A place built for entertaining needs new hosts.
The mansion, dubbed Maison du Lac, at 570 Manor Rd. in Maitland, was built for parties and is listed for $12.5 million.
“The house is really big, and it looks almost like a ballroom. It’s not just luxurious, but it almost makes you feel like you can throw a ball. You can throw events in the house,” said listing agent Maggie Walas with Fortune Christie’s International Real Estate. “It’s not over the top, but it’s enough to feel special. Whoever walks in is like Wow, the wow factor is [huge.] I sell a lot of high-end homes, but I never got an impression like I get from this house.”
The 11,668-square-foot lakefront estate was built in 1996 but was recently overhauled.
The dramatic grand entrance is highlighted by custom-made, 14-foot-tall iron doors, a crystal chandelier, and twin staircases. (Photo by Victor Quintero – VTR IMAGE)
“I would send you the photos from the previous house, how it looked before, you’ll be like, oh my God,” she said.
Now Maison du Lac is not only big, it’s breathtaking.
“You have huge windows overlooking the lake so you can just feel that it’s a big house, a big piece of land, big lakefront, just everything is just big,” Walas said. “It looks luxurious, but it’s not over the top. It’s not like a castle. It’s still livable.”
An investor funded the renovation after buying the property for less than $4 million in early 2023. The current owner bought it a year later, after everything was finished, for $10.3 million.
One major part of the renovation was the addition of two show-stopping crystal chandeliers, with the larger one costing $250,000.
“It’s the one in the living room, plus there is a matching one, a smaller one, when you walk in above the front door. The front door is already spectacular,” she said.
The 14-foot-tall custom iron front door enhances the grand entrance.
The owner paid $250,000 for the crystal chandelier in the living room and purchased a smaller version for the front entrance. (Photo by Victor Quintero – VTR IMAGE)
The elegant bar just off the living room is perfect for parties. (Photo by Victor Quintero – VTR IMAGE)
A new dock and boat lift were added as part of the multimillion-dollar renovation. (Photo by Victor Quintero – VTR IMAGE)
The primary bedroom has a wood-paneled feature wall facing a dramatic fireplace enhanced by floor-to-ceiling stone slabs.(Photo by Victor Quintero – VTR IMAGE)
The primary wing includes his-and-hers walk-in closets and a home gym with an infrared sauna. (Photo by Victor Quintero – VTR IMAGE)
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The owner paid $250,000 for the crystal chandelier in the living room and purchased a smaller version for the front entrance. (Photo by Victor Quintero – VTR IMAGE)
“It’s extremely heavy, extremely tall. It all makes that impression of something just magnificent.”
Inside, there is a double staircase and open spaces, which Walas said will easily accommodate 200 people.
“You feel like you are literally in some royal ballroom,” she said, adding that there is also a beautiful kitchen as well as a summer kitchen by the pool.
“It’s plenty of room outside and inside, so you can have people in multiple groups. It’s perfect for entertaining. Just perfect.”
There are six bedrooms and seven full bathrooms, all separated from the main living and entertaining spaces.
“You can have 200 people in the house, and nobody would ever even go or look [in the bedrooms], or you can be even in a bedroom and never even know there’s a party going on.”
Walas acknowledges that some large homes still have a homey and warm feeling, but this one isn’t built just for living in.
“This is for a different reason. It has to be for throwing parties. It has to be for something spectacular for people to notice it. It’s like a show off place. It is for people that want to present themselves very, very well.”
It sits on almost 3 acres with 120 feet of frontage on Lake Maitland.
“The real beauty of [the home] is that it’s on a beautiful piece of land, and because it is big. You cannot find a piece of land like this — one piece of land — anywhere in Winter Park or Maitland or anywhere around the Winter Park Chain of Lakes,” she said.
The land is also good for entertaining. There’s a large pool and a new dock with a boat lift, as well as a six-car garage divided into spaces on either side of the motor court.
“There’s a huge piece of land that you can park a number of cars. You can do valet. It’s just the ability to just host so many people.”
Walas told GrowthSpotter she has worked with the seller for years as he bought bigger and bigger properties, but now it is time to go the opposite way and downsize.
“You look for a bigger house to throw parties, and then you buy the biggest one and you stop throwing parties,” she said with a laugh. “That’s exactly [what this house is] for. It’s completely a waste for someone who doesn’t have guests, who doesn’t throw parties, who doesn’t have events in the house to have it. It makes absolutely no sense. The house is totally made for it.”
Walas is not actively marketing the home now, but will resume soon.
“We took it temporarily off the market just for the holiday season, because the sellers want to decorate the house for Christmas and have a lot of parties over there,” she explained, adding that it is still listed on the MLS, but not publicly on sites like Realtor.com and Zillow. “It is going to go back on the market in January after all the holidays.”
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