If You’re Seeking a Castle for a Home, Capistrano Property May Fill the Bill

Selling points: A Jacuzzi for eight to bathe in luxury

Location: San Juan Capistrano

Asking price: $4.5 million

Status: For sale

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Ten bedrooms. Twelve bathrooms. Twenty-four thousand square feet of space.

Mulberry Castle may sound like an extravagance straight out of TV’s “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” but in fact its immensity has been put to use.

Seller Jerry Wallace says the original owners had it custom built in 1992 to house several generations of their family. But it took longer than expected to build and by then several of the kids were older and didn’t want to live there.

The owners converted the home into an elder-care facility. Wallace bought it intending to keep a close eye on his father who lived there, but his father passed away while the property was in escrow.

Wallace shut down the facility and put the home, which was modeled after a silk plantation in Georgia, on the market.

The home, he says, is ideal for someone who likes to entertain large groups of people. It has two main kitchens, including one similar in size and equipment to those in restaurants, as well as two wet bars with mini-kitchen areas.

It also has a 7,000-square-foot living room and an indoor pool, and one of the master bathrooms has a Jacuzzi that fits eight people.

The property is on about 3.5 acres carved into the side of a hill with a view of surrounding canyons and open land, as well as the ocean about six miles away. It has a six-car garage, and enough total parking for about 25 cars.

The grounds, with 1,500 rose bushes and 50 fruit trees, take gardeners about 20 hours a week to maintain, Wallace says. Keeping the interior in good shape also requires hired help.

“Everything was sort of overdone,” Wallace says, chuckling. “I hate to say that.”

Information: (714) 540-3260