Hearst Castle ready for virtual close-up
Roadway repairs cancel all in-person tours at popular tourist attraction for rest of year
When the winter’s biggest storm washed out part of Highway 1 and dumped about 20 inches of rain on parts of the Central California coast, it also took out another key road — the one leading up to Hearst Castle.
Now, that 2.25-mile stretch of damaged pavement is keeping the landmark shuttered until next year, just as the Golden State is welcoming back the world to its renowned tourist sites after 15 months of pandemic restrictions.
To adapt, Hearst Castle is turning to Hollywoodthemed virtual tours start
ing Tuesday, joining the likes of Kris Jenner and the dogs of Chernobyl on Airbnb’s online experiences platform.
Though guests won’t be able to stroll alongside the famed Neptune Pool where Clark Gable and Cary Grant swam, a state parks guide will walk visitors through the grounds — sometimes in period costume — to recreate the experience from William Randolph Hearst’s time.
The virtual tours will likely be the castle’s “new normal” through the end of the year — a letdown for prospective visitors clamoring to see the landmark,
which drew 750,000 visitors annually before the pandemic.
Lorienne Schwenk, the executive director of the Cambria Chamber of Commerce, recalled one disappointed couple who had traveled from New York only to find out the castle was closed — they told Schwenk the castle was the primary reason they had come to the seaside village.
“Their sense was that because everything else was opening up, of course the castle would be open too,” she said.
That reopening may not come until early 2022. State Parks officials project that it will take six to nine months to repair the stretch of Hearst Castle Road that was damaged, according to spokesperson Gloria Sandoval.
The timeline may come as a surprise to those who monitored the Highway 1 washout, which reopened in April, nearly two months ahead of schedule after a late January storm system that tore through the region, causing flooding and killing one. But when it comes to the Hearst Castle road, repairs may be more tedious. All 27 culverts will need to be repaired or replaced to ensure the road is structurally sound to withstand the weight of tour busses.
“We recognize that the road damage is unfortunate, and the public’s patience is being tested,” Sandoval said. “Everyone involved understands the need to move expeditiously.”
In the meantime, the virtual offering may satiate some Hearst fans. Tara Stephenson, the Foundation at Hearst Castle’s director of development, said she is confident that the virtual tours will find a market.
“I get phone calls and emails every day from the public asking when the castle will reopen. ‘How can I see it, can we get a private tour, are there videos, what are you doing online?’” she said. “We already know the demand is there.”
Liz DeBold Fusco, a spokesperson for Airbnb, said the virtual tours will open the castle to the curious who are still stuck in COVID-19-restricted countries, recounting how she took a tango class based in Argentina through Airbnb from her home in New Jersey.
“This allows people from all around the world to take part in a piece of history they may otherwise not have known about or been able to enjoy,” she said.
The castle will start by offering eight tours a month, priced at $20 per person and capped at 10 people per tour. All the ticket revenue will go directly to the foundation, which will help support its conservation and education efforts, according to Stephenson. “This isn’t at all meant to make up for the revenue lost while the castle is closed,” she said.
In this rugged part of the California coast, Hearst Castle is no stranger to danger. Storms and wildfires are frequent hazards in the surrounding community. Businesses in the area, at least, are not holding their breath for the road to be fixed and castle visits to resume.
Travel has remained fairly steady to Cambria throughout the pandemic, according to Schwenk, though she said some hotels have taken a hit with visitors canceling or shortening their stays once they find out the castle is closed.
Bob Benjamin isn’t fazed. He works the front desk at the Cambria Beach Lounge and said there is more to this breathtaking corner of the California coast than the castle.
“All the hotels here are doing great,” he said. “People just want to get out of Bakersfield, L.A. and San Francisco. It doesn’t have to do with the castle, it has to do with getting away.”