Hacienda Palomino

I took a tour of Hacienda Palomino. This is also known as the Thriller Villa because it's where Michael Jackson lived in Las Vegas the last two years of his life.The house is privately owned and it's where many of the things from the Liberace Museum now reside. The tour I took was lead by Jonathan Warren, an expert on the life of Liberace. He's also is an expert in describing the Liberace items in the mansion.The tour lasted three hours and was very informative. The whole hacienda is not covered but the section closest to Palomino Lane is where the Liberace memorabilia is located.Reservations must be made for the tour. I was the only person yesterday because some that were scheduled needed to change their tour date.It was a fantastic tour. I had been to the Liberace Museum before it closed, but I never would know what I do now because of Mr. Warren's encyclopedic memory!

Marking the 2nd anniversary of the death of the King of Pop Michael Jackson,his private residence, Hacienda Palomino was open to the public today.MJ fans got to take a little peak into the estate where he and his family spent time in Las Vegas for the last two years of his life.Here's some info and facts taken from the Facebook page:For Michael Jackson fans, this is the experience of a lifetime!Hacienda Palomino, the Las Vegas estate where Michael lived for the last two years of his life is the only place where you will be able to go to pay your respects, leave your flowers, and walk where The King of Pop walked, lived, dreamed, and created. He lived here with his children and security detail in complete privacy....-Hacienda Palomino was brought over BRICK-BY-BRICK from Mexico in 1952-1.7 Acres-7 Bedrooms, 12 Baths-Chapel, Loggia, Columnade, Garages, Kitchens, Guest House, Conference Room, Formal Dining Room, Elevator, Secret Tunnel, Sound Systems, MaidsQuarters, and much more....-Value $12 MillionOnly a section of the estate was open to the public, but in the future, there may be guided tours of the estate in the works...ALOHA!!!

Most people know this home as Michael Jacksons last home, aka "Thriller Villa", but I don't think most people know that this private home is also rented out as a event venue space. I don't want the "Vegas wedding" so my search took me away from chapels and banquet halls for something a bit more unique.So just for the curious, the way the house looks now is not how it looked when MJ lived here. The interior has been redesigned as it was rather base when he lived here aside from the walls being covered in his art collection. Before he lived here this house was built solely to house art, gallery style by a very rich Mexican artwork enthusiast (if you know the Red Rock 11 Theaters from way back when, it was the guy who built that). There's a bit newer pictures on their blog and facebook if you look for "Thiller Villa". There is a chapel in the property. It has seating for about 70 people, or they can readjust to fit more people with some standing room. It has a 2nd floor of some balcony seating. Apparently this space has perfect pitch. Then we got to see the beautiful outdoor courtyard that overlooks a working horse area and cactus garden paths. From the courtyard you can access the main living room and a cigar smoking allowed bar area. We also got to see the formal dining room area, kitchen, the security room, the rooms for bride and groom prep. We also went into the basement which apparently runs the whole house (though we only were in 1/3 of it, that area was huge with one room being a bar and just a giant great room with the walls covered in Jimi Hendrix's artwork. The really cool thing about this place is its made for venues. There are a lot of partition doors with a curtain over it to give lots of privacy or cut off a area, or you can open it up and make a space connect or have it to where event crews have their own areas and pathways to places.So the stipulations.... If you rent out this space it is a must you have a valet company. They have a private parking lot on property so it's parked safe, but theres no street parking in this neighborhood. There has to be a security guard at the door to let people in and you can't just have the gate open. It's to keep crazy MJ fan crashers....apparently some rude people think it's OK to walk into a private household just because someone famous they liked lived there. There's no cooking in the kitchen though the area can be used for a caterer prepping area. You can have the space for a few hours only, the whole home is not for rent for sleeping overnight. No one lives here, but a group of consulars restored this home and keep up events to help preserve this space. Overall, I think it's a gorgeous event space and can accommodate a small or large event as there was a 450 guest Christmas party last year. Also keep an eye out for the restoration of Liberaces Mansion as that is their next project that will be available next year for events. I do love this spaces character and design plus it is well cared for and clean. There's so much photography potential indoor and outdoor. I have a lot to think about with the pros and cons of this house. Onto the next home tours, but this one is not X'ed out of the running.

My husband and I got married here last month and it was a spectacular wedding. It's not the cheapest venue to host a large event at, but the location is unbeatable and the team that manages the venue will bend over backwards to be helpful and accommodating. Truly a gorgeous building, wavering between gauche and splendid... of course you should also go get a tour of the Liberace collection downstairs before it's sent off to Paris!