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Carmel

Spindrift Cove, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates


Today's estate takes us back to the incredibly scenic town of Carmel California. We looked at a home very close to this one in December in the Carmel Highlands area which is between Carmel-by-the-Sea and Big Sur. This area boasts some of the country's priciest real estate. Today's home, a stone manor house on 4.25 acres, dates back to 1921. The area's famous Cypress trees surround the home which is set high on a hill overlooking the water. The home has beamed ceilings, large fireplaces, hardwood floors and wide windows with white water and Point Lobos views. One nice detail is the stone porch with glass windows and a wood stove for chilly evenings. A separate guest house is tucked away from the main house. This home is listed at $9.95 million with Mike Canning. Check out the property website for additional pictures.

Spindrift Lane, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates


Today's home has had its cover moment on California Living & Home Style magazines for good reason. This home in Carmel, California is a stunner, a stone and glass main house perched on two acres facing the Pacific Ocean. The home has panoramic views from many rooms. Colorado stone and mahogany woodwork add to the home's luxe feel. It has Sub Zero appliances, four wood burning fireplaces, radiant and forced air heat, LiteTouch lighting, security, landscape lighting, stereo, Ann Sacks concrete counters, an elevator and more. The home also has a guesthouse with a stone fireplace and water views. There is an office overlooks the garden and the ocean. Another room offers space for a large gym or a converted bedroom. The home is listed at $12.5 million.

Conseco Mansion Sells For a Song To Lucas Motor Oil President

Filed under: Estates


It seems to be a good week for unloading hard-to-sell megahouses. First we heard about the sale price for Dunellen Hall, now in Indiana the pink palace known as Le Chateau Renaissance has sold for $3 million to Forrest Lucas, founder and president of Lucas Oil motor oil. The home is the former estate of Stephen Hilbert, the one-time head of the firm Conseco. Conseco, which is now insurance company CNO Financial Group Inc. put the home up for auction earlier this year. CNO took the house in 2005 after a dispute with Hilbert over millions he borrowed from the company to buy its stock.

We first saw this home in 2006 when it was the the 2006 Decorators' Show House. The estate was once valued at $25 million but was listed at $20 million in 2006. An auction of the household possessions raised more than $750,000 in February 2005. More recently the home was listed at $9.9 million. WIBC says that Lucas and his wife Charlotte toured the home in 2008 but didn't make an offer. He opened negotiations five weeks ago after hearing that the property might be divided into smaller units. At first his bid of $3 million was rejected but after another deal fell through an arrangement was made.

Stonepine Estate: The Grand Dame of Carmel Valley

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels


The doors of the famed Stonepine Estate and equestrian center in California's Carmel Valley are now open to the public full-time. The resort has remained open for private weddings and special events but is now again welcoming vacationers. A luxury resort with the feel of an exclusive private home -- which it once was -- has long catered to the rich and famous and clearly has written the textbook on how to serve up the pampered resort experience.

Beautiful grounds of this size -- 330 acres -- ensure guests' privacy and seclusion, which is probably why so many celebrities have been drawn here through the decades. It's a Gatsby-esqe experience with society soirees, picturesque and meandering gardens, waterfalls, immaculately kept grounds, world-class equestrian facilities and a European flair where people still dress for dinner and wouldn't dream of answering their Blackberrys during cocktails.

Stonepine Estate provided the accommodations and some meals to the writer.

Carmel's Butterfly House, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates


Although I've seen thousands of houses during my days writing the estate of the day posts there are always a few that are memorable. Today's revisit is definitely one of them. The Butterfly house is one of just five truly oceanfront properties in Carmel, California. The front of the home does look a bit like a butterfly perched on the point. The home has stunning views and you are practically directly involved with the ocean. The three-bedroom home has an interior courtyard with a swimming pool that still has ocean views thanks to the home's walls of glass. The home has been restored and renovated. We only had a couple of interior pictures last time but it looks like there have definitely been some upgrades. When we saw it back in 2007 it was on the market for the first time in 50 years. Back then it was listed at $19.995 million, now it's at $22 million.

Perrelet Watches Shown At Lussori Store

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches


Recently Perrelet watches had a showing at the Lussori watch store in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The event introduced the consumer release of the popular new Perrelet Turbine Watch Collection as well as other luxury watches from the brand. The company is putting a new focus into the American market educating consumers about the value and quality of their watches. Perrelet has further started efforts to make their own watch movements. This is one of the most important steps a luxury brand can take, and the first Perrelet watches with in-house movements are due soon.

Perrelet is making the right decision by choosing to connect closely with watch lovers, so events such as this are a good idea. Brands like Rolex, Breitling, Omega, and IWC all had to put significant efforts into connecting with the watch community before becoming the brands that they are today. Events like this will help Perrelet become better known in the US, like it is in Europe and elsewhere.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

Beachfront In Carmel, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates


Today's estate has direct beach access just south of Carmel, California. This home's walls of glass are crowned with curved ceilings of Alaskan cedar topped with titanium. The barrel roofs funnels the attention directly toward the ocean. The home has four bedroom suites, a media room, gym and elevator. The home has been well designed to offer views from a wide variety of vantage points. You can watch the ocean while you chop vegetables in the kitchen, while you wash your face in the bathroom or from your bedroom when you wake up in the morning. This home is listed at $15.95 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Perrelet Watch Event At The Lussori Store In Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Events


For all you California based watch lovers, Swiss luxury watch brand Perrelet will be having a special event at the Lussori watch store in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, this weekend (August 29-30, 2009). There you will be able to see the brand new highly anticipated Perrelet Turbine collection watches, as well as a slew of other brand new Perrelet timepieces. The watch range in price from a few thousand to many thousands of dollars representing a large spectrum of the luxury watch market. Perrelet's founder is notated to have invented the automatic movement (way back when), though at the time of its invention, I believe it was applied to pocket watches as this pre-dated wrist watches.

You know how lovely Carmel-By-The-Sea is, and it is a nice drive there on the weekend to see the sleepy "luxed" out town and check out Perrelet and other fine timepieces at the popular watch store Lussori.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Carmel's Butterfly House, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates


You can't get much closer to the water than this. The Butterfly house is just one of five truly oceanfront properties in Carmel, California. The front of the home does look a bit like a butterfly perched on the point. The home has stunning views and you are practically directly involved with the ocean. The home has just two bedrooms and less than 3,000 square feet but this is a chance to own a California landmark, which is on the market for the first time in 50 years. It is listed at $19.995 million. After the jump, this is also a popular dive site you might not want to stroll around in front of the large windows in the buff.

Carmel Highlands, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates


Although I cover estates every day there aren't that many that truly leave me wanting to live in them. This Craftsman home located on Point Lobos, four miles south of Carmel, California is one of them. This charming home has views from the Big Sur Lighthouse to the south through to the Cypress Point coastline north. The house and grounds are on over nine acres consisting of three parcels, the main house on one, a guest house on the second and the third is a scenic easement. What gets me about this house isn't just the location, it's the cozy simplicity. You aren't getting a lot of house for your money, just 4300 square feet which includes only three bedrooms and just two baths but what you are getting is simple, classic and charming. It is listed at $12,950,000. After the jump, imagine curling up on the couch next to the stone fireplace with a book and watching the ocean.

Bernardus Lodge

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

Another Northern California getaway, the Bernardus Lodge is an adobe-like hotel which is located in the Carmel Valley.  The hotel includes 57 rooms each with a stone fireplace, French doors and a private deck or patio. The lodge also has a spa with eight treatment rooms, a warming room, exercise area and sauna and steam facilities. The lodge is eight miles from the tourist stop of Carmel-by-the-Sea but is usually warmer and sunnier than the often foggy coastline. One of the main features of the lodge is that it is located next to the Bernardus Winery. The lodge's pricey gourmet restaurant, Marinus, takes its name from the Marinus vineyard which produces a rich Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Their Pure Indulgence package includes five nights of accommodations, a welcome basket, two robes and four 50-minute spa treatments. The package also comes with a full breakfast daily, one dinner for two at Wickets Bistro, and two dinners for two at Marinus (up to $150 each) and costs $2930-$3905. The reviews on Trip Advisor are generally positive although some visitors did say that it is a bit overpriced.

Galante Vineyards

Filed under: Wine

I became interested in Galante Vineyards a few weeks ago after seeing an exhibit of their wine labels at the San Francisco Museum of Craft & Design. Their unique labels are created by taking a photograph of real leather, hand-tooled by a California saddle maker with silver conchos in each corner. They produce limited quantities of estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignon from two single vineyards, Red Rose Hill and Blackjack Pasture, the Rancho Galante from a blend of Cabernet grapes and small amounts of Merlot, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Because of the unique conditions in the upper Carmel Valley their growing season is long and their yield is fairly small. Their nine liter bottle of 2002 Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon with a real leather label & silver conchos sells for  $640. A regular sized bottle with a plain label sells for $30. They opened a new tasting room in the scenic town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

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