Suzanne Somers’ Enchanting Desert Compound

Suzanne Somers had it all, including one of California’s most intriguing properties with access via a private funicular up a hillside of stone steps. Modelled after L'Oustau de Baumanière in France, Suzanne and her TV-game-show-husband, Alan Hamel, lived in the Palm Springs home from the 1970s until they sold it in 2021.

Located just five minutes from downtown Palm Springs, the stunning seven-bedroom,10-bathroom mansion is situated at the base of Mount San Jacinto. Sitting on more than 28 acres of desert land, the home comprises five separate structures (a main house and four villas) spanning across 7,280 square feet of living space with about 10,000 square feet of pavilions.

The main home includes the primary suite plus six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a dining room to seat 24 guests, a living room, a two-room kitchen, a huge pantry, and a wine cellar. There is also a stone guest house designed in the 1920s by Albert Frey, four further bedrooms, five fireplaces, an outdoor amphitheatre carved into the mountain that seats 50 and has a dance floor, two pools, spa, and a natural waterfall that spills musically down the hillside. Romantic walkways, large terraces with mountain views, and comfortable patios are set among the buildings, some of which date back as far as 1923.

Suzanne was one of America’s favourite celebrities since 1973, as the “Blonde in the white Thunderbird” in American Graffiti. A combination of the girl next door, a sexy blond bombshell, and a successful businesswoman, Suzanne was a whirlwind since her first big role as the ditzy, Chrissy Snow, on Three’s Company, and then as the motherly entrepreneur, Carol Lambert, on Step by Step.

In between, her life included Playboy pictorials, spokeswoman for Thighmaster, longtime breast cancer survivor, and her popular line of healthcare products. Suzanne and Alan were married from 1977 until her death in 2023.

Image Credit: Kelly Peak