Versailles is an house belonging to

Westgate Resorts Westgate Resorts is an American timeshare resort company founded by David A. Siegel in 1982. The company first expanded from Central Florida to Miami and Daytona Beach. As of July 2021, Westgate Resorts has 29 locations across the United States ...

founder David Siegel and his wife Jackie. It is under construction at 6121 Kirkstone Lane,

Windermere, Florida Windermere is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,030. It is part of the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A Post Office opened at Windermere in 1888. The Post Office c ...

, in the

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

of Lake Butler Sound in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, Florida, United States. Named and modeled after the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

in France, the completed project would be one of the largest

single-family homes A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelling ...

in the United States. It is designed as the primary residence of the Siegels and their children.

History

Construction began in 2004. Work stalled in 2009 with 60% completed as Siegel's company encountered financial difficulties. The house was subsequently listed for sale at $65 million. With Westgate Resorts' improved finances as of 2013, Siegel came to own the property outright and construction resumed. Completion was scheduled for 2016. Then the completion date had been pushed forward to at least 2019. As of November 2020 Jackie Siegel's estimated completion date remained a year and a half away, well into 2022. Expected to appraise at over $100 million, the project will be the fourth most expensive house in the United States.

Design

Built on a constructed hill on 10 acres of lakefront property, the residence will include 9 kitchens, 14 bedrooms, three indoor pools, two outdoor pools, a

video arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as c ...

, a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

with a capacity of 500 to 1,000 persons, a two-story movie theater with a balcony inspired by the

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

, a 20,000-bottle

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. ...

, an exotic-fish aquarium, two tennis courts, two-lane commercial grade

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...

, a baseball diamond, a formal outdoor garden, and an elevator in the master bedroom closet. Because the Siegels' children are older now, modifications to the original plans included turning playrooms into a yoga studio and a teenager’s cave with a second movie theater. Doors and windows are constructed using some of the last remaining legal Brazilian mahogany at a cost of $4 million, cut before the Brazilian government banned trade in big-leaf mahogany in 2001. Exterior walls are precast concrete with

Pavonazzo marble Pavonazzetto marble also known as Docimaean marble or Synnadic marble, "Book 9, chapter 5, section 16" is a white marble originally from Docimium, or modern İscehisar, Turkey. Marble The name derives from the Italian word for peacock (). "In ...

veneer.

Documentary

The home and its owners were the subject of the 2012 documentary film ''

The Queen of Versailles ''The Queen of Versailles'' is a 2012 American documentary film by Lauren Greenfield. The film depicts Jackie Siegel and David Siegel, owners of Westgate Resorts, and their family as they build their private residence – Versailles, one of ...

'' as well as an episode of CNBC's ''

Secret Lives of the Super Rich ''Secret Lives of the Super Rich'' is an American television series hosted by Robert Frank airing on CNBC. The series explores how wealthy people live, what they buy and how they travel. It regularly features mansions, luxury cars and aircraft an ...

''. A follow-on TV series '' The Queen of Versailles Reigns Again'' follows the house and Siegel family on the ''

Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

'' streaming service.

References

External links

* – Property appraisal {{Coord, 28, 28, 23, N, 81, 33, 5, W, display=title Houses in Orange County, Florida Windermere, Florida Unfinished buildings and structures in the United States Siegel family residences Châteauesque architecture in the United States