9 Fascinating Facts About the Bachelor Mansion

Okay, I admit it: I love watching ABC’s The Bachelor. Not only does it offer up a superior mix of fantasy, romance, and of course, drama, the beloved reality series takes place in an over-the-top mansion, that we have to say, looks pretty design-savvy from our seats.

And with the new season that just premiered on New Year’s Day, there’s no better time to go behind the scenes and more specifically, inside the Spanish-style mansion — formally known as Villa De La Vina — where all the love and heartbreak goes down.

Believe it or not, Villa De La Vina owner Marshall Haraden and his family, actually move out of the mansion—along with all of their furniture and belongings — a few times a year when ABC decides to film.

According to Trulia, the palatial pad offers more than 7,500 square feet of living space. Sprawled across 9.3 acres of land in Agoura Hills, California, the Bachelor Mansion boasts six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, an infinity pool with waterfalls, and a guesthouse to boot.

Per reports from Berg Properties, owner Marshall Haraden designed and built the mega-mansion back in 2005 (a year before the Bachelor franchise began filming), using materials he sourced from Mexico, India, China and Morocco. And while records don’t reveal how much Haraden paid for the property originally, he briefly listed the estate for a whopping $8.75M in 2008 (but wound up hanging on to the place).

Although this season marks the 22nd of the series, only 11 seasons of the show (ten of The Bachelor and one of spinoff The Bachelorette) have actually filmed at this location. That’s over 290 total contestants that have at one time called the mansion “home.”

According to This is Insider, filming each season of The Bachelor takes approximately 42 days, suggesting that the Haraden family vacates their home for about three months every year to accommodate the show’s daunting production schedule.

Although the manse is always filled with elaborate architectural details, including hand-carved Cantera stone fireplaces, imported fountains, and electronic skylights, the furnishings and décor of the place get a major facelift once the Haraden family moves out for filming. Along with fresh coats of dark paint on the walls and more contemporary furnishings, the show opts for a sexier décor scheme to complement the dramatic tone of the series.

A lot of the mansion’s most popular rooms rarely ever make it to the television screen, including the property’s formal dining room, guest house, and commercial-grade chef’s kitchen.

Filled with lots of comfy places to sit, the backyard of the Bachelor Mansion is designed to facilitate personal conversations (or confrontations) between contestants in the series.

Just like ABC leases the home twice a year for filming, you too can rent out the bachelor pad — which is just minutes away from Malibu’s dreamy beaches — for $2,100 per night, (or $13,225 for a week and $35,225 for a month) per People.