people.

Tour two of the Upstairs Rooms was great. Smaller group, and we got the legendary Donelle. She was fabulous, very knowledgeable, pointed out notable art pieces which might have gotten lost amid all the stuff. There's a lot of stuff; Hearst was a collector with more money than necessarily a focused interest. There's also the sense he would bid on something so a Rockefeller wouldn't get it. The black/red Greek pottery in the library is perhaps the most cohesive thing we saw.

I really wish they would create tours with more variety. At least four of the six tours available as of this review repeat the Neptune and Roman Pools.

We’ve taken tours here for many years and have always enjoyed them. This year we brought family from Germany with us and were very disappointed in the main house tour. While the docent was very good, it was difficult to hear her. There was no time to snap a photo, as we were hurried along by the guide in the rear of the group. People were constantly reminded to stay on the carpet, which proved to be difficult because of the size of the group and you were looking up at the artwork. All in all it was disappointing. Suggestions: Smaller groups, space the tours further apart, buy wider carpet.

It was an interesting and informative tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable. We will definitely be going back. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Thank you toei guide Anne Austin for a fantastic tour Oct 14. We ended up being the only couple for this tour end of day. Wonderful! To learn even more about Hearst and his architect Julia Morgan. Thank you for your expertise in pointing out the eight points star motifs throughout the tour. Also the detailed explanation of each piece of furniture and it's time period in history as well as country. Next time we come we will definitely go see we the Julia Morgan tour (2 hrs as you suggested. Now after this Dream tour that one will be the last one to take for us:).

Our tour guide, Donelle, was awesome. She was very
knowledgeable about the history of Hearst Castle and shared her knowledge in an easy to understand presentation filled with facts, fun, and humor. Her in depth knowledge about the art, house decor, historical artifacts, and architecture
encountered on our tour was phenomenal. I've been on a number of Hearst Castle tours, and this one was by far the best! I learned more, laughed more, and felt engrossed in everything I heard and saw. Donelle gave me a thirst to return to see and learn even more. I hope our next visit will be soon and include Donelle as our tour guide

This time upstairs and kitchens, main rooms.
Tour is very dependent on numebr in tour and the tour manger.
No matter the place is fascinating and aweinspiring.
If you are in the arae, well worth a visit.

We were really looking forward to visiting Hearst Castle but the experience was extremely disappointing. The tour felt highly restricted. We were required to stay with the group at all times and listen to the guide regardless of interest. There was no freedom to wander, pause, or take photos at our own pace. A second staff member followed behind, constantly rushing us with reminders not to touch anything, to keep up, and to move along. It felt more like being herded than enjoying a world-famous landmark.

In total we saw just three rooms and the pools. The entire visit felt rushed and impersonal, with tours scheduled every twenty minutes to push people through. For the amount we paid as a family of four, the value was extremely poor.

Facilities were equally unacceptable. There are no proper restrooms for visitors at the castle itself. Instead, guests are expected to use portaloos outside the visitor center, which were filthy and clearly not maintained. The sinks nearby were also covered in paper and grime. For an attraction of this stature and cost, this is appalling.

The overall impression is that management no longer prioritises the visitor experience. The focus is on moving people in and out quickly, not on delivering an enjoyable or memorable visit. If you want a relaxed and engaging experience, I would strongly advise reconsidering a visit. We left very disappointed and cannot recommend Hearst Castle.

The castle is amazing! A must do for art lovers! We did the grand rooms tour. Our guide was informative and stopped for questions. Lots of history and special stories.

I never thought i would enjoy this experience as much as i did. We took the grand rooms tour with a small group of 10. it was an amazing place not to be missed! We even stayed to watch the 40 minute movie and that was also well worth it

Had a wonderful ADA tour at Hurst Castle. It was a rainy day but our guide Donnelle made our day a little brighter! ❤️ she was full of knowledge! Had answers to all our questions. Thank you for a wonderful rainy day experience!

The experience was amazing as we toured parts of the castle to see the enormous and opulent rooms which were built for "royalty"!!
Hard to imagine how all this was done over a twenty plus year span about 100 tears ago.
A must stop for all to see if in the area.

This was a highlight of our west coast odyssey from SF via Nappa Valley to LA. We stayed in San Simeon for one night after visiting this Castle. The history and knowledge of the staff is exceptional. The castle and estate cover over 400,000 acres and the history of the Hearst family is fascinating. It is well worth a stop over and then stay in one of the beachside hotels in San Simeon a lovely quiet and tranquil spot.

At the highest peak of San Simeon, the eccentricity with silver was found.
It's amazing.
There are several tours, including a private one, you do not tour the whole property, ever.
The initial tour is in the large lounges (including the outside, and the two swimming pools), it is in English.
The amazing thing about the place is also how far ahead it was for the time of construction, furnishing and currently the state of preservation.
Another subject apart from the views from the outside.

Overpriced and don’t actually see much of the house…castle. Tour has become tacky with constant reminders of no gum chewing or touching.. we are adults?? Too much time for so lt. get a book instead. Tour focusing on Hollywood days verses the art and furnishings.

Been wanting to come here for 30 years. We did the basic "grand rooms" tour which was amazing for a first timer. Get to know the history through a 45 min movie on a hge screen at the visitor center to arrive early! Tons of parking as the bus takes you up the hill. The views are perhaps the best anywhere in the US. No joke. Great tour, so much history, amazing. I want to see more!

I wish we had the time and money to do all of the tours. This place was amazing! It will be something that will stick with me for a long time. If we come back this way, we’ll do a different tour.

Hearst Castle is a beautiful place to visit. I remember watching Citizen Kane in highschool, seeing the castle brought back old memories. When you take the tour the bus will go by the private zoo on the property. They still have zebras on the property but they are roaming free. The only issue I have is how you take the tour. You have to book multiple tours to see the castle and a lot of time on the bus. Each tour you are required to ride the bus 5 miles up do the 90 minute tour and board the bus for the 5 miles return then board the bus the other tour. We rode 20 miles on a bus. The bus ride is 20 to 30 minutes each way. I wish it was all one tour and one price.

Perfect tour and very impressive property. Most amazing I’ve see. Very organized and informed staff. It’s definitely a must see!

Someone’s extravagant play and entertainment grounds have become a major attraction along the Pacific Highway. A very grand, and fascinating complex, with interesting architecture and colourful history to boot. A worthwhile stop when travelling along the coast. You can only visit as part of a guided tour. We hadn’t booked in advance (recommended) but were still able to purchase tickets on arrival.

Everyone should visit Hearst Castle in my opinion! It is astounding! And also very beautiful. Definitely worth it!

Booked our Grand Tour of Hearst Castle for the 11.10am slot. As we arrived at the Hearst Castle visitor center 20 minutes before our appointed slot, we got a map at the visitor center, then head to the ticketing area to redeem our wristbands. We then lined up for the bus that took us up the hill to the Hearst Castle. Please note that they are very strict about guests bringing food and liquid. They confiscated our mini bag of fish cracker. Water bottles were ok. Bus ride was about 15 minutes along a winding narrow road. During our bus ride, we got to see the beautiful hills, the coastline below the hills and Hearst Castle on the top of the hill. There was narration by the late Alex Trebek. The 1-hour guided tour was very informative. A few tips during the tour: 1) make sure you don't touch on displayed items unless the tour guides said it's ok. Remember this is a living museum so everything you see there is an artifact from a century ago. 2) make sure you take photos of where your tour guide stops because the tour itself is one way, so you don't get to go back and explore what you've missed. The indoor tours were a bit stuffy since we were in a group of about 30 people on a warm, sunny day. We appreciated the architecture of the Castle, art collections, and beautiful gardens. After the tour, we took the bus down the hill. We went to watch the 1-hour movie after we arrived at the Visitor Center. We saw some zebras, but mostly, we saw a lot of black and red cattle.

Our tour of Hearst Castle was amazing. Donnelle, our tour guide, was so informative and energetic. She did an amazing job showing us around and we loved listening to her commentary. Would highly recommend!

We did the Grand Rooms tour and it's as impressive and stunning as you hope it to be. Just truly amazing what was designed and built way, way up in the hills almost 100 years ago. The short version of this review is go and enjoy if you are anywhere close to San Simeon.

With Hearst Castle having been re-opened May 2022, there are three separate tours: Great Rooms, Cottage & Kitchen and the Upstairs Suites tour. One option we would have liked, but couldn't seem to find, was a way to link all three tours together into one mega tour. Otherwise it appears you have to ride the bus up and down the mountain three separate times for each individual tour. That's a lot of time to spend just to see all three tours. For people who have taken the time to go all the way out to the coast, the ability to daisy chain two or three tours together would have been great.

Have never been to Hearst Castle, and with older son graduating from Cal Poly next spring, better late than never!

We did the Julia Morgan tour, which is limited to 8 guests. Highly recommend this tour - it was personal and flexible. The tour guide took us to places not on the main tours, and kept asking us if there was anything special we wanted to see.

TBH, I was concerned about keeping up with the group - the tour description says "approximately 750+ steps" but I was able to keep up, so yay for me!

Give yourself time before and after the tour, there's lot to see in the visitor's center.

Had a wonderful visit /tour of the Grand Rooms. WOW - cannot even try to describe how absolutely beautiful!! Kevin and Mary were amazing guides and extremely knowledgeable!!

The tour treated us like 6 year olds, constantly reminding us of the rules. It was infantilizing. The tour guide herself was lovely. The woman at the Starbucks was rude and dismissive. The indoor restrooms were closed and the portable toilets we were directed to were filthy.

The tour was great, but felt a little rushed at times with a strict timetable. Overall it’s a great experience and is a must do for any traveler.

Our tour of the grand rooms was great, and our tour guide was very informative. We also enjoyed the ride to the castle. The only drawback was there are no restrooms open; only port-a-potties.

A really wonderful house and we had a great guide who was brilliant with his entertaining and informative guide. It is a beautiful house but totally spoilt by there being no toilets, yes there was potia loos but they were disgusting and obv had not been cleaned in weeks. We cut our trip short after the tour as no toilets is a game changer.

The Hearst Castle is one of the gems of Americana !! It is really something that you should see.

As I understand the current situation, there is a "phased approach" on the reopening of the Visitor Center and the Hearst Castle Tours. Best advise is to utilize the website to understand what is going on. The website is excellent !!!
Hearst Castle is not a place that you see along the road and decide to visit. You may find that your trip in California will revolve around your visit to the Hearst Castle.

You need to buy your tickets "ON-LINE" !!! and plan on arriving early at the Visitors Center. You will be taken by bus up the hill to the Castle area. You many want to want to take more than one tour so you need to allow time between tours. The tours are explained at the Website. The basic tour (Grand Rooms Tour ) is excellent. You have a guide for the tour who is usually a great story teller. It is my understanding that you can reserve tickets up to 60 days in advance.
So, you may build your trip around the visit to Hearst Castle.

Other somewhat obvious points about a place to say before and after. The Hearst Family still owns a huge amount of land surrounding the castle which is still open land. Most of all, you should start with a full tank of gas. Gas Stations are infrequent on the Pacific Coast Highway !

When you leave going north, look for the sea lion beach. It will be on the left side of the road which is the ocean side. It is amazing to see the sea lions sleeping on the beach in the sun.

We enjoyed the Grand Tour of the gardens and great rooms. I recommend buying your tickets in advance and going early in the day. We were very happy that we went before the heat and the crowds started up (around noon). The tour guide that we had was fabulous and so fun and knowledgeable. Every bit of the tour is special, from the gardens to the pool to inside the house. Hopefully someday we'll get back there for the other tours. The ride up the mountain is long but be sure and listen to Alex Trebec as he introduces you to Hearst Castle. You'll learn so much! On the way down the mountain be sure to look for the zebras on the right side of the bus at the bottom. You can also see them from the visitor center, but it was special glimpsing them on the drive down. Be sure to watch the movie that is included with your tour ticket (don't remove your wrist band before going into the movie). The museum at the end of the visitor center is worth a walk thru as well. Enjoy your time there!!

This visit is relatively disappointing.
Not by the place itself that concretely shows the madness of the greatness of this press magnate and the little American culture that makes each piece inspired by the most beautiful periods of European culture, its castles, cathedrals and its architectural know-how.

No what is disappointing is that visits are extremely restricted. You visit at most 4 rooms and some exteriors. But relatively interesting rooms such as bedrooms, kitchens, ... will only be visited during a second visit, itself at high Award.

So the Award of this visit is disappointing today... at worst a near scam.

Unless you’re really into architecture and weird gaudy things, I would not recommend it. They split the castle up into sections and you have to pay for each section for a tour($30 per). The castle from the outside is beautiful but the inside is quite frankly one of the tackiest things I’ve seen. The man who built it combined all the different kinds of architecture into one castle so it’s all over the place. It’s unfortunate you can’t just go take pictures outside - you need to purchase a tour and take a 10 min bus ride up the hill to get to the castle. They also did not have any working bathrooms and had some of the most disgusting portapotties outside. For how rich the Hearst family is, it’s a wonder why these choices were made.

Our family with younger kids had a good time. It pushed their limits of patience, but the grounds and amazing objects in the castle were big hits. Highly recommend booking your tour online and just show up 10 minutes before the bus leaves. No reason to wait around. The guide are informative. Be prepared for heat. It was warm!

This is one of those truly unique travel experiences - can’t recommend enough! The drive itself via bus up the hill (the views!) are worth it alone. Especially enjoyed the upstairs rooms tour to get a glimpse of personal spaces - fascinating. Tour guides - incredibly professional - really offer an abundance of knowledge. Note that you should grab bathroom breaks when you can since 1)the bus ride up the hill is a little long and 2)only porta potties at the Castle. I’ve never seen panoramic ocean views like this!

Hearst Castle is located at the top of a mountain. Down in San Simeon is the visitor center with a restaurant and souvenir shop and a huge parking lot. From here you will be taken up to the castle by shuttle bus (this takes about 15 minutes), taken on a guided tour and then driven back down. You are not allowed to drive up or walk around the site without an escort/guide.
The path up is laid out in serpentines. You go up on the right and down on the left, so the buses don't have to squeeze past each other.
On the right side are pastures where cows and zebras graze. Yes, we were amazed. They were left over from Mr. Hearst's former private zoo and “released free.”

The restaurant was closed and all toilets were closed. There were only Dixi toilets outside in the parking lot and smaller snack stations.

Everything is cordoned off at the top of the castle. There are guards there every few meters who make sure that you don't touch anything, that you don't run into the area, that you don't step on the floor (you can only walk on the runners that have been laid out) and that nobody stays behind.
We had booked 2 tours. The first was the Grand Rooms Tour. Here you could see parts of the garden, the guest houses from the outside, the large outdoor swimming pool and the most important rooms on the ground floor such as the dining room, the men's room with a pool table, the indoor swimming pool, the tennis court and the cinema.
The second tour was the Upstairs Suites Tour. Here you could see Mr. Hearst's apartments, those of his girlfriend, tons of guest rooms (each designed as a double room, with its own bathroom and each in its own unique style) and also parts of the garden, both pools and the tennis court.

The whole house was very dark, sacred, dark wood, lots of carvings. In the dining room and playroom, the side walls consisted of seating walls (like the aisles in churches).
Mr. Hearst simply bought everything he discovered on his travels that he liked and had it brought/shipped to San Simeon (a port even had to be built specifically for this purpose). These could be Nepalese ceiling beams, Indian doors or Egyptian figures. And if there weren't enough doors, for example, he simply had them carved. The entire border of the house was carved in great detail from mahogany wood. It's unimaginable what all that must have cost.
A number of tiles have already fallen off the ceiling in the swimming pool.

We bought 2 books in the shop that show the rooms well and tell a bit about the story, as you just couldn't photograph the rooms very well yourself. Because you are rushed through quickly, you can't even stay behind for a short time and there are tourists and guards "in the way" everywhere.

Several different tours are available. So if you aren't sure which one to take, talk to the person at the ticket counter. My person asked if this was my first visit. When I said yes, she recommended a specific tour that would show me the highlights without overdoing it. That way, if I came back, I could pick up where my first tour left off.

First the good... our tour guide was outstanding, a young man with a master's degree in history. He was friendly and made the tour very interesting. The additional staff member that took up the rear was also very nice. Even though he had the unfortunate job of telling people to move along and stay together, he did it in a very kind way so that it wasn't offensive. Finally, the movie was very well done and enjoyable.

Now for the rest. According to the website, after the tour you can walk around the grounds at your leisure. This is NOT TRUE. Apparently that was the case before the pandemic, but now they herd you like cattle through the tour and rush you back on the bus. (For the same price, of course.) We felt cheated because that's the part that we were most looking forward to. Next, according to the website, tripods are not allowed, but monopods are acceptable. My husband had three different employees come up and tell him that he couldn't use his monopod. The worst part was the tour guide of the group behind us. She was rushing through everything and right on our tails. We couldn't even take photos of some of the rooms as our group was leaving. Not only was she rushing her group in, she was rude to our group several times. For example, telling us in a nasty tone of voice to hurry up (which we couldn't because there was a line of people in front of us), all the way to telling us to keep moving because our bus was waiting for us at the end (again, with a line of people in front of us, not much we could do about it.) She seemed like she hated her job and that the guests were just an annoyance to her. That really put a damper on the experience.

Also, they squeeze you in like sardines on the Grand Rooms tour, 52 people per group (a whole bus load). It was tolerable in the larger rooms, but I was feeling very uncomfortable and claustrophobic in the smaller rooms. It gave the feel of being a money-making instead of educational organization. As a short person, I couldn't even enjoy looking at the art in the different rooms because it was so crowded, I couldn't see much until people started leaving.

Bottom line, wait a few months and see if they open back up completely. Definitely do not recommend at the present time. It's a cool place but what's the point if you can't enjoy it? If they reduced the tours to 20 people at a time, and left a five minute gap between tours so we didn't have a group on our heels, it would have been much more pleasant. Also, they shouldn't charge full price while they aren't allowing the full experience.

Incredibly located on top of a hill overlooking the ocean.
Excessiveness is the key word in the realization of this castle.
Luxury at the beginning of the 20th century is limitless.
The views are crazy, the pools are majestic.
The guide was top without sinking into unnecessary details.

BE CAREFUL if you book multiple tours at the same day! We booked online for the Grand tour at 10am and the Upstairs Tour at 11:10am, when arrived the ticket pickup, we were told the 2nd tour needs to be rescheduled to the afternoon because we need to take 15 mins bus back to the visitor center after the 1st tour then take another 15 mins bus back to the same building for the 2nd tour… which doesn’t make sense at all! Even worse, there is not restrictions on the website while booking and we need to pay extra 16 dollars to cancel the 2nd tour… The online booking is a scam and the person in the visitor center is also very rude and indignant - “There is nothing we can do!”

We bought our tickets online. It was easy checking in to get a wrist band. Then line up for the bus that takes you up the hill to the castle. Very knowledgeable tour guide. We didn't seem rushed. She answered anyone's questions.

We enjoyed our tour of the castle; our tour guide was very informative. This was our second time over the years to see the castle.
The downside to our tour is they have pit toilets for restrooms and did not disclose that on the website. they were truly disgusting and smelly. They are going through water conservation.

This is a magical place, so beautiful and a wonderful story - much history and many beautiful artefacts to admire.

you need to make a reservation before going
Create an account on California's official website and make a prepaid reservation.
The local toilets were temporary and broken when I went, so be sure to go beforehand (only portable toilets were available).

The castle grounds, gardens, and pool are all very beautiful.
You can take photos freely, so you will be more satisfied with your visit.

Recently I visited Hearst Castle, I have never seen such an amazing place befire. The idea of building it up on the mountain top was brilliant. The views were breathtaking. So magical and something out of this world. I'm so inspired from Mr. Hearst thinking and vision. What a wonderous sight to visit.
Dinning room was so colorful, the same with indoor and outdoor pools. The sculptures from Europe enhances its beauty. Everything about this place is beyond imagination.

Hearst Castle was built by the publishing tycoon Hearst family between 1919 and 1947 and is a national historic landmark in central California.

One of the signature facilities of Hearst Castle is the world-famous outdoor swimming pool which was the scene in lady Gaga’s MV of the song “G.U.Y”.

The decor of the castle is classic, luxurious and brilliant. It was an astonishingly amazing and interesting experience to have the room tour.

They also serve their agricultural products from their farm at the visitors center.

Hearst Castle was one of our favourite stops along the Pacific Highway. We joined two of the tours offered on the day we were there, they were both very informative. The architecture and history of the place is very impressive. We did the basic/generic tour first, where we saw all the must-view places in the estate (such as the big outdoor pool, the gardens and the main house). There were a lot of people on the tour (around 45), which made it sometimes difficult to hear the guide but it was very interesting nevertheless.

The second tour was a bit different. The group was about half the size of the first tour and the focus was mostly in the indoor rooms. Our guide Laurie was great (she was our guide for both tours) and very passionate. She explained to us everything in detail.

The only thing I would change is to not have to take the shuttle bus back to the visitor centre and then back again to take the second tour. It was a bit of a wasted time.

The visitor centre was very interesting too. It had a small museum with plenty of information about Hearst, a small restaurant (which was only open during lunchtime) and a very big souvenir shop. We also watched the movie about the life of Hearst in their cinema room before leaving. It was 45 minutes long but we felt that it completed our visit there nicely.

We have been to Hearst Castle several times before and have never had a negative review. This time was different. We knew there were issues when we pulled into the parking lot and saw row upon row of porta-potties. When we reached the entrance we were told there would be no access to restrooms once inside. We used the porta-potties and were appalled at their unsanitary condition. We searched for one that did not have full toilets and did not smell horribly but found none. I felt badly for my wife and daughter-in-law who needed to use these very unsanitary units.
Our tour guide seemed knowledgeable but under severe time restrictions. He talked very rapidly and was difficult to understand. He responded well to questions but seemed to mumble at the end of responses.
We were told that the governor of California had required water to toilets at state parks be turned off and that was why the place was so s____y. We are done with this state.

Breathtaking views and lots of history found at this historical monument. The landscaping, pools, countryside/ocean views from high in the hills while touring through the villas was a unique experience.

We did the ADA Grand Tour in the morning with Donnelle as our tour guide. She was awesome. She shared so much information and stories and her timing was perfect. We never went into a room that still had a regular tour in it. Unfortunately our ADA Holiday Twilight tour guide's timing was off as sometimes we would go into a room that had a regular tour in it. Our guide didn't tell us much about the room although she was able to answer any questions we had. I am glad we took the ADA Grand tour; otherwise we would have been disappointed. My daughter took the upstairs tour and loved it. While she was doing that I got food from the cafe and sat at a table to eat, read and people watch. The bus ride up the hill was enjoyable. Everyone we interacted with was friendly and helpful. We enjoyed our visit very much and have recommended it to others.

Fantastic visit to a magical place. Everything went like clockwork, the bus shuttles, and the wonderful guides. We were so fortunate to have Janet take us on two of the tours. She was incredible - was a font of knowledge, kept our attention at all times, made us feel so special, and treated our small group like personal friends. We truly got our money's worth on everything. Definitely on our list of places to return to since there's so much to see and learn.

It's a wild over the top hodgepodge of art pilfered from several European countries presented in typical American ostentatious fashion.. As someone from Europe I felt the reverence of our guide towards W.R. Hearst was almost ridiculous. A house like this with lavish parties during the great depression is nothing to be proud of. The fact that one gets herded like cattle and told in consescending way not to touch anything as if one were a toddler did not do anything for me. The grounds and were lovely. The bus drive affords you breathtaking views. Kudos to Hearst for working with a female architect at the time. All in all I could have done with a less arrogant tour guide. Not impressed!

This was such a fun experience and Laurie, our tour guide was a gem. Our young son was struggling with heat on the initial portion of the tour and Laurie (and her teammate Janet) were excellent. He calmed down and Laurie helped turn the afternoon into a phenomenal trip through art, architecture, and history. 6/5 stars.

Very cool castle, very well maintained and very clean. Been here twice while in California. Lots of history here plus you may recognize it from different movies.

This has been on my bucket list for a while and I finally got to check it off my list!

I think most people who come here know who William Randolph Hearst was so I won't go into that here. I knew this was a historical landmark, but I had no idea of the size of it all. You pull into the parking lot for the visitor's center and then you go from there. The visitor's center is pretty big and filled with a gift shop and a cafe on the right. The tour gates are on your left. The bathrooms were being worked on when we were there, so we had to use port-o-potty's. It wasn't great, but couldn't be helped.

Check the website and decide what tour you want, there are several to choose from. We took the one that was 90 minutes and that worked fine for us. There are shorter and longer ones, so you have choices. You check in at your gate and then you get a wrist band and your designated gate. At your gate, you will board the bus to the castle, it's about a 15 minute drive. Once you get there, a tour guide will tell you what to do. There is a guide at the front of your group telling you about where you are and what you are looking at. There is also a guide at the rear of the group to make sure people are not lost and answer questions.

RULES!
There are many, many rules that must be followed. NO gum chewing! NO large backpacks. NO food or drinks other than water, etc., etc. I leaned on a tree and that is forbidden. There are carpets that you walk on, do NOT stray from the carpeted areas. I was halfway on the carpet and halfway on the hardwood floor and I was told (politely) to get back on the carpet.
I understand, it's a historical landmark and needs to be treated as such.

Anyway, I think it was worth the time and money to come here.
FYI, I did not see ANY bathroom facilities from the moment we got on the bus until we got back to the visitor's center, so plan accordingly. This is a walking tour and it has a lot of stairs and you are on your feet the entire time. If you have difficulty walking or getting around, check the website and see what options you have.

We did the Grand Rooms Tour (ADA) with Donnelle. She sure knew her history and was a delight! We hadn't been on an adventure with my mother-in-law in a number of years and didn't realize she had trouble walking. We had originally booked the Grand Rooms Tour for 3 people, but not ADA. When we arrived at the visitor center there was one more ticket left for the ADA tour. We wanted my mother-in-law to do the tour, even if not with us. She came all the way from Ohio! We were allowed to switch the regular ticket for the ADA ticket.

At the beginning of the tour Donnelle came and got me and my husband. We thought something was wrong! It turns out the other people that had booked the ADA tour were not truly in need of it like my mother-in-law. They could go up and down stairs, no problem. That was not the case for my mother-in-law. She asked them to join the regular tour so we could be with my mother-in-law. It was such a special tour. We have memories that will last a lifetime. My mother-in-law was so happy to have us with her and experience the castle with her. Thank you, Donnelle!

I don't know if it's the amount of crowds the castle has to handle daily, but the tours are getting so restrictive that it's no longer enjoyable.

The "no touching" rule extends beyond a reasonable range. I'm not talking about people toughing artifacts behind a guardrail. I'm talking about, while you can stand on the marble swimming pool structure with a crowd, you get a tap on the shoulder that you are not allowed to touch the columns. Some chairs are set on the marble for tourists to rest on and enjoy the views, but no guidance on that - people are afraid to ask - can I rest on these chairs?

Imagine you are in a quiet room with 50 people, the guide is in the middle of explaining something, pauses the explanation, and directs at you: "Mam, do NOT step on the floor". The entire room now focuses on you. You are not ignoring floor protection instructions and wandering freely on non-carpet-protected floors. You are moving through the rooms with a large crowd and accidentally stepping at a turning corner where the carpet crosses. This is not warranted.

When you slightly step out of the invisible boundary of the guide's eyesight, the same treatment - in the middle of an explanation, the guide pauses, directs at you, "Excuse me, excuse me, mam, man, do NOT wander off," as if you are a kindergartener. You are not allowed to explore any place that's not on your tour path.

I toured this castle 15 years ago and explored around with zero restrictions. It used to be a normal museum. It was fun. Now it's just endless irritation. If you have kids, forget this place.

There needs to be a balance between protecting the artifacts, allowing people to explore, and crowd control. Otherwise, might as well just shut down the place so the artifacts are protected from all human touch.

On all our trips to the West Coast a visit to Hearst Castle was down for a visit since our first trip in 2005. Finally we made it and it is more impressive than all I have read about the elaborate castle on the mountain.
As I have a fear of heights the bus trip up and back from the visitor centre was very scary.
The Castle is absolutely stunning and you have to see it for yourself. You can stay up at the castle till the last bus and it a fabulous photo opportunity.

Very interesting house. We did the grand rooms tour and the upstairs tour. I think that doing both tours allowed us to see a lot of the house and see the entrainment rooms and the private rooms. The Roman pool is stunning.

This is a first-rate tour. (We did the general tour -- "grand rooms," I think it was called.) Everything was very efficient and slick, from the narrated bus ride up the hill to the progression of the tour. The guide was tremendously knowledgeable and friendly, very open to questions. The place is obviously impressive and the sense of history from Hollywood's "Golden Age" is really fun. Strongly recommended.

My husband visited the castle 42 years ago but this was my first time-we took the grand room tour. The online ticketing process was very easy and when we arrived late for our tour, they were very accommodating and sent us on a later bus. Travel to the top took 15 minutes with an interesting and informative bus ride narrated by Alex Trebek. We were fortunate to have Carson as our guide-he made the life and times of Mr Hearst come to life. I particularly enjoyed the private movie theater complete with actual footage of he and his guests. Another highlight are the swimming pools! If you are in the area, do take the 2-3 hours needed and schedule a tour.

We really lucked out. We walked in gat on the 3:40 PM Grand Room Tour that departed in 10 minutes. There were only eleven of us on the tour. THe docent was very good.

Hearst Castle is truly awe-inspiring. Visually it’s striking through the immense amount of detail and thought that went into the building of the grounds. The history is quirky, and it shows in many aspects.
We took the Cottages and Kitchen Tour, and even without seeing the main house, it was incredible. This is certainly a stop you could make a few times to explore different parts of the history and lavish grounds.

Certainly not family friendly; if you are elderly, disabled or with children, especially in a stroller, your experience will be either canceled without consideration or compensation, or become a decidedly difficult experience. That said, this is my second visit over sixty years, and it is magnificent in so many ways, However take a grain of salt for the accuracy of a presentation, filled with inaccuracy, superficiality, and commentary that would leave Randolph Hurst turning in his grave. The Castle is worthy of everybody's appreciation if only done well. They could offer a wheelchair/stroller dedicated tour, just as informative, one for access-ability, and considerate of younger guests, who would learn a lot if age considerations were made, and the tour presented well. A cautionary not for those with special needs or greater expectations. Like Old man Hurst himself, they do it for the money, and really don't care about the little guy...

The tour and tour guides are fine. They are knowledgeable about history behind and can explain the details of architecture and “art” artifacts. The castle is okay. I have a mixed feeling about Hearts Castle because I have travelled extensively throughout Europe. I found these artifacts are just small representations of that period. It is a piece here for 1400’s and another piece in 1600’s. Even the main building is a strange combination of different periods architecture plus a roof from Thailand. Each room is stuffed with pieces of some arts work or furniture or sculptures from somewhere in Europe. I understand Mr. Hearts was limited by what he can find on open market. I would rather go to Europe to the originals.

The Rome and Neptune pools are beautifully designed.

That being said, it was a pleasure day out on the castle ground to just relax.

We stopped at Hearst Castle while touring on the Pacific Coast Highway. It cost $30 for the 75-minute tour of the Grand Rooms of the castle. We also saw plenty of the grounds as well after the coach trip up the hill. It was very well organised. Our tour guide Gary was well informed, and passed that knowledge on. They was also an extensive film on Hearst’s life as well which was shown in the Theatre. I thought it was decent value for money. I would recommend a visit

Interesting architecture, colorful history, the guided tour really helped and our teens seemed to enjoy it as well.

This was better than I expected. Beautifully kept and efficiently run. I only wish they gave you more time to explore and that you didn’t have to keep returning to the visitor center for the next tour

Love this place its beautiful and had a lot of History I recommend to visit with the all family.. stunning views to the sea i will love to comeback soon

We took an awesome ADA tour with Donnelle who was amazing with my friend who needed accommodations. The small group nature of the tour made it easier for my friend to enjoy, and also provided us with an opportunity to learn more from our amazing tour guide. They do an excellent job making this an awesome experience for people who would otherwise struggle with the larger group tours. And Donnelle was so knowledgeable and made it all so interesting.

Toured Hearst Castle in may 2019. Wonderful tour of all the rooms in the main castle and amazing property! Highly recommend!

The Castle is amazing. The property and grounds beautiful. Will be coming back for sure. You can't see it in one trip it's a multiple trip experience.

A definite MUST SEE stop on any trip up the California central coast. I grew up and lived in CA over 40 years and had never been so it was definitely on my Bucket List. We visited 2 days in a row and took 3 tours, including 1 ADA tour with a disabled friend of ours. The ADA Grand Rooms tour was outstanding and easily doable for our friend in a wheelchair. The next day we enjoyed the Cottages and Kitchen tour and the Designing a Dream tour in the afternoon. Our guides each day were extremely knowledgeable and shared lots of interesting tidbits and stories. The break between the 2 tours gave us time to eat lunch, visit the museum, and watch the 45 minute movie about the castle. Unfortunately, the restrooms were all closed when we visited, however, there were plenty of porta-potties available in the parking lot and near the entrance to visitor's center.

The tour is well organized, the outer part of the castle is beautiful and the view is wonderful, but internally it does not define itself, pieces from different epochs mix through all the premises, resulting in a mixture of dubious taste. Is it worth it? Hard to answer. As experience I believe q yes

The tour is a race back to the bus. Until tours can either be extended in length or guests can be given a less stressful, time management exercise, this incomparable site should be avoided. At the very least, tour guides should be compassionate that this visit is a big deal for their guests, and is not about strictly adhering to a timetable which includes, announcing the amount of time one can look at a sight before moving on, and being chastised if they take too long or slow things down by taking a picture. Our tour gave "one minute," to look at the magnificent outdoor pool. Fortunately, this was not our first visit. I felt sorry for the other guests on the bus who were bewildered by the race back to the bus that was called a tour. We sat on the bus for 10 minutes before the drive back. If you have gone to this amazing site before, look at your pictures from your last visit when you were free to admire the beauty.

Well worth a visit! This site is set in a beautiful location with stunning scenery. The tours and bus ride are organized with a lovely welcome center. The buildings are uniquely designed and feel like a European experience. A must see for anyone who loves history and/or architecture & design.

Our guide, Kevin, was so knowledgeable and entertaining. I don’t know if it is blind luck or if it’s usually the case, but the crowds were low this Mothers Day weekend, the weather was perfect, and the Grand Rooms tour was all open. They had just finished a restoration of one of the ceilings — a 12 year endeavor so I imagine there was scaffolding visible during that time. One area near the Neptune pool was roped off for repairs but otherwise very little unsightly construction. The late spring orange blossoms and other flowers were in bloom, giving the outdoor portion a wonderful aroma.

We did the 9:10a tour and there were only 14 people on the tour. Even later in the morning, it didn’t feel very crowded. Kevin said Spring and Fall are the best times to visit for fewer crowds and better weather. The temperature increases dramatically from the visitor center to the castle, so summer temps can reach 110F. Obviously I can’t guarantee anything about weather, but there was no fog and we could see all the way to the coast. I imagine summer mornings will tend to have coastal fog.

My wife and I visited Hearst Castle for the first time. We took and enjoyed the Grand Rooms Tour on a mid-weekday. We took the earliest tour available at 9:00 am to avoid any crowds, but we later noticed that other times would have been fine. We were able to view the museum and watch the theater video as well. Overall we had a very nice time and will comeback another time to see a different tour.

Our docent, Jason, was the saving grace of this tour & the only reason I gave it any stars at all.
1. No indoor toilets! And, from the state of the Porta Potties, I would guess this has been the case for a while.
2. Besides the outrageously priced merchandise in the gift store, you are REQUIRED to have your photo taken, a la cruise ship style, before you can get on the bus you must take to the castle. When I said I didn’t want mine taken, the photographer said it was required for head count.
3. Of the 4 $30 tours, 3 are for only a section of the house—one of the first floor, one of the 2nd floor, & one of the cottages & kitchen. If you book 2 tours, you STILL have to take the 20 minute bus ride each way for both tours, rather than just waiting at the house, which can keep you from…taking 2 tours.
4. If this site is intended to show Hearst’s museum-level collection, it needs a LOT more light on the individual pieces, which are barely visible. If it’s supposed to show what life was like when Hearst lived there, it needs a lot more props—& the fake Christmas greenery doesn’t cut it—& at least a little more light.

The Rockefeller & Roosevelt homes in NY state as well as Frederick Church’s home, Olana, are much better shown. Plus you can spend a day at The Metropolitan for less than your 70 mins cost here. California is my adopted home. What gives?

While we were unable to visit the Castle, along PCH about a mile south of the entrance we saw in the open field 16 zebras frolicking about. They were mule-kicking each other, head-butting for fun, just having a great time in the warm California sun. It was amazing to watch.

The Castle itself is incredible and worth a visit no matter what. The opulence, the views, the glimpse into a life long gone. The only drawback is that you have to be part of a group guided tour. There is a group in front of you and behind you so you are rushed. The guide talks before everyone is assembled due to time constraints and there's a feeling of "take your photo and move on" rather than being given time to notice and appreciate all the amazing details. I would have stayed twice as long if I could have. Even taking photos at the end of the tour, the guide warns that your bus is leaving without you. The guides are there for security, policing and time management. They are not happy, friendly people who want you to get the most out of your tour. It's a shame because I feel we missed a lot.

What a waste of money. We kept wondering - is this a joke? The tour guide (as you can't wander around by yourself) spoke of the rooms and features in awe as if it were the greatest historic site ever. It's just an appalling load of pretentious twaddle. There's more junk than antiquities.
At one point the tour guide referred to some greek-style urns as 2000 BC. Really?
Thirty dollars per person to see only the upstairs rooms of a tacky house.

Our first time at Hearst castle and we found it to be interesting and historical. Our tour guide did a good job and we enjoyed the great rooms tour. However, beware, there are NO restrooms available anywhere on the premises. Only nasty port-a-potties.

This is a must see in the area. The Hearst castle was on my list since I was `8 - very worth the visit! There is a lot to see so expect to be here a few hours.

Gorgeous landscaping and stunning views of the ocean greeted us as we arrived by bus to the beautiful Hearst castle.
The opulence of the main building and seeing the settings of the cavernous rooms made one feel as if one was back in time to the early part of the 1900s.
The staff was informative and courteous.
One drawback was the inability to be able to use any restrooms during the actual tour.

Seems there was a water issue during the time we visited, so even at the visitor center there was no toilet access. Only Porto potties set up outside building and in the parking lot.

I hope the state of California department of ??? can rectify this situation/ inconvenience- especially for those who pay a substantial entrance fee to see this amazing attraction.

We just showed up and was able to get a tour no problem. We went in mid July and it was hot at the castle. Very interesting tour. We did the most popular the living spaces and pools . Make sure you take a water bottle as there is lots of steps and Tour was hot. Nice bud ride up and down the hill to the castle. I would recommend taking a picnic as there is an area to eat at the end of the parking lot. Things are e pensive inside the visitor center.

While I have always wanted to see Hearst Castle, I was disappointed that despite traveling across the country I could not see more than three rooms. The website is not clear that you need to have 2 hours between one tour and the next. It is unreasonable to expect people to ride down and up the hill for each tour. It makes no sense. They need to combine tours. When this was mentioned to the docents, they said they shared this sentiment with the administration, but they did not listen.
The tour treated us like 6-year-olds, constantly reminding us of the rules. No gum (we’re adults), if you step off the main carpet, they will take you back to the bus, etc. This was a slap in the face.

The facility has not upgraded its plumbing, so all they provide is porta potty’s. There is no hand sanitizer provided.

We were told that you could not buy tickets on site by Customer Service by phone. This was wrong. You most certainly can purchase tickets at the information center.
I read that there was an onsite museum that could be visited for free. I did not see this museum and would have liked to.

I was unable to hear the audio on the bus because most were talking to others. It would be helpful to Instruct people on the bus to be quiet so others can listen.
Tell participants that there will be a survey and write down the name of your guide.
The movie narrated by Donald Sutherland is excellent.

We were rushed and herded like cows. You must stay in a group and cannot wander around alone. While disappointing, it was not surprising. We were not allowed time to ask questions.

We visited Hearst Castle with friends for the very first time and were amazed by the grandeur of the castle and surrounding grounds. Words cannot express the beauty and magnitude of the experience. There is so much to do and see, you really need more than one day to do it all.

It has been over 30 years since we visited Hearst Castle. We went on the last day tour of the “Grand Rooms” and surrounding area. It is well kept and still spectacular. Lucked out with beautiful weather and encountered an adorable fox exploring the premise. We were hoping to spot the wild zebras. There is now a video about the making of William Randolph Hearst’s dream which was interesting and educational. Highly recommend visiting while in the San Simeon area.

My wife and I had a private tour of the Castle with Donnell Guiltinan today. I can’t say enough about the experience. Donnell was informative, passionate about the Castle’s history, and fun to boot! I would recommend her to anyone visiting the Hearst Castle.

Strongly impressed by this castle. Despite the mix of styles the castle strikes historical artifacts. Egyptian and Roman statues over 3 thousand years Beautiful landscapes above the clouds

this is a wonderful thing to do. I prefer the name La Cuesta Encantada as it more accurate, than calling it a Castle

Context is everything and I would start with the free film at the visitor centre if I were doing it again

I felt a bit rushed in the grand rooms tour…but you have to acknowledge a lot of people want to see this and it’s difficult to generate a fair way to meet demand,

well worth it though, it’s unlikely to disappoint..

Hearst Castle was an awesome site. It was thirty dollars ($30.00) for the Grand Rooms Tour. The tour was a little bit over an hour. The tour included a forty (40)-minute movie to watch after the tour. There were many parking spots. The bus ride to the top was quick and the roads were narrow and windy. The house was incredible in terms of its artwork, architecture, items, and style. This family really knew how to impress its guests. The indoor pool, the outdoor pool, the citrus and other plants, the tennis courts, the former zoo animals, the other houses, the theater, and the views of the ocean and of the mountains were all great! Yet, I felt that this tour was paced way too rapidly. I also felt that the staff was overly strict and cold.

I grew up in California and had never been to Hearst Castle. It was absolutely awesome!!! And our guide, Donnelle Guiltinan, was AMAZING!!! She is probably the best guide we have ever had!! And we have done a lot of traveling and tours. She was so knowledgeable and fun and funny!! She knew every detail about everything! I highly recommend her as your guide.

We enjoyed our visit to Hearst Castle. We did the Grand Rooms tour and the Upstairs Suites tour. We had smaller groups, which was nice, although every group seems to have at least one person who asks too many questions and monopolizes the guide. Because you have to take the shuttle bus up and back for every tour, you really waste time, and they don't allow you to schedule tours very close together. It is my opinion that this is because they don't have decent bathroom facilities at the castle, or for that matter at the visitor center. They claim the bathrooms are being repaired, but this has apparently been the case for years. The port a potties are disgusting, and they should be ashamed for not offering basic sanitation. I realize CA has drought problems, but any gas station has bathrooms! That said, we had good guides, and found the tours interesting, although if we had known they would overlap as much as they did I would have only booked the Grand Rooms. I had read some negative reviews regarding the food at their cafe, but we thought the food was quite good. Priced as you would expect for a "captive" audience. Besides the bathroom situation, I gave only 3 stars because we had recently been to The Biltmore, and toured the summer "homes" in Newport, RI - and this didn't compare.

Overall was unbelievably beautiful--the architecture, landscaping, views, the drive up treats you to stunning scenery. But each tour (there are several to choose from, each of which you have to pay separately for) only take you through a small portion of the grounds/interior. The tour we were on covered the outdoor & indoor pools and 3 rooms, lasted about 1 hour (1 1/2 hours total including the shuttle bus ride there & back). There are 180+ rooms in the whole place, just to give you an idea of what a minuscule part you actually get to see, and leaves you wondering what the rest is like (so you have to pay more money to see a tiny bit more of it). So, it's a bit of a scam. FYI, there are no restrooms on the premises of the castle (there are in the ticket office/gift shop, however). Also, FYI, you park you car at the base of the mountain and the tour provides a shuttle bus up to the castle and back.

We did two of the tours at Hearst Castle - the Grand rooms and then the Kitchens and Cottages. It was just the right amount of sightseeing and information for a day. None of the bathrooms at the visitor center were operational but the porta potties were well maintained. The tours themselves were informative and interesting. The castle and grounds are fabulous and we’ll probably go back on a future trip to see more!

I was invited by a friend to go to the evening Holiday Tour. I had not been to Hearst Castle since 2017 and we very excited about going back. As we approached the main house, one of the people on the tour said, hey where are the Christmas lights? our tour guide said it's not really decorated with lights for the holidays. This was a huge disappointment for all of us. As we entered the various rooms, they had minimal plastic poinsettias and very basic trees. Nothing like what you would expect at a Castle. I remember visiting Biltmore Estate during the holidays and I did not want to leave. William Hearst would be rolling in his grave if he could see these cheap decorations.

I grew up here in California always hearing about and wanting to go to Hearst Castle. My partner and I have traveled abroad and have been to Ronda, Spain where the cathedral is that was the inspiration for the big house in the compound. It was to be the centerpiece of a small central coast getaway. So we scheduled two tours, each on a succeding morning, the grand tour (downstairs) and guest rooms (upstairs and tower). Both tours were a bit rushed as we like to linger and look at things up close at our own speed but I understand that so many people want to tour that this is the only way to accommodate everyone. I heard that in the old days you could just tour the gardens on your own after the tour but no longer. That's too bad as we would have liked to wander the gardens. Other reviews disparage the tour guides but I found them all to be exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable. What was most distressing is knowing about how this rich guy who made a fortune duping the public, using his power to inflame international relations, manipulate and misrepresent the truth in his newspapers and then used these ill gotten gains to pilfer the cultural assets of other counties when those countries were undergoing financial difficulties, then expatriate these treasures and hoard them in this prideful folly, often destroying the integrity of these irreplaceable assets (cutting the feet off of the Neptune statue in the Neptune pool to fit the roof pediment or cutting down 16th century Spanish ceilings to fit his guest room, for examples). Sure all this antique stuff gathered together to show his power, wealth, and status really just borders on tacky and ostentatious. Sure, he spent a fortune buying animals to imprison them in his personal zoo. Sure, he treated his staff well but he was probably the biggest cause for the misery and death of thousands with his newspapers having promoted of the onset of the Spanish American War. The tour guides don't mention any of the dark side of their hero to put the castle in perspective but instead play up the glamourous Hollywood connection.
But what is wrong with me because I still want to go back and do the art tour and the Julia Morgan tour?

It is famous avd people recommend it - but it was actually better than I expected.

as another review says "believe the hype"

The ticketing and forced tour seems officious but it works smoothly and guide was excellent.

But allow plenty of time.

Our visit to Hearst Castle was extremely disappointing and felt more like being controlled than welcomed. From the start, the tour was rigid and joyless. We were forced to stay with the group at all times, constantly told what we could and could not do, and rushed along as if we were children on a school trip, even though the entire group was made up of adults. There was no freedom to pause, explore, or take photos at our own pace. A staff member followed behind giving constant instructions to hurry up, not touch anything, and keep moving. It was frustrating and unpleasant.

For the price we paid as a family of four, the experience was shockingly poor. We saw only three rooms and the pools, all while being lectured to by the guide without a moment to simply enjoy the surroundings. Tours are scheduled every twenty minutes and it shows, the emphasis is on crowd control rather than creating a memorable experience.

The facilities were appalling. There are no proper toilets at the castle itself, only portaloos at the visitor centre. They were filthy, smelly, and clearly not cleaned in a long time. The sinks outside were just as bad, covered in paper and grime. This is unacceptable for a world-renowned site charging premium prices.

It is very clear that under the current management the visitor experience is not a priority. Hearst Castle is run like a conveyor belt, pushing people through as quickly as possible with no regard for comfort or enjoyment. If you want a relaxed and enriching visit where you can appreciate the history and beauty, this is not the place. We left deeply disappointed and would not recommend Hearst Castle to anyone.

Wow what a fabulous place, a must stop if in California ! We had heard so much about it and glad we made the stop on way from Carmel to Santa Barbara ! Very well
Organized and good tour ! Well
Done for keeping it so well and maintaining such an important property

My husband and daughter took the regular Holiday Twilight Tour and I took the ADA version of the same tour on December 16. We were disappointed that all the concessions were closed by the time we got there and especially that the restrooms were closed. (The portable toilets were disgusting). However, we did get a family picture taken, which was very nice. I started my tour ten minutes before my family members did and I got the better deal. Four other people were supposed to be on my tour but they failed to show up, I got a one on one tour with “Jason” who was outstanding, (The bus driver driving the ADA bus was outstanding as well.) I have been to Hearst Castle a few times before but this was the best tour I have ever taken there. Jason used to extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He was very open to questions and both he and the bus driver were very solicitous about making sure that I met up with my family and that we all got on the bus okay. Their efforts were very much appreciated. My husband and daughter said their group was too large and they could neither see nor hear much of the time. Take the ADA tour if you have any mobility issues.

Nice tour guided by very knowledgeable people. Great to see and enjoyed the history. Reason for my rating is that it's not really a castle, but a mansion. Also, couldn't help but feel it was a deceptive cash grab. We booked 2 tours which could have easily been combined into one single tour. Why have people bus up and down the hill for each tour? Wasted lots of time in day. Typically expensive food options.

It's hard to believe that after all these years I finally made a visit to Hearst Castle and wow it didn't disappoint! Amazing property and such beautiful grounds to explore. This is a bit of an overdue review so apologize for that. My daughter and I went up to Cambria in April of last year for a quick getaway and fortunately it wasn't too overcrowded on the day we went. Even though the grounds were covered in a thick fog for a good portion of the day it added to the mysticism of the tour and actually preferred the cooler weather. We did both the Grand Rooms Tour & the Cottage & Kitchen Tour and both were equally good. Extremely informative and was very interesting listening to the history of this amazing property. Highly recommend visiting as there is so much to take in but I can imagine it can easily get a bit crowded in the busier months.

My wife and I took the Upstairs Suites Tour, and we must say our tour guide, Donnelle was very informative, kept us on a great pace and answered all of our questions. We loved how Everything is right on schedule
From purchasing tickets, the bus ride up, the tour, and the bus ride down. I forgot the bus drivers name but she was very kind. We will be back to take more tours because we want to seeThe whole castle.

I am a local to the Hearst Castle area but have never gotten around to visiting. I finally decided I needed to check it out myself and booked the “Upstairs Rooms” tour at 10 a.m.

When we arrived, we found we were the only two in line for the bus. We got a bus ride of just us to the top of the hill (about 15 mins) and a private tour. I’m sure this is a rare occurrence but so incredible being in the rooms without crowds and not feeling rushed. Our guide was fantastic and very passionate.

A couple tips to have an experience like ours:
1) highly recommend the “upstairs tour”, the other Grand Rooms tour had a full bus while it was just us two for our tour. The upstairs tour has a max of 12 people while the Grand Rooms has a max of 52.
2) if possible, book a morning tour. Our guide told us the afternoon tours get filled up fast
3) consider visiting in the off season, summer tours will be super crowded regardless of time

Overall, such a fantastic experience. The architecture, artwork, pools, etc. were incredible, highly recommend.

Very interesting place to visit. I am handicapped and use a cane or walker. I reserved the ADA tour and a free wheelchair (that my friend pushed) which was a terrific idea. We had an outstanding guide, Donelle (sp?). She is very knowledgeable about the amazing artifacts and the history of the Ranch/Castle.

Found this really interesting with great guided tour. Not really for little kids but teens enjoyed. Check times of tours before going. Loved walking through all the rooms and the pool area was amazing. We always find it interesting to google what movies may have been made at the location to help get the kids interested in it. The pool has been used in a few movies. Didn't know the history before going so found that really interesting

This was not our first time visiting the Castle, but it was the first time we did the tour of the upstairs rooms. It was my favorite of the ones we have been on before (kitchen and cottages; Grand Rooms). The guides were very good on all the tours, but I found this tour gave a better feel for the complexity and size of the estate. The views from the bedrooms were amazing. You do have to climb up and down many stairs that spiral to the upper floor rooms. The ticket price also includes tickets to "Building the Dream" at the Hearst Castle Theater which I highly recommend taking the time to see.

This place is very secluded. You wouldn’t know it is there until you get right to it. My husband n I took the most popular basic tour. We didn’t have to wait at all. We got tickets when we first arrived. They are a little pricey. I wanted to see at least one bedroom or guest bedroom. You have to pay for a different your. The castle is very beautiful. It seems like a waste that nobody really lives there or uses the beautiful pools. The day before we visited, they had over 2500 guests.

Great experience seeing the Castle! Our tour guide, Barbara was knowledgeable, kind, and cordial. We selected the Grand rooms & Upstairs suites tour. The first guard was aggressive with a smirk on her face. She didn’t want us taking pictures outside. I was only 5 or 6 steps away from my small group, and she asked me to stay with the group. I replied I wanted to take just one picture, and she threatened to call security! Truly un called for, and unnecessary! I asked her to not make my tours memory foul, she smirked! She really shouldn’t be in that position! Our bus returned a few minutes late from the castle, and we missed the first 5 minutes of the movie being shown. We watched the movie, and decided to wait until 4:30pm to see the small part we missed, then shop at the gift shop. We went to the gift shop around 4:22pm after the movie, to ask when they were closing, the manager said “I can’t tell you that!” We explained that we missed the first 5 minutes of the movie, and would return to the gift shop at 4:35pm, latest 4:37pm. She repeated that they would close when the store was empty. We didn’t expect such poor customer service from a manager! We spent $230.00 at the gift shop, and missed the first 5 minutes of the movie again. Hearst castle closed at 5pm, the gift shop doesn’t have fixed closing hours, they will close earlier if they don’t have customers! There’s no flexibility! Some personnel are not tourist friendly, particularly the two we encountered. Overall, it was an average experience, but a very beautiful place to visit. Customer service satisfaction is not their priority. They definitely have room to improve. Training is necessary!

My husband recovering from surgery asked to use the restroom during tour. Tour guide said she didn’t know where restroom was located and stated we couldn’t leave the tour. So I guess he was expected to pee his pants or pee on the lawn!! Really????

The State of California is raking it in with these tours. $30 per person and in order to see the majority of interesting rooms you would need to do at least two tours. Plus you have to ride the bus back and forth even if you have another tour scheduled. It is a stunning location and interesting story.

The reason for the one star was the lack of a decent bathroom. Shame on State of California Tourism Department for allowing the porta potties to continue here at this place. What’s worse are the lies that the workers tell to cover up the problem. One worker at the ticket booth told my spouse and me that the bathrooms were working until the earthquake hit in August. A worker from the house tour told us that the earthquake didn’t affect the Hearst Castle at all since the site was too far away from the earthquake. It was only when I flew home and did research that I found out the bathrooms have been out of order for some time. Strange that there is no running water in the pipes, but the restaurant inside the welcome building (with the porta potties outside) have workers that need to wash their hands with hot soapy water. Does the Department of Health monitor how a porta potty sink rinse passes inspection for food handlers? Who’d trust the food? The Hearst website should have a huge warning banner informing potential customers about the poor bathroom facilities. I wouldn’t have gone had I known. My guess is the employees have a hidden bathroom for their use and the museum/castle do not want visitors to use up the water. If this is the case, please close the place until you build a small reservoir can offer a working bathroom to the visitors. Lack of water is not an ideal situation for elderly, young children, females, people with health issues that necessitate a working bathroom.
Besides that major deterrent, the castle is beautiful and deserves five stars. Just can’t give it because of the poor sanitary conditions. We went on three tours, and the tour operators would do well to offer multiple tours combining floors and sites so one doesn’t need to waste twenty minutes each tour riding up and down the mountain from the visitors center to the castle grounds. Hoping for some positive changes on this site.

This is one of those must-see places. I drove past it many years ago and regretted not going in, but that's now been addressed. It really is a display of the opulence of times past - the costs involved in creating the Castle, along with all the required infrastructure are staggering. Nevertheless, it's fascinating and beautiful.
We arrived at 10:00 for the 10:20 Grand Rooms Tour and boarded the bus from the Visitor Centre. It's a 15 minute drive up, accompanied by a soundtrack providing lots of interesting details. We were greeted at the Castle by our guide who took us around the various areas, giving lots of information, answering questions, and allowing for all the photos that, of course, we wanted to take. Seeing the swimming pools, the architecture, and the incredible inside rooms takes your breath away. So much of the Castle is based on Hearst's early life in Europe which has then been transported and enhanced into the amazing building that exists today.
Very glad to have visited and seen how the place is looked after, house, gardens and animals - superb.
My only complaint - get the Restrooms sorted, as a load of Porta-Potties in the car-park is not nice!

I was mostly going because my mom wanted to go but once there I was really glad I made time for this stop as you can’t fully appreciate it’s scale of opulence without seeing in person! I did the Main Rooms tour which was just right for me. Don’t be late for your reservation because you actually take a bus up the mountain before the tour starts and you don’t want to be left behind. There were steps but only at the beginning of the tour and there was time to walk them slowly. The tour guide was so educational and witty in making guests feel like they were coming to enjoy a stay at the castle back in the old days. Lots of interesting history throughout the tour. Highly recommend.

The visit is worth it. It's very special. There are many art treasures to be seen. I thought it was kitchy...but it wasn't.
A good guide. The $30 is worth it!

Great professional, well executed visit by US Park services. A very neat site to visit. The tour experience from buying tickets, trip to castle, movie, sharing detailed informational about Mr. Hearst and Hearst castle was very well done.
The main suggestion is seemed the restaurant, food, and drink was very much overpriced. Basically gouging the captured visitor. To the point we didn't buy anything as a matter of principle. Almost $5 for a bottle of water, a cookie, a Kind bar?

We returned to Hearst Castle to do the remaining tours we missed on an earlier visit including the Holiday Twilight tour. As usual the tours of the property are jaw-dropping…Mr Hearst and Architect JuliaMorgan left no stone unturned in the design of ‘The Ranch’ (per Mr Hearst) and acquisition of art and furnishings from all over the world. Its history is like none other.

Unfortunately when we arrived at the Visitor Center on 12/22, we saw that all of the restaurants, shops, and theater were closed. There was a power outage in the area. We learned that the ‘Castle’ was operating off of a generator but the generator that supplies power to the Visitor Center was not operational. One of the staff told us that that generator had quit working in 2023 but the state of California had not had it repaired. Unbelievable! That’s your government NOT working for you, California!

Update: We learned this morning that power outage has been restored to the Visitor Center and surrounding area.

We bought tickets on line for the second day of opening after being closed for 2 years. Buying it on line allows you to see how many tickets are left. Same with on site.

When you park, you go through the visitor center. It has a caffe, gift shop and ticket booth where you must redeem your ticket for a wrist band.

There are NO RESTROOMS at the top. You will find restrooms at both ends of the building. This is the only gift shop so make your purchases here. No food or drinks except for water. Can’t chew gum, can’t touch anything and to stay on the bluish gray carpet. No use of flash.

4pm is last grand tour of the day. It includes the movie that starts on the hour with the last showing at 6pm.

You are instructed to be at your gate 5 minutes before your tour. You enter through the green screen photo booth then outside waiting area.

It was a 15-20min bus ride to the top. You may open the bus windows to take photos. There’s an audio recording on the bus on the way up and down.

You’re greeted with a tour guide when you’re off the bus that last an hour. Your tour path is ONE WAY and you’re not allowed to explore the grounds afterwards so take photos as you go. I was very bummed when you have people in your photos or you’re being rushed to keep up with the group or grounds keeper kicking you out.

We did the 4pm Grand Tour which was recommended for first timer. We saw the outdoor pool, dinning room, Assembly/living room, tea room, Rec room, theater and Roman pool. We got back to the visitor center at 5:30. We skipped the 6pm movie about his life.

I wished we were given the freedom to explore the grounds like pre-COVID. To be able to enjoy the flowers, art, citrus trees, and view. The flowers were in full bloom.

Very happy to have decided to stop for a visit the Hearst Castle. Very nice place, very well organized tour and everything very well maintained.
The only concern : the bathrooms😩

Transportation provided via bus to castle five miles away on a hill with a view of hills and ocean. Castle tours vary(we did main rooms on first floor) ending at pools(indoor and outdoor) and gardens. wish the three villas,or at least the largest, were included. Tour guide phenomenal. Reasonably priced.people with limited mobility, wheelchair bound as well, able to do this one.

No flush toilets, only basic porta potties at visitor center and the castle itself. That was very disappointing.

The handicap main rooms tour was excellent.

Took the Grand Rooms tour (I believe that’s the name of it) for $35 recently. Cool drive on the tour bus up to the house on a long winding road. Amazing views of the Pacific from up top. Our tour guide was cool and funny. I wish I could remember her name. She had purple hair. The tour takes you around the outside and then into a handful of the rooms in the main house. I knew a little about Hearst already but found it pretty interesting hearing about his life and just how things operated up at the Castle when he was alive. The tour takes about 90 minutes. Definitely worth a visit.

It had been decades since visiting Hearst Castle in the early 1990s. We wanted to revisit it with our first trip to Cambria. Cambria is an excellent home base since it's less than 10 minutes' drive from the castle.

Since the tours are highly structured (you may not wander off on your own) and there is so much to see, you have to pick and choose what sights you want to visit. We decided to take 4 tours over 3 days. We got to see it all.

Be aware that some of the folks on the reservation phone banks when you call to book tours have limited knowledge of what each tour entails. As a result, we did have a little overlap (not too much), and feel that we got to see everything.

The tours we took were: Designing the Dream (70 minutes), Julia Morgan (2 hours - this is well worth the extra fee as this tour has a maximum of 8), Cottages & Kitchens (70 minutes) and Upstairs Suites (70 minutes).

We had 4 different tour guides: Anne, Barbara (Julia Morgan tour), Suzanne and Paul. 3 out of 4 guides were extraordinary. Their knowledge and how they dealt with the group was perfect. Sadly, the 4th guide, Paul, not so much. We had a very small tour of 4, yet he rushed everybody (for no reason because it was such a small group), was pretty rude to everybody and if you asked him a question, it was as though he was annoyed that you were interrupting his speech and he stumbled an impromptu questions. I felt bad for the 2 other people on our tour, as this was their first tour and exposure to the castle and they didn't score the best tour guide.

The Julia Morgan tour is expensive but they take you to places no other tours visit (you get to walk off the protective carpet). Our guide on that one, Barbara, was exemplary in her knowledge and her kindness to our small group.

The gardens and grounds are exquisitely maintained but beware the that tours keep moving you through them and past them. A nice guide will allow a pause for some pictures in the gardens.

You park in the visitor center parking lot below, bathrooms (at least when we were there) are all outdoor units but are very clean (maybe leftover from Covid?).

Each tour boards a bus (some busses contained 3 different tours, but they are extremely organized) and you take the 15 minute ride up the hill with a nice commentary from Alex Trebeck. You are dropped off and all tours start at the Neptune Pool. At the end of each tour, you are led through the indoor Roman pool and board your bus that takes you back down the hill (another 15 minutes). If you are taking more than one tour back-to-back, make sure you plan for this transportation time. The folks at the reservation phone bank can help you plan the timing.

Be aware, if you only take one tour, you will only see a fraction of this well-maintained and amazing museum.

Your tour price includes the 40 minute IMAX movie which is not to be missed at the Visitor Center. A beautifully done film about Hearst, Julia Morgan and the castle.

In between our two-tour day, we each grabbed the $18 grass-fed burger and fries (which were okay but we needed a quick lunch).

Kudos to the State of California for keeping this place in such great shape all these decades later (and the gardening staff of 10 who keep the grounds so beautifully maintained)! We had a fantastic time. Now to get through all these hundreds of photos we took!

A truly amazing wonder of the world! Worth doing the tour and arrive on time! Hopefully, no children under 13 will be on yours — that was the only distraction and should be discouraged…

We visited Hearst Castle a few years ago and I hope it has improved from the cultural disaster we endured. It was a mish-mash of badly curated artifacts, many of which were worth seeing but were poorly exhibited in the dreadful ugly ‘faux’ castle. The guides were so precious - telling off a visitor who leant against a fake Grecian column, one of the several surrounding the outdoor pool, I had to laugh. I could only imagine that unlike the originals in Greece (which have stood for millennia and one can freely touch) the fakes at Hearst might topple if you brushed against them.

I finally had the chance of visiting Hearst Castle. Very interesting attraction along route 1. We had reserved a tour which is highly recommended in order to secure a spot. We did the grand rooms tour and were guided by Gary Lindquist who did an outstanding job. Incredible architecture. Magnificent interior. Marvelous views from the castle.

I bought our tickets online ahead of time and went on 2 tours over 2 days. The first, the major introductory tour, shows you the main rooms on the first level and the gorgeous swimming pools. The second tour, the upstairs rooms, was with Donelle (spelling?) and was really special as we were the only guests who signed up for that time. She provided a great deal of information, and it was easy to ask questions. It does involve quite of bit of climbing up and then down so it's not for the mobility impaired. We both are seniors but were able to do it. As others have mentioned there is a bus ride up to the castle and down again to the visitor's center.

HearstCastle had been on my bucket list forever. Was fun to see it but the bathrooms were not working in the visitor center and we had three tours in one day and the need to go up and down in the bus repeatedly is just a terrible waste of time.

Some of the tour guides were not very good also the booking office I called with the State of CA.was not good our reservation was wrong but a lady on site fixed it.

The food in the restaurant was okay!

Thoroughly enjoyed this long-awaited trip. Just fascintating and a very well organised and informative tour. If you are in teh area you'd be mad not to visit.

Great tour of the “Upstairs Bedrooms” with our guide/docent Terry. He was knowledgeable and entertaining. Only nine guests on our tour which made the experience special and more intimate. Know that there are a lot of stairs, some tight squeezes to get up through the castle levels, not for the out-of-shape but not overly challenging either. Very enjoyable experience.

Donnelle was an amazing tour guide. She's filled with knowledge, wit, and passion for art. A great combo! She really went the extra mile.
We did the upper rooms tour which included the library, Mr. Hearsts bedroom, and many guest rooms and studies. We even got a sneak peek at the indoor pool.

I remarked about my Grandfather working for Mr Hearst and Donnelle got right on the phone with her Hearst historian colleague and we're still in contact to find out more information.

We took the last tour of the day and it ended up being a 'private' tour for our family of four. We'll definitely be back.

We had an amazing time and so will you!

We were just nearby and just got admission for the last tour at 18:00. This was an absolute stroke of luck as we were a very small group. Our guide was very well read and could tell us a lot about the Hearst family. Found it super exciting. Also the castle which is actually none was very impressive. The tour lasted a little over an hour, which was absolutely enough
Ambience: Magnificent, Impressive
Price performance: USD30/Pers
to recommend: yes

We were totally thrilled with our experience at the Hearst Castle! Spending some time in the museum before the tour was very helpful and gave me.a greater appreciation for the castle and its history. The bathrooms were totally functional when we were there….portapotties still available but no reason to use. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable, approachable and fun. Just amazing depth of information!! Did the Great Rooms tour and plan to go back for the Upstairs Tour now that we know how interesting this place is. Of course it “is no Biltmore” (per the prior review) but this is fantastic in its own right, particularly when you get a feel for the history. So amazing how functional this house was from early on. And the gorgeous drive!! So spectacular at setting the scene.

Nice history behind the house. We did the grand rooms tour, which was a good introductory tour. We didnt get to stay and watch the free movie after the tour, but apparently it goes into more detail of how the house came together. Large groups, but they gave you enough time to see each room.

Donnelle Guiltinan was our ADA tour guide at Hearst castle today. We were a group of 4 on a very rainy, windy day. Donnelle was wonderful. She's so knowledgeable and helpful, and has a great personality. She ensured we had a wonderful tour despite the dreary weather.

I went to Hearst Castle twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a great value. I studied Citizen Kane film in my film criticism class @ Pace University where James Lipton's Actors Studio is filmed. I took 2 tours and learned about his bedroom (you will be surprised!), his kitchen, his home theatre (like Hef's mansion Friday movie night I was there with Jack Haley Jr. His Dad was the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, Jack Haley and was in Shirley Temple movies.) The private bus ride up to the castle is scenic and enjoyable. The tour guides are knowledgeabale and educational. I stayed in a very nice motel and requested an ocean view. I booked the tour at my Avila Beach Timeshare concierge. Everything came true and it was great. the first time I went with my husband, Bob Gelman and daughter Molly, had a nice Italian dinner. Some of the Hearst family came in with their young son. My daughter and their son smiled at each other. One criticism, the Italian restaurant was a bit stingy with the parmesan cheese, but other than that we had a great time. The pools were magnificent. It was said that Hearst had grand parties and Clark Gabo was flown in!

This was our second visit to Hearst Castle, and we loved the tour just as much as the first time—25 years ago! Living on the East Coast means we don’t get to this part of California very often, but we were passing through and knew the Castle was a must-see. We have to admit that we find this location far more interesting than Biltmore in the Carolinas. While Biltmore exudes European elegance (and we love it), Hearst Castle is a delightful showcase of ostentatious American culture all in one dazzling package.
We opted for the grand room tour, which covers all the amazing and intriguing rooms. However, we found ourselves wishing for more time to explore the second-story bedrooms—maybe next time! One surprising highlight was the gift shop, which is surprisingly well-stocked and quite reasonable for a tourist spot. The little café on-site also offers great prices, so don’t rush out after your tour; treat yourself to a snack!
After our visit, we headed north on Highway 1 to the Elephant Seal Vista Point to see the elephant seals up close. It’s definitely worth a short stop—just remember to bring your camera, because those seals know how to strike a pose!
Enjoy your visit!

We were on the last tour before the Castle closed down for at least two weeks due to the Coronavirus. Talk about luck and both of our tours had only 8 people in them so it was super easy to hear the guides as well as to ask questions. Hearst Castle is an opportunity to see the lives of the rich and famous of long ago but to think how hard it must have been to transport supplies, art, artifacts, workers, etc in must have been a Herculean task. We didn’t have to go back down to the bottom in between our tours which was really nice. Fun place to see. Some walking and stairs on the Upstairs tour but it’s not bad.

What an amazing landmark this castle is for the public to visit . I didn't really know what to expect and was mostly going cause my wife so wanted to visit the castle. It was so amazing I enjoyed it as much as she did. Our tour guide was a wealth of interesting information on the family ,the building of this castle so far away up on top of hillside. It has many art of facts from Europe and around the world .

We were a party of two and made the trip to San Simeon from out of state especially to see Hearst Castle. It is a ‘must see’ destination with incredible layers of history and architecture piled one on the other. It is totally worth taking extra time to explore on more than one guided tour. We did two tours – the main downstairs rooms and then the upstairs rooms – bedrooms, library etc. The challenge with seeing the site is exactly the overwhelming amount and variety of art in each space. This was not conceived as a gallery. Each room is packed with artefacts from different times, cultures and places. Any one room would take an hour or more to unpack in any detail, let alone to hear about the people who had been there. It’s all from a bygone era.

The tours are tightly supervised and driven by your guide. Our first guide, Anne, was excellent. Thorough, knowledgeable and dry-humored, she took the time to answer any and all questions before moving to the next space. She was only ‘stumped’ once by a question on our tour and wasn’t ashamed to say she didn’t have a ready answer for one particular object someone wanted to know about.

Sorry to say that our experience with the second guide, Paul, was just like another reviewer on this site. It was a small group – 12 people - but we were pushed along on the warning that if we didn’t move quickly enough then rooms at the end of the tour would be ‘lopped off’ the itinerary. He kept talking as we moved through the building, so you couldn’t hear it all, or even see what he was describing, and he didn’t take questions well. The whole vibe was pretty rude and didn’t tally at all with the special feeling which the place has.

That said, it’s an amazing castle and not to be missed. The rest of the experience - buses (sit on the right hand side on the drive up), IMAX documentary, zebras you can spot hanging out with the cattle - excellent.

The tours are good value. The guides seem knowledgeable. It feels a bit stressful, having to get the right bus at the right time - perhaps not ideal for those that need a bit more help than others. And the guides seem to need to operate at speed, so if you're elderly you may feel as if you're holding them up. The "castle" is well worth seeing, don't get me wrong. Having to use tiny open-waste/non-flush portaloos (which seems to have been the case for some time, reading other reviews) is not easy for the less abled but is also pretty disgusting. I'm surprised that an attraction like this can't arrange for better toilet facilities. And the enforced photo, before you can board the bus, is rude, to be honest, and makes you worry about missing the tour if people in front take a long time posing. Also, if you pay the money for photos and try to download them, it requires a USA phone number and USA Zip Code. So they have zero understanding that not everyone who visits them lives in the USA. That in itself is a total rip-off, and extremely bad manners on the part of the people who run this facility. How rude to assume we all have USA phone numbers and zip codes. And because they didn't ask if we lived in the USA before they took our money, and because we're now many miles down the road, how do we get back the money we paid for the digital downloads? So the message to future visitors is - don't pay extra for digital photos unless you live in the USA. And try to avoid using the toilets. And ask the tour guide to slow down if they're racing ahead faster than you otherwise you may end up, like we did, inside one of the buildings and not knowing which door the guide had used to exit.

Great tour with very energetic tour guide. Great castle copied after many European castles. Great coastal views over California hills and Pacific Ocean. Interesting rooms. Would have loved to see more rooms. As such I’ll be back. Tour a little pricey.

We were on a coastal road trip of California with friends and this was one of the sites we all agreed to stop and see. We all enjoyed this tour. Since we had never been we did the Grand Rooms tour. If I lived in California I would definitely be sure to see the whole castle, it would take some time to see everything properly, to take the tours and the spend time on the grounds looking around and taking photos. Our day was a short one but the drive up and back is lovely and the tour is very well done although very strict. The guides are very serious about their job!

Spectacular Castle set high on a hill in San Simeon. This place is loaded with artwork, statues, carvings, botanical gardens and historic memorabilia of all kinds. Guides will lead you around the property and give you a fantastic taste of what it was like to celebrate with Hearst and his famous friends that included musicians, comedians, actors, politicians and members of society from all walks of life.
Take as many tours as you can! You may even want to spend a couple of days there there's so much to see and enjoy!

I went to the California State Parks and made a reservation (many types of tours) for the Grand Rooms tour. We arrived at the Visitor Center about 30 minutes prior, checked in and got on a bus for the 5 mile shuttle. One of the Tour Guides took us through the pools (2 types), surrounding areas of the castle before heading through the castle Grand Rooms. This takes approximately 70 minute and well worth the walk/tour and so informative. This place is more then Beautiful, Amazing! The California State Parks takes good care of this wonder palace. Unfortunately, you are unable to post any pictures you take on any social media!! The Visitor Center has shops and a resturant once you finish and the bus takes you back down the road.

we went on the grand rooms tour. the 'castle' is magnificent and the tour guides were good. the tour wasn't as long as we expected - an hour to see three rooms, the cinema ( with an interesting short film) and the outdoor and indoor pools. there are other tours available. it was unfortunately foggy so we couldn't see much of the exteriors. disappointingly all the toilets in the entire place were out of order with no explanation given. there were very unpleasant portaloos in the car park provided. worth visiting the castle though for a unique experience when they have fixed the plumbing.

This attraction is easy to locate and has plenty of parking, much of it shaded by large solar cell arrays. The parking is in front of the visitors center at the base of the hill. There is plenty to see at the center itself. There is a theater, gift shop, small museum, restaurant and restrooms. Depending on which tour you choose, you get on a bus and are driven up the winding road on the mountain to the Castle which is actually several different houses with a gorgeous view. Your tour guide meets you at the bus and escorts you through the various rooms/areas of the estate. Afterward they allow you to wander the grounds and board a bus down the mountain at your leisure. There are several stairs and a fair amount of walking. Our tour guide was excellent and answered every question. I highly recommend this as one of the sites to see in California.

We had been on grand rooms tour on our first visit with our kids many years ago. As return visitors the upstairs suites tour was a real treat. Amazing to see Hearst’s opulent guest rooms, library, his office, etc. & hear all the interesting stories, facts from our tour guide. The tour was an amazing experience due to our very knowledgeable, experienced & friendly tour guide Jeanette. To top if off we had the extraordinary luck of a private tour due to likely coming late in the day and on a weekday in December before the holidays.

This venue is well organised. We rocked up and only had to wait 30 mins for our tour. Buses run you up to the castle and back. You stay with your group the whole time with a very informative guide. The whole experience takes 2 hours. Great views from the castle balconies.

Wasn't sure what to expect from reading some other reviews. We really enjoyed it We didn't realize the castle was on the top of a mountain which had some amazing views. Our tour guide, Rose was excellent!! We took the Grand Rooms tour which was both outside and inside. The tour also includes a 40 minute IMAX movie if you want to learn more. Note, the Restrooms aren't working but there are port-a-potties :) .

Hearst Castle has 4 tours. I took the first two and thoroughly enjoyed both. Amazing view from the top of the hill. I actually saw zebra roaming around on the grounds.

Took 2 tours. Both tour guides are super woke. Felt like we were being lectured to, and the group felt the same way. The guides went off into tangents about their personal lives and gave more credit to the female architect, claiming SHE built the castle and William Randolph Hearst just wrote checks. Uncalled for and ridiculous couldn’t believe two separate tour guides said basically the same thing.

During a recent trip to Big Sur and the California Central Coast - a tour of Hearst Castle was on our "to-do" list. While it was something I wanted to see, my husband was lukewarm about it. However, after taking the "Grand Rooms" tour - Hearst Castle became one of his favorite parts of this vacation. As many others suggested on TripAdvisor, we began watching ticket availability online via the Hearst Castle website for the date we wanted as soon as they became available about 60 days out. As our vacation was in the shoulder season and we wanted to tour Hearst Castle during the weekday - we waited to purchase our tix online the night before. Turned out that wasn't necessary because there were plenty of "walk up" tour availability that day. One of the best part of any of the tours is the bus ride up and down from the visitor center to the Castle - especially on a clear day - which what we had. We had a 11:20 am tour and we really lucked out as there were only 11 people on our tour - which is considered very, very small compared to the typical 35 - 52 people. Our tour guide was Donnelle and she was excellent - not only informative but humorous and courteous. While I enjoyed touring the inside "Grand Rooms" it was the outdoor Neptune Pool and all of the sculptures surrounding it and set against the gorgeous landscape that was worth the tour entry price alone. If you're going to be in the area - highly recommend taking one of the many tours here. You won't regret it.

Bay Area Weekend | Hearst Castle reopened after two years

Hearst Castle was closed when the pandemic hit and finally reopened recently! I've never been here before, and I'm looking forward to it even more!

Be sure not to be late, we are a few minutes late and they will not let us participate in the tour we originally booked🙃 It may be that the machine cannot be swiped, or the staff may not be flexible

Hearst Castle was built from Roaring Twenties and has a luxurious feel. Some people may think that there are too many elements inside and too messy, but I think this kind of building has a "California" characteristic. The flowers in the garden are blooming well, and the buildings are mostly Spanish/Italian style, unlike European castles, which are more traditional. Overall, it is still recommended! One thing to say, their swimming pool is so beautiful both indoors and outdoors!

The closed restrooms and portapotties at the visitor centre were very disappointing - and full.
We were disappointed that there were about 50 people (a full bus load) on our tour and the only people that could hear the tourguide were the ones in front - so we didnt hear the info in the rooms and in fact some of out group were out of the guestrooms before we even went into the building - so we got no commentary. didnt hear any commentary at roman baths and we were mid group.

we went to the holiday lights and not a lot of effort has gone into the theme, except for some big christmas trees. the modern gifts around them was a bit tacky.

loved the neptune pool and roman pool. it was interesting to see. perhaps day would have been better so we could have seen the outside and the views.

good to visit once, i wouldnt go back. but would love to swim in the pool

A must do if you are in the area. We booked the Grand Rooms Tour (70 minutes) at $30.00 per person. It was recommended for first-time guests and also included admission to the Hearst Castle Theater film “Hearst Castle – Building the Dream.” From the Visitor's Center, you take a shuttle bus for the 5-mile ascent to the top of the Enchanted Hill—a journey narrated by Alex Trebek of Jeopardy! Tour highlights included the Assembly Room, Refectory, Billiard Room, Theater, Gardens, Neptune Pool and Roman Pool. Please note that this tour has approximately 140 steps, both up and down, and 2/3-mile of walking. After the tour, a shuttle bus will take you back down to the Visitor's Center. I wish we would have had time to see more of the castle. It is well worth the money and time.

We were so blown away by the opulence of this palace we couldn't think of what questions to ask! We visited many years ago but there was more to see this time. Walking the steps was not as bad as I feared. Tour guides (three total) were all friendly and knowledgeable. Visitor center is fantastic, and we loved the movie about the history of the land and estate. This was a very enjoyable minivacation in the middle of the COVID crisis.

We arrived at Hearst Castle at 3pm and were dismayed to find out that the tours were sold out for the day. However, we were told that the Hearst Museum on site was free and we were welcome to tour this. We did and received a really good explanation of the history behind Randolph Hearst and how Hearst Castle came to be. We actually felt that we didn't need to tour the Hearst Castle after going through the Museum.

This place is so full of history and our guide had all the stories and made the tour really history. We just did the main house downstairs which included the pools. Price is a little steep but glad that we made the effort to visit. I would recommend to anyone to come and visit this place.