A Cliffside Manor With A Modern Refresh
An updated slice of history with a luxury French twist and unique water views.
By Terry Christodoulou
Thu, Dec 10, 2020 2:43am
2 min
2 min
Privately positioned cliffside 8 Gap Road, Watsons Bay offers expansive views of the city’s twinkling harbour, via a former 1920s Masonic Lodge that has been reimagined and delivered to luxurious modern standards by renowned architects Weir Phillips.
Dream living all year — through arguably the perfect new year’s eve party pad — the 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom home boasts a tangible sense of airiness and ease as driven by stately proportions and 5-metre ceilings across open plan living areas, bespoke arched windows connecting not only to history but the literal inside to outflow.
The finishes throughout are impeccable and unique, with 200-year-old French parquetry flooring paired to a Calacatta marble kitchen that’s fitted with Gaggenau appliances and an elongated, showpiece, marble benchtop for dining.
The upper level, accessible by private lift, sees the five large bedrooms each fitted with under-floor heating and Perrin & Rowe marble ensuites in each as well as a separate self-contained guest level.
The master suite comprises a dressing room larger than most Paddington boutiques (what’s left of them) and more views over Sydney Harbour.
Outdoors feature a covered entertaining area as well as a separate balcony space with in-built outdoor kitchen. There’s also a rebuilt Egyptian limestone pool with William Dangar designed gardens completing the space.
Parking for two cars is secured by an electronic gate, security and camera system. The house sits within a two-minute stroll of Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel, Robertson Park and known restaurants such as Doyle’s and Dunbar House.
The listing is with Michael Pallier of Sotheby’s Sydney, +61 417 371 544; POA.
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The imposing stone structures, with towers, turrets and a hot tub room, lord over the landscape near the mountain resort town of Sandpoint.
By Liz Lucking
Mon, Jul 13, 2026 2 min
2 min
Idaho is not a place that’s often associated with Medieval castles, but a pair have just hit the market for $6.25 million.
The imposing stone structures have towers, turrets, ramparts, arrow-slit windows and even a drawbridge, and might just be the most authentic-looking castles this side of the Atlantic.
“Who expects to see a castle like this in Idaho?” said listing agent Brenda Burk of Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty, who brought the property to the market last week. They are, she said, “extremely unusual.”
Schweitzer Castle and Château de Melusine, as they’re known, stand within Schweitzer Mountain Resort in the Selkirk Mountains and overlook the nearby mountain resort town of Sandpoint. They take in panoramic views of Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s largest lake.
The pair of ski-in/ski-out homes each have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and three stories, Burk explained. They are “so authentic,” she said. “Every single stone was handlaid.”
Schweitzer Castle, she said, wasn’t built for “functionality,” but has been modernized and adapted and now has everything a 21st-century residence requires, along with a dungeon, which for some buyers may also be a requisite.
The chateau, meanwhile, has a hot tub room with mountain views, as well as a garage.
The property is being sold furnished, and will come complete with the hand-carved statues, armor, mounted swords, stained-glass windows and a host of antiques dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.
The owner, an antique collector who couldn’t be reached for comment, “is always looking for that hidden jewel and he found that here,” Burk said.
The next custodian is likely to stem from a varied pool of buyers, Burk said, that would include “the trophy-home buyer, someone who can say ‘I own a castle.’”
The property could also appeal to someone looking for a vacation home, or a multi-generational estate, and beyond that “there’s the dreamers,” she said. “We definitely try to market to people who like Medieval history or maybe do Renaissance fairs.”
The seller “really wants it to go to someone with the same passion.”
