Belcourt Castle

Facts

Belcourt Castle was designed by Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, who inherited a fortune from his father August Belmont, the Rothschild Banking representative in America. His summer "cottage" incorporated his love for horses and armor, medieval and renaissance architecture within 60-rooms. In 1894, a bachelor at age 36, he had 30 servants.

In 1896, Mr. Belmont married Mrs. William Kissam Vanderbilt, wife of his best friend and business partner in several sporting ventures. Alva E. Smith, daughter of an Alabama cotton merchant, was educated in France, married the second son of William H. Vanderbilt and had three children before she divorced Vanderbilt in 1895 to marry Oliver Belmont.

After Belmont's death at 50 in 1908, Mrs. Belmont became involved in the Women's movement and actively supported votes for women. She died in 1933, still the owner of Belcourt Castle.

Tour Format

The tour at Belcourt is a guided tour which they promote as being "continuous" so there is no waiting. After being given a run down of the pricing options, we were escorted by the cashier to pictures of the original owners on the wall in the foyer and given about a five minute history on the mansion and its various owners. The cashier then escorted us into the next room to join a tour of about twenty people already in progress. We then realized that the idea behind the "continuous" tour was that if you are not there at the start of a group tour, you play catch up with one already in progress, after the brief, scripted history given by the cashier in the foyer. Unfortunately, in joining the tour in progress, we missed the first room and most of the detailed history. As we walked into the next room, two more groups joined our tour and missed even more.

The tour continues throughout the first floor and then upstairs through the dining room, ballroom, the bedrooms, bathrooms, and grand hallway. After descending the same stairs, we were then escorted outside to the garden where the tour ended. Our tour guide was an elderly gentleman who had served as the second butler to Doris Dukes when she was in residence at Rough Point. He was friendly and knowledgeable, but talked so quickly it was difficult to fully absorb all the history surrounding the estate. The tour normally lasts about 1 hour, but as mentioned earlier, we received a shortened version without the ability to revisit the rooms we missed. No photography is permitted inside the mansion.

Review

Belcourt Castle is full of antiques, paintings and unusual pieces of interest. Each room has so many diverse and interesting things to see that sometimes you lose track of what the tour guide is saying. It is clear that the owners have amassed an incredible collection of items over the years, some of which are magnificent and relevant, and others that are a hodgepodge of periods and styles. Unfortunately, there is a musty feel about the place and evidence that cleanliness is not a paramount concern. It has a bit of a "flea market" feel to it rather than a Christie's or Sotheby's showcase for fine antiquities. Nevertheless, the property is unique and the contents will certainly make an impression.

Customer Reviews

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

A beautiful and entrancing work of art., Aug 30, 2010

reviewer: Jessie from Long Island from Long Island, NY

Having never been to Rhode Island I was most curious to look inside just one of the beautiful mansions my friends and I had passed along Bellevue Avenue. What a wonderous place. My friends and I took the tour that began with the owner, Mrs. Tinney and continued with one of the friendly staff guides. We walked around in awe, amazed at the intricate details in the design of the some of the rooms and the pieces of art. There is definately active energy in this mansion. I would have loved to spend a night to do some ghost hunting on my own. I will have to return in order to do one of the paranomal investigation tours they offer. :)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

So lowbrow your eyebrows will hit your chin, Aug 09, 2010

reviewer: Benjamin from NYC

Tacky, musty, dusty, smelly, dirty. The staff here were rude, belligerent and unaccommodating. A woman with an affected British accent who worked for the place was moaning, groaning and speaking with guests in a demeaning and undignified manner. I was here for an event and I wouldn't go back if my own grandmother was having her birthday there. I was expecting a Newport mansion to be grand, gracious, accommodating and clean and to be received kindly and cordially. Visit any of the other mansions in Newport. The poor owner needs to get a grip and sell this place because the help are going to ruin it for her.

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

Tiresome, and rather pathetic, Jul 18, 2010

reviewer: Elizabeth S. from Worcester, MA

$25 per adult and $15 for each child...we took the "ghost tour" after seeing the sign on our way down to Ocean Drive. The tour was given by the owner, who shared that this was her fiftieth year living in Belcourt. Very sad - if it were a southern plantation, I'd have to describe the whole atmosphere as very Tennessee Williams-ish. Some very impressive chandeliers and furnishings, but what kept surfacing was a way of life in which "things" are far more important than people. And now, trying desperately to generate some income from the spending excesses of years gone by. Dusty and musty, but grand in its own way. Worst thing about the tour, though, was the heat and humidity...I ended up feeling dizzy and just wanting the tour to end so I could get out of there. When it did end, we weren't informed that it was over...people just ended up milling about looking for a way out (the entrance we had come in through was barred). Once out, we were very relieved, I assure you. I wouldn't suggest this tour during hot summer days to any but the heartiest and most stalwart tourists.

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