It’s difficult to cover content on the Playboy Channel in a family newspaper such as Metro. But when duty calls in the form of an invitation to attend the Playboy Mansion in honor of the network’s “TV For 2” programming, well, that’s an assignment too good to pass up.
While Janice Dickinson, John Salley, “America’s Next Top Model” winner/Playboy model Adrianne Curry and former “The Amazing Race” contestant/Playboy model Jaime Edmondson were spotted at the party, the mansion itself was the real star. Secrets I discovered at Hef’s humble abode:
The Bunnies change, the decor doesn’t:
Journalists were greeted by two Bunnies wearing the iconic corset and bunny tail, setting the scene for grounds that don’t appear to have changed much since the swinging ‘60s — a tiki theme and strong wood tones rule the decor outdoors. Guests duck through numerous stone archways and tunnels (nice innuendo, Hef) to the infamous (and very hot, muggy and terrifying for germaphobes) Grotto; the game room featuring numerous Playboy-themed pinball machines and a mirrored “nap room” with a bed that seems to be made with the same comforter the Rat Pack may have rested upon; and animal sanctuaries full of monkeys, birds and, yes, fuzzy little bunnies.
When the floor turns squishy, don’t be alarmed:
Stepping into the Grotto, I nearly lost my balance when the floor suddenly sank underneath me. “That’s a mattress,” my tour guide, Miss August 2004 Pilar Lastra, explained. “For when you want to take a nap.” Of course.
There was another “napping floor” in an annex off of the game room, too, which took the guise of the entire floor. That room didn’t bother with furniture; just pillows and the requisite mirrors adorned the space.
Hef? He’s keeping mum:
What better place to get the real story behind the recent war of words between Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris than the Playboy Mansion? After spying the Playboy mogul peering out at his guests from a front window, I put on my investigative journalist hat and prepared to get some scoop. Sadly, Hef declined to comment — probably because it was a lifeless stand-in. If the real Hefner made an appearance, he managed to allude his TV critic guests.
