Luxury living: Homes with play spaces for all ages

Built in 1933 by New York architectural firm Russell & Clinton, Ker Arvor was inspired by the Pavillon de la Lanterne, the royal hunting lodge at the Palace of Versailles. The magnificent nine-acre estate, just off Ocean Drive near Newport Country Club, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is a property for all generations: the parklike grounds include a children’s playhouse and could easily accommodate a tennis court and playing fields. The fully restored Neoclassical-style main residence is complemented by award-winning gardens, a heated pool, a pool house with its own kitchen for outside entertaining, a three-car garage, and a storage barn.

This historic mansion has a quiet, secure and prestigious location on Square de l’Avenue Foch in the heart of Paris’s 16th Arrondissement. Behind the magnificent 19th-century façade lies a chic interior appointed with the very latest luxury amenities. Three floors of the 13,315-square-foot home are dedicated to recreation and include a 52-foot lap pool — the only one of its kind in Paris — a fitness centre and spa, 12-seat Dolby Atmos movie theatre, and a private nightclub with cocktail bar and DJ station. The private quarters comprise a full-floor master suite and several guest suites. A wine cellar and tasting room, music room, playroom, library and staff apartment are further highlights of this one-of-a-kind property.

Villa Paradiso is an extraordinary, 2.9-acre Mediterranean-style estate on New Jersey’s Navesink River. The centrepiece of the 16,000-square-foot main residence, designed by architect Robert Adler, is an entertainment level with a 20,000-gallon aquarium stocked with native species, a fully equipped bar, a media area, and a dance floor with retractable disco ball. A hallway leads to a 1,500-bottle wine cellar and a seven-seat movie theatre with a 110-inch movie screen and celestial LED ceiling. The outdoor pool area, meanwhile, is reminiscent of a Mediterranean beach resort. The sundeck surrounds a granite pool with a mosaic floor and lapis lazuli stone border, four fountains, a submerged sunbathing section, and a 15-person spa with waterfall. The waterfront grounds also include an outdoor kitchen, formal gardens, and a boat dock.

This private sanctuary (also pictured top) on Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley, Arizona, comprises a palatial Mediterranean-inspired main residence, a guest house and more than 12 acres of resort-inspired grounds. The newly built pool with its built-in water slide is an aquatic playground for all ages. The pool also has a three-meter diving rock and a sunken spa surrounded by native trees and plants. The arches of the exterior arcades echo inside, with arched doorways throughout and ceiling-height windows to frame the views. 

This elegant villa overlooks the sea from its lush hilltop setting above the coastal village of Les Issambres, between Cannes and Saint-Tropez. With more than 8,500 square feet of living space and 5,300 square feet of terraces, the home is an entertainer’s dream inside and out. Among the unique features is a private 1970s-inspired nightclub, complete with a cocktail bar, stage, lounge and dance floor with glitter ball and disco lights. The main living area is anchored by a two-storey great room leading out to a terrace with an infinity pool, a spa, and a pergola. A staircase leads down to a beautiful lawn overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.