LOS ANGELES_After shopping her Palm Springs compound for more than a decade, Suzanne Somers appeared on the cusp of selling her longtime desert retreat at auction last month. She must have had a change of heart.
The actress-entrepreneur and her husband, producer Alan Hamel, decided not to go through with the no-reserve bidding scheduled for Jan. 31. The 73-plus-acre property, which first hit the market in 2008 for $35 million, remains active on the Multiple Listing Service with a price of $14.5 million, records show.
The hillside retreat has been owned by Somers and Hamel since 1977, the year they married. The compound comprises multiple structures, including a main house that was designed by architect Albert Frey and evokes a French villa. Stone-lined paths connect various living quarters, which combine to offer eight bedrooms, nine full bathrooms and two half-baths.
There are outdoor dining areas, a stone amphitheater and a carousel. A separate tasting room and wine vault hold 5,000 bottles. There are also a lap swimming pool and a waterfall-fed pond. A private funicular railway system provides means for navigating the property, which sits among boulders overlooking the Coachella Valley floor.
Somers, 71, is best known for "Three's Company." Hamel, 81, hosted 1960s game shows and later produced a number of Somers' TV and video specials.
