Been looking for a house with its own X-Ray room? Garaging for 25 cars? Have you been feeling like your place is getting a bit small, and are now looking out for something in the 70,000 sq ft bracket?
If the answer to all those questions is yes — and if you have a US$400 million budget — then the house of your dreams has just come to the market: 11201 Chalon Road, in the storied Los Angeles suburb of Bel Air. And honestly we don’t think we’ve ever seen anything quite like it.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
That is meant as a great compliment, for although this is a huge house — with 39 bedrooms and 50 bathrooms — it’s not the size that makes this place stand out: it’s the design, the finish, the features and the setting.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
It’s not even a quintessential Hollywood mansion, for the simple reason that even in the rarefied air of the 90049 postcode it’s a house without comparison, unless perhaps you look at the great palaces of Europe. This is basically Bel Air’s answer to Versailles.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
Built between 2008 and 2018, the house was designed not by an LA architect, but by New York-based Peter Marino, a colourful character who has done everything from designing shops for Giorgio Armani to refurbishing Andy Warhol’s townhouse. Marino — and the team of builders, led by Peter McCoy — created a home which demands superlatives everywhere you look. And as such, the agents handling the sale are understandably excited.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
Not so much a tennis court as your own tennis club.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
‘Properties of this calibre simply do not exist,’ says Jack Harris of The Beverly Hills Estates, who is handling the deal alongside his colleague Michael Fahimian (the agency is affiliated with Savills in the UK).
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
‘This is truly a once-in-a-generation asset, one that not only stands apart in the luxury residential real estate market, but also sets an entirely new global benchmark. This is the trophy property of the United States. It could never be replicated.’
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
Harris isn’t wrong. The size and shape of the plot alone is a real rarity, stretching to eight acres of almost completely-flat real estate, which is almost unheard of in the hills north of Los Angeles. The house sits on a promontory high above the City of Angels, offering magnificent views towards Downton, and out to the beaches. Bel Air Country Club is essentially on the doorstep: you can see in some of the pictures one of its golf holes wrapping sinuously around the grounds.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
The 70,000 sq ft is spread out across three separate buildings within the grounds. Accommodation is split between the main house — 10 bedrooms, 13 staff rooms — and a guest house with six further bedrooms, and a further 10 staff rooms.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
If you’re wondering about the staffing ratio, we worked it out: it’s just under one and a half domestic staff for each person staying in the house. That might sound a lot, but when you have 50 bathrooms — yes, five-zero — you’ll want a team of cleaners to look after the place for you.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
There are of course more than just rooms for sleeping and washing: the living spaces stretch on throughout the house, with formal and informal dining spaces, multiple lounge areas, a home cinema (naturally), a beauty salon, massage rooms, a full-service spa… we could go on, but the basic rule is: if you can think of it, this house has it. Sauna? Obviously. Hot and cold plunge pools? Of course. A dedicated pilates studio? Step this way.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
All that pampering might make you hungry, and while you could fix yourself a snack in the family kitchen or fire up the pizza oven, there are full professional-style catering facilities, including eight butler pantries. It’s essentially set up to be a five-star hotel all to yourself — and a couple of dozen of your best friends, of course.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
It’s a house which offers billionaire living, plain and simple. ‘This estate was built with a vision that goes far beyond traditional luxury,’ adds co-agent Michael Fahimian. ‘Time and budget were not a factor when constructing this.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
‘From the positioning of the land to the level of detail in every finish, it delivers a fully self-sustained lifestyle that surpasses the finest resorts in the world, yet with complete privacy and exclusivity.’
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
So, then: the world’s most expensive house? There’s a surprising amount of competition for that accolade, as we reported on last year. And there have been homes on the market with higher initial asking prices which fail to meet the expectations: Château d’Armainvilliers in France, a former home of the Rothschild family, was on the market for £335 million in 2024, but sold for ‘only’ £155 million. The record holder, in terms of sales prices for homes that were advertised on the open market, sits with a house in Hong Kong which went for £240 million in 2017.
Thus, 11201 Chalon Rd has a chance to eclipse that deal, as well as the other £200-million-plus sales on record in the last few years. We’re fascinated to see what happens next.
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
(Image credit: Simon Berlyn / The Beverly Hills Estates / Savills)
11201 Chalon Rd, Los Angeles, is for sale through The Beverley Hills Estates, an affiliate of Savills — see more details.