Home of the Week: This $19.8 Million Alpine Lodge Overlooking Lake Tahoe Moonlights as a Reality TV Star
It requires a pretty large house to accommodate a cast, crew, and glam squads of the most famous reality television shows, which is why the massive Gunbarrel Lodge in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., is the chosen spot for so many.
It’s possible you may recognize this sizable alpine lodge from an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, or the finale of The Bachelor. Now this sprawling $19.8 million home can be yours. With 17 bedrooms and 18 bathrooms, you can comfortably fit 30 to 40 of your closest family and friends for some year-round reality show-type fun of your own. The manse spans 16,500 square feet and is perched on a hillside overlooking the impossibly blue Lake Tahoe.
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Longtime Tahoe builder Bob McIntyre, who specializes in building large-scale homes with resort-style amenitie, conceptualized the rustic and elegant Gunbarrel Lodge. The 15.34-acre property sits right near Tahoe’s iconic Heavenly Ski Resort and is named after the lodgings’ iconic Gunbarrel run. Thanks to the home’s prime location just above the base of the resort, it offers convenient ski-in/ski-out access but is shrouded in privacy by the surrounding dense forest.
Every aspect of the compound is grand, from the porte cochère to the six-car garage to how the home is configured. The property’s two sections are linked by an enclosed bridge-like staircase and a grassy lawn with benches, a horseshoe pit, and a bocce ball court. The entire lodge was built using rugged timber, reclaimed wood, and impeccable stonework for the ultimate cabin-style retreat. However, it’s hard to call this just a cabin.
“There are literally thousands of lineal feet of reclaimed barnwood that was used to accent the entire home, as well as all the distressed, circular-sawn hardwood floors, stonework galore, and exposed logs,” says listing agent Mark Salmon of Compass. “The idea was to maintain the traditional rustic feel of a classic Tahoe lodge. All of the floors are warmed with radiant, in-floor heating, but the home also comes with forced air heating and A/C. There is also a semi-detached four-bedroom, four-bathroom guest house with a covered outdoor deck and rooftop viewing area with hot tub.”
Vast living and entertaining spaces throughout the manse are dotted with large windows that overlook the lake, mountains, and forest, and most open up to massive terraces. The lodgings are built for entertaining, with two kitchens, a kitchenette, over a dozen fireplaces, several great rooms, and two dining tables for more than 30 people. Every room but one has an en suite bathroom, and most have private terraces or balconies so you’re never too far from the outdoors. Amenities include a lower-level game room with a pool table, foosball, shuffleboard, and ping pong tables. There’s also a large bar, an outdoor kitchen and grilling area, a sauna, a steam room, and hot tubs.
“The kitchen features a butler’s pantry as well, so you’re able to have multiple ranges, dishwashers, and refrigeration to be able to host and cook for large groups,” Salmon says. Elsewhere, you’ll find a 24-seat movie theater, a large heated indoor pool, and a rooftop hot tub in the guest house.
Over the last several years, Gunbarrel Lodge was renting for families—and reality stars—at $6,000 to $8,000 per night, depending on the season. With the ban on short-term vacation rentals in South Lake Tahoe, it looks like the only way to experience the one-of-a-kind manse is to buy it.
Click here for more photos of Gunbarrel Lodge.
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