I so wanted to love this house after seeing it in the original The Great Gatsby. It had just undergone a renovation and re-opened. But their mistake was taking up half of the second floor with an exhibit that tied in with China. You could tell 1 wing had been a set of bedrooms but was now a gallery and there was no history to tell you what it had been. All the other bedrooms, including the owners' bedroom suites were closed off and not available. Two small rooms were available to see. But Rosecliff needs to put out historical information around the rooms. Portraits of people but you didn't know who they were. And a picture and a couple playbills of Cole Porter - but only if you knew who he was. Turns out he wrote several of his biggest musicals at the home but they don't tell you that. Many visitors were complaining upstairs and asking "Is this all there is?" The first floor is exceptional and the architecture is the best of all the mansions. So are the gardens and expansive lawn leading to the ocean. Please Rosecliff, re-open the master bedrooms!

A bit underwhelming. I know for someone middle class like me to say that about a mansion is funny, but the other mansions we toured were much more opulent and had more things to see inside. The ballroom which hosts weddings is stunning and the guide we spoke to was very nice.

Rosecliff was one of the 4 mansions owned by the Preservation Society of Newport that was open for touring in October. Like the others, it was a beautiful house. The large ballroom was especially impressive. On the other hand, the house was sparsely furnished with none of the original furniture available. The second floor was basically a museum; it currently displayed a tribute to Chinese ties. I did like the gardens quite well. It was a truly wonderful place to tour but still our least favorite of the four.

A more intimate scale than The Breakers, but just as interesting. Strongly recommend downloading the Newport Mansions Tour app to your phone and taking the free audio tour, added a much greater understanding. And got to see the ballroom where Arnold danced the tango in True Lies!

It was very interesting to see this particular mansion, as it really showed the difference between places where people actually wanted to live for the summer vs places designed solely for entertaining. Every room on the main floor was an entertainment space. Then, upstairs were the modest bedrooms, almost an afterthought. We really enjoyed the fabulous exhibit on the African Americans in Newport and their work for freedom and abolition and how they were successful business people fighting to be acknowledged in the town of ultra-rich. The mansion is well worth a visit and definitely provides a different view of the season in Newport and how people approached it.