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Home / Entertainment

Inside Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion where he died

By Shoba Rao
news.com.au·
28 Sep, 2017 07:14 AM4 mins to read

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THIS is the palatial Playboy mansion where Hugh Hefner spent his final moments before he passed away from natural causes.

Hefner, 91, had already sold the impressive property to his neighbour, Daren Metropoulos, for a cool US $100 million ($A139.5m) before he died today.

Metropoulos, 34, is son of billionaire Charles Dean Metropoulos, who owns Hostess, which makes Twinkies.

The Holmby Hills estate, located in California, is 200 square-foot and is described as an "ultra-private retreat" designed for large-scale entertaining.

GRAND ENTRANCE

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Cars line up outside the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
Cars line up outside the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images

The Gothic-Tudor style mansion has 29 rooms made famous by Hefner's wild parties.

A grand fountain and security await to guide you into the Playboy founder home and site of debaucherous parties since he bought it in 1971, for a then-record $US1.1 million ($A1.4 million).

It comes with a catering kitchen, wine cellar, waterfall, fitness centre, tennis court, swimming pool, screening room, sauna and basketball court as just some of the lavish perks. There are also multiple dining rooms and bedrooms.

There is also a four-bedroom, two-bathroom guesthouse in addition to the 29 rooms.

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THE GREAT HALL

Hugh Hefner stands in the entrance of the Playboy mansion. Photo / Getty Images
Hugh Hefner stands in the entrance of the Playboy mansion. Photo / Getty Images

Hefner's son Cooper, who is Playboy's Chief Creative officer, recently took fans of the Playboy empire into their private home in a video which as been posted to YouTube in April.

He first showed fans the Great Hall, where guests first arrive.

Lots of guests have been greeted at the front door by Playboy models dressed in black bunny ears and fluffy white tails.

He points to a famous Matisse painting, which has a cigarette butt stain on it after John Lennon once chose to stub his cigarette out on the actual artwork after having too many drinks at one of Hefner's house parties in the 1970s.

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THE MOVIE ROOM

Each Friday night used to be movie night at the Playboy Mansion with Hugh Hefner. Photo / Getty Images
Each Friday night used to be movie night at the Playboy Mansion with Hugh Hefner. Photo / Getty Images

He also revealed the indoor movie room, which also doubles as a lounge room where they screen a film after dinner on Friday and Saturday nights with friends and family. On Sunday nights, they show a film that is still in cinemas.

During Hefner's parties, it becomes a central hub for guests who mix and mingle in the room.

THE GAMES ROOM

Pinball games fill the game room at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
Pinball games fill the game room at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images

He then took fans to the games room, where he likes to spend time with his friends.

It has also been a favourite place for many Playboy models to hang out.

The room is filled with a pool table and Playboy themed pinball machines.

THE VAN ROOM

The Van Room at the Playboy mansion. Photo / YouTube
The Van Room at the Playboy mansion. Photo / YouTube

Cooper then shows fans the Van Room, which is designed to look like a 1970s van - fitted with a mattress under the floor and mirrors on the ceiling.

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He said he would let fans' "minds wander" to work out why his father designed the room that way.

HEF'S PRIVATE ZOO

One of Hugh Hefner's exotic animals in his private zoo. Photo / News Corp Australia
One of Hugh Hefner's exotic animals in his private zoo. Photo / News Corp Australia

On the outside of the mansion, there is a zoo and birds such as peacocks, macaws, flamingos, toucans and ducks roam the grounds. A huge cage within the walls of the estate holds over 100 squirrel monkeys.

THE GROTTO AND POOL

The swimming pool at the Playboy mansion on in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. Photo / AP
The swimming pool at the Playboy mansion on in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. Photo / AP

The there's Hefner's infamous Grotto. This includes a swimming pool in a massive cave, where celebrities, Playboy models and VIP guests have partied till all hours. The outdoor area also has lots of seating, a bar and kitchenette, and an electric stove.

But the famous 'grotto' has come under public scrutiny. It has four separate hot tubs.

In 2011, more than 120 guests became ill. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health investigated the whirlpools in the 'grotto' and found a bacteria responsible for causing Legionnaire's disease.

A SECRET ROOM

There is also a secret room, which was revealed in the making of a documentary titled American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story.

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The room is on the top floor of the mansion.

It's a library with videos, photographs and a detailed scrapbook that Hefner kept throughout his life. It spanned more than 2,500 volumes in 2011, which broke a Guinness World Record for a personal scrapbook collection.

"It was probably just a way of creating a world of my own to share with my friends," Hefner said, seated amid the archives of his life during a 2011 interview.

"And in retrospect, in thinking about it, it's not a whole lot different than creating the magazine."

HEF'S TRADITIONS

A large pot plant at Hugh Hefner's mansion in California. Photo / News Corp Australia
A large pot plant at Hugh Hefner's mansion in California. Photo / News Corp Australia

While parts of the mansion have changed, Hefner was also a fan of keeping some traditions. His pot plants have stayed the same on the estate, and reflect his zest for hedonistic excess after he began to rev up the sexual revolution in the 1950s.

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